Can’t Nobody Tell Me Nothing
By: Jeremy A. Brown
Say you have a friend you are in a debate with; he or she is stubborn about a certain issue, and you know that friend is completely wrong. You decide to scrounge up some factual evidence, i.e. some statistical research and other proven facts You present this factual evidence to your friend hoping he/she will see the truth, but that friend says to you, “So what, I like what I believe despite all of the factual evidence and research you have presented to me showing me that my view point is wrong. I am going to keep these beliefs, despite their being wrong and do it my way.” This sounds a lot like our society today. We cannot resolve any conflict or issues, because one side does not care, despite what the facts show. I want to do what is right in my own eyes, despite the proven historical evidence. How did we as a society get here?
The Bible speaks of a time like our current times. Men and women will do what is right in their own eyes, despite the evidence showing the contrary. (Judges 17:6 NKJV) The Bible is truly the only book you need in regard to living peaceably amongst all men. The Bible tells us how to serve God, to show Him we love Him, and how to live so that we have peace with our fellow human beings. If we have thrown it all out to do what is right in our own eyes, how can we do what is right by each other?! We do not have anything to guide us. “Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world.” (1 Corinthians 1:20 KJV) It is shameful when we cannot have a serious debate (discussion) even with factual evidence being presented. We have been brought down to pure foolishness. The foolish man/woman beats those who present factual evidence over the head with pure lunacy and actually looks wise in the eyes of our world today.
Of course, we as Christ-followers are commanded to avoid such foolishness. If we are keeping God’s word as our foundation, we will not find ourselves trapped in these silly quarrels. God’s word states plainly what is RIGHT and what is WRONG. God says all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23 NKJV) It is unfathomable that we, as corrupt men, think we can actually decide what is truly good or bad; Jesus stated no one is good except for God. (Luke 18:19 NKJV) That sums it all up; if we do what is righteous in our own eyes, we are actually doing what is wicked in the eyes of God, if His law is not the foundation we use to make decisions throughout our lives.
Christ’s followers already know what needs to be done. We need to pull closer to God’s word and use it as the foundation for which we make all decisions in our lives. We will make mistakes because we are human, but at least we can recover, and we will be able to discern what is RIGHT and what is WRONG since the Bible is our foundation. (Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV)