The way to be popular always was and always will be known as Amaziah’s way. Those of us who walk that road publicise the world-view that we can worship God and the golden calf at the same time. We worship God and love the ways of the world we live in, where we prefer our own wisdom, our own view of what is right and wrong. These are the ways that suit our fancy and suit our interest. We tell people that God is love and that, therefore, anything we love doing, or love being, must be of God. Not to worry, the Kingdom of God (the kingship of Christ) will probably only come here when Christ comes back at the day of judgement …
We make it sound as if Jesus, with his grace, is like the teacher who leaves the classroom for a time. We pupils can more or less get on with messing about, doing our own thing, until he/she comes back into the room. Everything we do in the meantime, we might be telling ourselves, is OK as we are doing it in the classroom and that makes it educational!
As long as we only live reasonably quiet and respectable lives, we are convinced that we can in all other ways behave as if there is no God and no judgement of God to be wary of.
Satan said to Adam and Eve,
“Did God really say that?” and they wondered and they chose their own wisdom and they fell from grace. And they set out along Amaziah’s way.
Dare we even think a troubling thought here — that much of our church leadership today is feeling insecure when faced with ‘sinking’ numbers’. Then, to make ourselves appear more attractive, are we encouraging ourselves to set out with Adam and Eve along Amaziah’s way?
