Focus on Forever

1 Kings 12; Psalm 94; Ezekiel 42; Philippians 3

A couple of people that I deeply care about and who claim to be Christians are giving attention to the ideas of two well-educated men who try to sort out current events and make informed judgments. Both men have an ability to avoid myths, peer pressure and that mob-mentality that seems to have many others believing ideas that they have not thought through.

While these fellows claim to be reporting truth (and who knows these days) and while most of what they say sounds good, they are not connected by faith to the Giver of wisdom. One says he is a Christian yet admits he doesn’t believe in God, so he is deceived in that area. The other is a practicing Jew which gives him a step up, yet he misses out on realities that God reveals only to those who know Christ. Both comment on world events without mentioning the One who is sovereign over what is happening and who is King of kings and the source of all wisdom and power. While what they say could have value as far as it goes, I want more than human wisdom. The Lord God is the ultimate source of information and is without the bias that all of humanity possesses. I believe He is the most reliable source.

The psalmist expresses a bit of what I feel. He also says things that encourage me:

Understand, O dullest of the people! Fools, when will you be wise? He who planted the ear, does he not hear? He who formed the eye, does he not see? He who disciplines the nations, does he not rebuke? He who teaches man knowledge — the Lord — knows the thoughts of man, that they are but a breath. Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O Lord, and whom you teach out of your law, to give him rest from days of trouble, until a pit is dug for the wicked. For the Lord will not forsake his people; he will not abandon his heritage; for justice will return to the righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it. (Psalm 94:8–15)

God knows the thoughts of man are but a breath. Whatever any person even any expert on any topic comes up with, in the eternal scheme of things, it is like a “breath.” Some translate this word as “futile.” A lexicon says: “meaninglessness — the quality of having no value or significance; as a result of being futile or insubstantial or absurd or incomprehensible.” This word is also used in this verse and translated worthless:

Thus says the Lord: “What wrong did your fathers find in me that they went far from me, and went after worthlessness, and became worthless? (Jeremiah 2:5)

A word study book says about this verse: (1) every man takes on to some degree the character and nature of the God he worships; (2) the characteristic of all false gods is that they destroy their worshippers. This warns me to beware of what I value or attribute worth to because whatever I focus on, I will become like it in some way, and if it is a false value, it has destructive power.

The NT repeats this idea as Paul states his values — which may surprise the average person:

Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— (Philippians 3:2–9)

APPLY: It is false to trust in myself or have confidence in anything that is true about me even without Christ. Not my background, privilege, education, heritage, position, status, religious ideas, even any ‘goodness’ in my life. All of that is worthless apart from Christ and the righteousness that is found in Him through faith. No sliding into self-trust or self-importance. And no fretting about the ‘wise guys’ in the world for their words have no eternal value and last only as long as that next breath.

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. (Isaiah 40:8)