The strange thing about human nature is that everyone wants to be in control. You see it in business, you see it in families, and unfortunately, sometimes you even see it in the Body of Christ. I think again it has to do with that sinful nature that we were born with. It all boils down to the fact that everybody wants to have it their own way…their individual personal preferences. And the truth is that most of our problems at work, at home and our church stems from that very desire. We fail to recognize that God has created a world that is based on order and structure.
He structured the marriage relationship in this way, “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.”
“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” (Ephesians 5:22-33) God created the marriage relationship with structure and order.
And for
the relationship between children and their parents, this is what the Word of
God says, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor
your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: “that it
may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.”
“And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.” (Ephesians 6:1-4)
When the home operates under the rules that God laid down for families, then the families run smoothly and there’s peace in the home. When the laws of God are ignored or disobeyed, then it works the same way as it does any time we are disobedient to the Word of God…life does not go well for us.
In your work place, here is the Word of God to employees: “Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God.” (1 Peter 2:18-20)
And to employers, here’s what God says to you: “And you, masters, do the same things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that your own Master also is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.” (Ephesians 6:9)
And God even tells us the structure and order for nations: “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior”. (1 Timothy 2:1-3)
Now…I do realize that what scripture is saying here is often very difficult to actually put into practice in our daily lives. But only when we live this way will we realize the peace that God expects us to live in. I have seen people who were power hungry in their jobs and many times they would do anything to get to the top. Trust me, there is no peace in that! I have seen marriages where the wife is the one in control, and everything in that marriage was out of order. I have seen families where the children did not obey their parents…and most of the time the parents did nothing to insure their children’s obedience, and you talk about chaos! Those families are in constant stress and many come to the breaking point. We need to believe that God knew what He was doing when He created the family and when He laid down the rules for proper relationships. And here is the most important one and this one applies to everyone: “Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another” (Romans 12:10) We need to honor one another. We may not agree with one another, but we should always be sensitive to the feelings and thoughts of other people.
So, how do we actually put into practice what scripture very plainly instructs us to do? The simple truth is that we can’t…not in our own power. The carnal spirit wants what it wants and it will not be happy until it gets it! But a just and righteous God did not tell us to do something that He had not first prepared a way for us to do. So how are we to learn to live this way? This is where we need to learn to walk in the Spirit…Holy Spirit led and Holy Spirit controlled. It’s not easy because it means that we must crucify the flesh, die to our own desires and humble ourselves…and then follow Jesus! He is the One who should be out front leading us all.
As you read the Word of God you will find that everything that Jesus told us to do and everything He demonstrated went completely against the natural ways of man. That’s because Jesus walked in the Spirit always. He instructed His Disciples to follow Him, and they did the most unnatural thing in the world…they dropped everything they were doing, gave up everything in their lives and followed Jesus. If you notice in scripture, those who were not willing to do that, well they just didn’t make it with Jesus. They never became His followers. And the truth is that you and I won’t either. We must be willing to forsake ALL to follow Him…we must be willing to understand that ANYTHING He wants and ANYTHING He does is more important than anything else in our lives. And until we come to that place, our lives will always be a constant struggle, trying to decide how we can live for Jesus in the flesh. It can’t be done!
Remember the story of the Rich Young Ruler? His story is a classic example of how many Christians try to live their lives. Let’s look at his story for a moment as found in Matthew 19:16-22:
“Now
behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do
that I may have eternal life?”
So He
said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.
But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
He said
to Him, “Which ones?”
Jesus
said, “‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not
steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your
mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”
The young
man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still
lack?”
Jesus
said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the
poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
But when
the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great
possessions.”
If you or I would have looked at this young man’s life, we would have thought he had it all together and He was a very blessed man of God. According to this conversation, he had done everything right…he knew the scriptures and was walking in all the ways of the Lord. But you see, what many of us don’t understand is that Jesus said we have to “deny ourselves”…“take up our cross” and “follow Him”! Many of us think that if we can just go to church, pay our tithes, live a good life and be a good person, then we are doing exactly what we need to do in order to please God. But that’s not what Jesus said at all! NO! He said we need to “deny ourselves”. That means that whatever comes natural to the flesh is not what we need to be about. We need to expect Him to lead us into disciplines and activities that are totally contrary to the flesh. Paul put it this way, “And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” (Galatians 5:24) That means that the things that we used to do, we choose not to do anymore. We put those fleshly desires to death. We crucify them! That is what Jesus meant when He said to “deny ourselves”.
Then, Jesus said we are to “take up our cross”. Friends, each one of us has a cross to bear. Jesus knew what cross was His to bear and when the time came, His flesh struggled with it. As He was in that Garden the night He was arrested, He wrestled in prayer. It was going to be a hard cross to bear and He knew it. And there is a cross that is assigned to you too…and to me. And each one of us will wrestle with that cross when the time comes. It has been said that He could have called ten thousand angels to rescue Him, but He knew that He had to lay down His life so that you and I could have eternal life…and having wrestled with the reality of laying down His life, He willingly bore the cross that had been assigned to Him. Let me ask you this question…will you? Will you pick up the cross and willingly carry it for the sake of many who need to know Jesus all over the world. Will you go wherever He asks you to go and will you do whatever He asks you to do? The Rich Young Ruler would not…and the Bible says, “But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” What a sad story indeed! What a tragic life this young man must have lived…to stand at a crossroads and refuse the cross that Jesus called Him to bear.
And the last thing Jesus said we must do is to “follow Him”. Going back to the beginning of this chapter, life only works out right when He is in control. We see it in scripture, He told His Disciples, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19) And they willingly denied themselves, picked up the crosses that He had called them to bear, and followed their Lord and Master. And by doing so, they turned the world upside-down. Because of their obedience, the world has heard the Name of Jesus for close to 2000 years. Because of their sacrifices, millions of souls have found eternal life, including you and me. You see, that Rich Young Ruler…he had the same call on his life, but He refused to give up his life to follow Jesus.
Friends, let me tell you, there is no compromise if we want to make a difference in the Kingdom of God. There is no holding back…we have to do just like the Disciples did…we have to give up everything to follow Christ. But remember WHY Jesus told them to do it? He said, “I will make you fishers of men”. It was for souls…it was for lives…it was for the Kingdom of God! Many people have tried to hold on to the world and the flesh and still call themselves Disciples of Christ…but it’s impossible! The scripture says the Rich Young Ruler went away sorrowful. Let me ask you…have you given up everything to follow Christ? He will not leave you sorrowful if you will. He will give you the most fulfilling life you could imagine…if you will choose to follow Him. You will never be sorry you did.
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