WHAT IS THE OPPOSITE OF LOVE? PART 4
/I must share with you that since I have started looking into this topic; God has shown me again and again how I fail to have in mind the things of God. In my dealings with co-workers, brethren, family and even the kids on my school bus, God has shown me the deviousness of my wanting to have my way! It is not that I must give way to the will of those around me – for that would also be idolatry – but the will of God is my prime directive.
In the previous installment we looked at a curious example of idolatry found in Matthew 16:21-25. Let’s consider another – perhaps unusual – example of idolatry found in the bible. This one is found in 2 Samuel 6:6. King David wants to move the ark of God and Uzzah has the task of guiding the cart that is hauling the ark. The oxen stumble, Uzzah reaches out to steady the ark and he meets with death. Is he guilty of idolatry in this action? Uzzah had the things of man and not the things of God in mind. His work met with death. I’m going to go with idolatry. But let’s not forget David. In 1 Chron. 13 we read that David conferred with “his officers, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds” – uh oh! He did not consult the word of God for this endeavor which commanded that only the Levites may carry the ark of God. This is a good example of the scripture, “There is a way which seems right to a man but in the end it leads to death.” There is here a spirit of idolatry that can influence our decisions. These examples have nothing to do with idols of stone and wood but with flesh. It is a spirit of idolatry that resides within the human nature.
And so let us look at David’s act with Bathsheba. Was it his sin with this woman or his sin with her husband that might be considered idolatry? It was both. Remember, we have spoken of the fact that the idol is “eliyl”, it is nothing. David did not idolize Bathsheba or Uriah the Hittite. His idol was his own will; his ego and vanity.
We could go on and discuss Saul and his failure to obey God’s command to destroy the Amalekites and all their livestock. He did not have the things of God in his heart. All of these examples have one thing in common – they failed to have that perfect love for God in their heart, their strength and their life. These examples show forth a love of the world that John tells us to avoid in 1 John 2:15, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”
Many times a brother or sister in Christ will refer to a certain scripture in Proverbs as a hallmark for their life. Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in YHVH with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.” Note the emphasis on the word “all”.
Trust in YHVH with all your heart (Prov. 3:5); love YHVH with all your heart (Deut. 6:5); serve YHVH with all your heart (Deut. 10:12); seek YHVH with all your heart (Deut. 4:29) – throw in the fact that you should do this with all your strength and all your life and you have a recipe for avoiding idolatry.
Simply put, this life is not about us. It is wholly and totally about the God we serve. It’s funny, isn’t it? We are toward the end of a four part article and I just stated the gist of it in two short sentences. If we find ourselves with a spirit of idolatry, we cannot love. We cannot love God and we cannot love our neighbor, pure and simple! And indeed, it is not always easy to see. A brother or sister may be in some kind of trouble and we rush in to help. Was God testing this person in some way and we just overstepped our bounds because we decided to help? I’m sure that Uzzah felt that he was just doing a good deed in steading the ark – his work was a dead work.
So, perhaps you’ve been wondering, “Is this series of articles about the opposite of love, as the title suggests; or is it about renewing your mind so as to have the mind of Christ, as the start of this article seemed to indicate, or is it about keeping ourselves from idols, as 1 John 5:21 warns us?” And the answer is …. YES!!
Allow me to quote Paul in his letter to the Romans (Ah, the very letter where we began this study). Romans 8:5-8 says, “Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on the flesh; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on the Spirit. The mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace; the mind set on the flesh is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”
If we have our minds set on the things of the flesh, we cannot love God. If we have our minds set on the things of the flesh, we are not renewing our minds. If we have our minds set on the things of the flesh, we are not keeping ourselves from idols.
Paul goes on to encourage the Roman church in verse 9, “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if the Spirit of God dwells in you ….” Oh my, you might as well read the entirety of this chapter. It all fits here.
I must assume that all of you who are reading this are striving to have your minds set on the Spirit and not on the flesh. But sometimes the “old man” gets in the way. After all, we know how some things should turn out for the best. We should have our own way. The Boss, the neighbor, our relative, our spouse, etc.; they just do not know how it should work and we need to have our opinion served. And maybe we are right; but to what cost?
“Continue to work out your salvation within fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to desire and to work according to His purpose. Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation in which you shine like stars in the universe.” (Phil. 2:12-15)
So, perhaps you have read this far and you are wondering, “Where do I go from here?” Simply put; down on your knees. How should you conduct your life with this info in mind? I don’t know, but God does! Ask Him to show you. And when He places a contrary spirit in your path, in your life – do not plead for deliverance, pray for insight. Let Him lead and direct your path. “In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your path straight.”
P.S. You might just begin with Psalm 115. May God bless you with insight!