Easily Influenced.
In my daily Bible reading, I have been working through the book of Judges. The incredible stories of God’s miracles are always amazing, but what continually shocks me is that the people of Israel continue to forget God, do what is right in their own eyes, or turn to the gods of the pagans in the land because they seem better. Every time this happens, God raises another nation to conquer Israel, and then Israel eventually turns to God once more and prays for deliverance. Every single time, God raises a judge and delivers His people. Then, the heartbreaking cycle repeats. The Israelites are continually influenced away from God, and God continually punishes them and then rescues them.
Why do the Israelites remain on this seemingly ridiculous cycle when they can look back and see what God has done over and over? Why would they depart from God when they know that God blesses them and will punish the disobedient? How do the Israelites repeatedly get to this place of apathy, arrogance, and opposition towards God?
One glaring issue that is seen throughout Judges is that the Israelites never fully removed pagan influence. This tracks back to the book Joshua. Joshua gains control of the land and then tells the tribes to continue to push out all the other people in the promised land, but they never do. The Israelites begin to intermarry, and slowly but consistently, they are drawn away from the one true God to worship the false gods of the pagans in the land. When they allow the influence to remain, they remain influenced. The purging of the land and the high call to purity by God may seem harsh when they are first received, but ultimately it was for the good of the Israelites. To translate into my life as a Christian, where am I allowing sin, or even simply unholy influences, to continue to hold sway in my life? We cannot live a life completely hidden away from temptation, and we are called to be a light in the darkness, so how do I operate in a fallen world while still attempting to keep my influences pure?
Make the truth of Scripture my foundation and my filter. Jesus says that the man who hears His words and obeys is like a man who builds his house upon the rock. They are prepared to face storms and floods. If my worldview and belief system are based solely on Scripture, then I will be able to filter what influences are true and good and what is false and bad. Though other ideas or messages may sound appealing, I can spot the problem before I ever internalize or act on the idealogy.
Know my community. Who am I letting in? The Israelites not only lived in the same land as pagan people but even intermarried with them. As they drew closer to people who worshipped false gods, they became more influenced to worship false gods themselves. Now, we cannot simply isolate ourselves from all people who are not Christians, but we must recognize who is influential in our lives and how they are influencing us. If the people that I respect the most, the people that I want to be like, or the people that I let my guard down around are people who are influencing me away from God, then I am making a mistake with my community. I am allowing influences to slowly eat away at my faith. On the flip side, if my core community influences are pushing me towards Christ, then they are helping me not only to grow closer to God but also emboldening me to point others to Christ as well.
Know your focus. The Israelites became so consumed by their desires that they forgot God’s commands and God’s promises. Over and over, the people of Israel would drift toward what was right in their own eyes, even though they knew clearly that God had given clear commands to follow and promised to bless obedience and curse disobedience. Each time, the people would set their eyes on their desires and take their eyes off of God. Has my focus shifted away from God’s plan, God’s commands, and God’s promises? Am I letting myself become consumed by ungodly desires? Is there a person, possession, hobby, or goal that I am so consumed by that I can no longer see God?
The war between obedience and disobedience that the Israelites fought in Judges is a war we still fight today. Am I filtering my influences? Do I know who my community is and what direction they are taking me? Is my focus on God or any other desire? We fight these battles daily to remain faithful, and we take hope in knowing that God will remain faithful to us.
Serving together
Brother Tyler