For Someone Told Me So

Scripture: Isaiah 29:13 – “The Lord said: Because these people draw near with their mouths and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me and their worship of me is a human commandment learned by rote…” (NRSVUE)

How do we know God’s will for us? I wish there was an easier answer to this question. Some will say because someone taught them about God – a Sunday School teacher, a minister, a parent or other family member. They were taught that God is love or that God has a plan. Others will say that God’s will is plainly spelled out in the Bible. Follow the Bible and you will know the truth.

Unfortunately, the Bible is not a simple handbook that answers all your questions. The more you engage with the Bible, the more you realize its complexity and its multiple and often conflicting voices, and how easy it can be to misinterpret passages without a knowledge of context. And not everyone who interprets the Bible for you may do so without a dogma or agenda. For example, someone who believes that obedience is the most important thing will downplay passages about divine mercy. Those who believe that eternal life is all that matters will ignore passages about justice for the poor. And vice versa. People demanding obedience often benefit from that obedience.

The more you think that the Bible has simple answers and the more you just parrot back what you were taught, the easier it is to fall into an empty faith. For example, in the Book of Isaiah, condemns empty worship, which earns God’s wrath. People may say they believe in God, they may obey all the commandments they were taught by others, but their hearts are far from God. They often behave in greedy, manipulative, and destructive ways that benefit themselves and not the least of God’s children.

To know God’s will is not simply to turn off your brain. It is to wrestle with scripture and to ask for help when things are confusing. It is not to accept simple answers to complicated questions. And it is to examine the fruits of your faith. If following what you were taught allows you to do whatever you want without thinking of how it affects others or reduces God to an empty name that has no impact on your life, you might need more than those rote teachings. Find people who walk the walk, not just talk the talk. Faith is more than empty words. Through prayer we can discern God’s will and bring that love that we know from God to a weary world.

Prayer: God, open my mind and heart that I might ever know your will for me. Amen.