Ifs..

13Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." 14Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." 16As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil. 17Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.

Ifs..

How many of you believed in "ifs". What do i mean by that?

If i have a boyfriend , then I'll be a better person

If i have that job , then i'll give 10% of my money to the church

If i have a good church family, then i'll grow more mature in God

If i go to such and such school, then i'll be smart

If i ..... (fill in the blank)

I do, and I'll tell you my ifs:

If i'm a smart and talented person, then i'll be a better minister of God's people

If i was born in australia, then people will respect me and not discriminate me

If i have a boyfriend, then i'll be a more joyful and content person

If i wasn't born in this family, then i might be a better Christian

...... and so many more embarrassing ifs...

but today God challenged me. He asked me "if those "ifs" are true, would you really be what you thought you would be?" - if you can't be that person without the list of conditions that you've mentioned, what guarantees that you will be that person when you have it?

We all like to play God don't we? we want to be God and take over His place. We want to have full control over our lives without the blame for it. We all want to deprive God of His blessings without giving Him the glory and praise that is due to Him. We are sinful beings.

And sometimes, this list of "ifs" can creep into the church. to our theology, our knowledge of God and our faith. Just not too long ago, I was talking with few friends of mine about a concern regarding the church in indonesia. How those churches don't have a good pastor, full of politics, hypocrites and nominal Christians, etc. And it sounded as if without those lists of conditions, Christians will not able to grow and be a Christian.

It's interesting how after we had that conversation, we went to this Christian training thing - and the topic was "materialism vs asceticism" and there the person at the front said "Christians tend to be ascetics because there are biblical backing and it sounds very religious". Can you see that asceticism became the required conditions to be a Christian, religiousity takes over the place of Christ in our life.

We all like to limit what God can do don't we.

We like to limit what God can do , not only in our lives but also in the lives of others.

We limit the fact that God is capable of changing our hearts, making us into a new creation and giving us the growth that we need, even in suffering and in lacking.

We limit the fact that God is capable of changing people's heart, making them into a new creation and the growth that they need, even in suffering and their lacking.

We always want to put "we" in it:

What should we do

We should be more....

We must stop....

We have to...

We cannot just...

Let us ....

They shouldn't...

I mean it's okay if that "we" is used to say "we should pray more" or "let us see what God wants to say through this situation ,from His word".

But when it gets to "we must take actions, let's do this and that" or "we cannot just sit still, lets go there and bla bla bla". When, the "we" and "us" became the driving force of change, the hinge upon which change and growth can occur, that is a clear indication that Satan has won his battle.

God is no longer in control over our hearts and lives, we are in control over the lives of others and ourselves. And as box two in two ways to live says - we fail to rule ourselves, society or the world.

You might wonder, what of the verse that I put above? what connection does it have to what i'm talking about here?

Not much.. I was just reminded that when I say "if......then..." aren't I boasting about my future? Thinking that if in the future i have those, i will do .... . But as James says "such boasting is evil" who among us knows what will happen if those "ifs" are fulfilled. When those things do happen. Only God does, only He knows why He gave those things to us and what He wants us to learn from it.

So instead, we should say If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." And we musst not boast to others of what we are capable to do when our conditions are met, because, maybe - or most likely - we are NOT capable of those things.

James gave us a solid warning that "Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins." Yes indeed, we are committing sins when we limit what God can do in our lives, limit God's command in us.

When we say "if...." to God - are saying to God "no God - I won't do that good thing, because You haven't given me these things". We demand things from God, we bargain and we forget His kindness to us, His grace and mercy in sending His own Son to die for us.

Remember, what is sin? Doesn't it simply mean rebellion against God? When we say NO to God's rule over us and try to do things our own way?

Friends and myself. I pray that we realized this sin, that we see it and shoot it. Let us say "if it is God's will , I will do such and such, but for now, I will praise Him and walk faithfully with Him, regardless of what the circumstances are"