Christian Living
Many of us would readily dismiss the thought that we're having an affair on God and that we're cheating on the relationship we have with Him.
But the fact remains and all the evidence points to our guilt of such hurtful and destructive acts of unfaithfulness to our Lord.
You've probably said to yourself at one time or another, "Oh no, not me." "I would never cheat on God and violate the relationship I have with Him."
Yet time and time again, we fail our confessions of faith.
Many of us do not outright cheat on God by engaging in what is obviously sinful in the eyes of the Lord. Most Christians who deem themselves to be somewhat faithful know better than to do anything that would immediately be considered to be down right wrong.
But many of us are like that unfaithful spouse, who when he or she is out and about, removes their wedding band to display their lie -- the lie of availability to those who may be single.
Do you know anyone like this? If you do, you know that this particular person puts on a different behavior when they are away from their spouse. Its as if they're a whole new person -- a person with two personalities.
They behave one way at home when they are with family and spouse and another way when they are out roaming around conducting their extra marital affairs.
Many Christians like to have pride in themselves and think that they are faithful "Christians." Yet their behavior shifts when they are away from church or other believers. They live a dual lifestyle where church and the Christian faith is only one mask that they wear throughout the week.
Can we honestly say that this is a genuine relationship with God?
The books of Hosea and Ezekiel describe how the Lord feels about His people, what He thinks of them, how He desires for them to simply love Him in return and not treat Him as though He does not exist in their lives.
It's not so hard to understand. We too just want our spouses, our friends, and loved ones to simply love us in return.
Even as God spoke to the children of Israel, He is speaking to His people today (you, I, and every other person that claims to be Christian). God is just as desirous for a relationship with His people today as He was back then.
Many times in the Old Testament, God's people would provoke him to jealousy by serving idol gods. He would at occasions compare the relationship He had with them as a married couple and tell them that though they were married to Him, they played the harlot (prostitute) and fornicated (committed adultery) with every one that came their way (Ezekiel 16:15).
This is how God felt whenever His people bowed down to worship other idols. Though we Christians do not serve other gods or idols (so we think), God is still provoked to jealousy by what we place in our lives to be our priority for living.
These things can be our opinions, our thoughts, our tempers, our angers, our philosophies of life, our slothfulness, our greed, our passions and appetites, and just about anything else that one can place before God.
Paul tells us in the book of 2nd Corinthians, chapter 10, verse 5, that our thoughts and imaginations can become idols in the presence of God – places of idol worship in the Old Testament were call "high places." In this particular verse in the book of 2nd Corinthians Paul refers to these "High Places" as "high things" that we erect in the place of God.
And doing this makes us unfaithful in the marriage relationship that God desires from us.
When we choose our tempers over God, when we choose our angers, our slothfulness, our greed, our hatred, and anything else which is contrary to our relationship with God, we are committing spiritual adultery.
Instead of doing what it takes to show our love for God, we choose contrarily because we love whatever it was we chose more than we love God -- otherwise we would have never chose it.
Sometimes we would rather choose slothfulness over diligence; hatred over love, ruthlessness over mercy; unforgiveness over forgiveness; greed over temperance; and on and on and on.
Whenever we choose those things over God's things, we are preferring other lovers before the Lord. We love our tempers, therefore we will display them despite the relationship we have with God. We will love our unforgiveness, therefore we will not forgive despite our marriage to the Lord.
Can you see how we prefer other lovers over God? And we were so quick to condemn cheating spouses that are involved in immoral love triangles.
God desires a relationship with His people. He's not looking at how religious you can become. He's not looking at how conformed you can be to the ministry to which you belong. You are married to God and He is married to you -- isn't it about time to finally give Him your entire heart?
Quit reserving your affections for other lovers, find out what it means to have a genuine relationship with God -- you'll experience completeness and total satisfaction in every area of your life because the Bible says in John 10:10 that He came to give us life and that more abundantly.
Written By: Bishop Lloyd R. Ocampo
Taken from IGF's "Renewed" Newsletter
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A Very good article!
Amen Brother! Well written and uncomfortably relevant. Thanks for sharing this Lloyd, keep up His good work! Bob
Good writing.
Excellent Brother and so true..thanks for sharing..
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