Dear Pilgrim,
I received your response to my communication. I do hope that someday, you may feel comfortable to post your communication on this medium, so that others may also benefit from our discussions.
In your communication, you proposed that we delve more into the Bible verse, James 4: 4-10, that Bishop Darlingston Johnson used to preach on Adulterers and Adulteresses, and Friendship with the world. Bishop’s theme may not have been “Adulterers and Adulteresses,” but the topic seems appropriate for our discussion. Doesn’t it?
Bishop Johnson drove through his sermon using an anecdote of an adulterous woman, to illustrate how God feels when we move outside of our relationship with him, to become more attracted to the world as a friend. Not Bishop’s exact word, but his story of the adulterous wife went in this manner:
Imagine a woman who’s married to a faithful loving man. But the wife is not prepared to fully give her heart, nor spend her time with her husband. Why did she get married in the first place? Bishop went on to explain that in such relationships, there is the tendency for the person the wife is engage in extra marital affairs with to point at the husband and make derogatory comments such as, “You say you married the woman, but I’m sleeping with her,” or “You have the ring, but I have the woman.” That is the same way it is when we stray in our relationship with Christ. Like the good husband, who has an adulterous wife, God has given him-self fully and completely to us, so it is not unreasonable to give ourselves fully to him. Bishop said, “When we engage is adultery or adulterous act, by our actions, we become the enemy. God doesn’t hate us, but by our actions we are the enemy.”
Bishop went onto portray what an adulterous woman’s action is like: The adulterous woman’s extra martial affair is a demonstration of dishonor, towards her husband, who loves his wife, and a destruction of the relationship. By being adulterous, the wife demonstrates hatred; she brings dishonor, and ultimate betrayal and shame to the husband and the relationship, as well as her family.
Pilgrim, the adulterous woman is aware of her husband’s love for her, and like us, we tend to take advantage of God’s love for us by engaging in extra ordinary sins like the adulterous wife. We exploit God’s love and mercy by living an adulterous lifestyle. Bishop said, “As bad as it is for a woman to engage in an adulterous act to a man even if he is not the best man, can you imagine that it is exceedingly wicked for a woman to engage in adulterous act to a man who loves her? That makes her adultery exceedingly adulterous; her abomination to be exceedingly abominatious and her wickedness exceedingly wicked.” Drawing on the scenario of the adulterous woman and her loving husband to explain God’s love for us, Bishop said, “Apply this to our relationship with Jesus, and how our relationship with the world is hatred towards God.” When Bishop underscored how our relationship with the world can draw us away from God, I recalled my parents' words of wisdom: “be careful, the whole world is under the control of the devil.” I also reflected on some bible verses, including ones from my school days: 1 John 2:15 - Do not love the world, or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 1 John 2: 16 - For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.
My eyes filled with tears as I sat through the sermon that Sunday. Isn’t it shameful to disregard God’s love, and also allow the evil ones to taunt God because of his love for us? Imagine being engaged in such wayward acts, and actions that are considered exceedingly adulterous, or exceedingly abomination and or wickedness that is exceedingly wicked. If Spiritual adultery grieves the heart of God, and makes him jealous, I can’t help wondering about other acts that are more unrefined. It hurts. Doesn’t it? Imagine when we give ourselves so freely to the ones we love, and our love is unacknowledged, and sometimes disregarded, and shunned. Think about that for a second. If it hurts us as human beings, think about God who created us, he looked at us, and smile thinking about the wonderful things he has planned for our lives. He invests in us, and watches us grow. Of course, he is jealous of us, because he wants the best for us. James 4: 5 says – “Or do you think the Scripture means nothing when it says that the Spirit that God caused to live in us jealously yearns for us?” He tries to protect us from the evils of the world, but then along the way, we turn our backs, and we get deeply entrenched in the world. God loves us so much, and he has made a lot of investment in each of us. That is why his jealously should be understood. God placed within us his Holy Spirit, God wants to see us prosper and not fail; God is jealous because he considers our body his temple, and not something to be tampered with by any acts that will make us unclean. Isn’t it therefore reasonable that he is jealous, and feels dishonored when we are deeply seduced by the world?
Bishop Johnson then talked about ways we can learn to live right with God. As I listened to the sermon, I began asking myself many questions: How does the world destroy our lives? What is the purpose of my life? Would I want to wear the crown that brings honor or dishonor? Remember Pilgrim, it was during our discussion on those issues and the questions that we began to brainstorm further in ways to walk in His path. We agreed after reading and researching the Word that God did not design the world to make us deny him [God]. Rather, it is when we develop affections for the world, including obsession with the things of the world, anxiety over money, material things and worldly goals; when we believe following God is too restricting, and begin to look for like-minded people who desire temporary pleasures that dishonor our relationship with God, and betray God.
Pilgrim, did you have the time to look at Bible stories and verses on the things of the world, and our relations with God in the following Bible verses: Matt 6:24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” Matt 6:21 “Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.”
What happens if we are deeply seduced by the World? Bishop Johnson said, while God resists the proud, He is willing to give grace to the humble. Pilgrim, my heart felt heavy when Bishop explained that even when we become Adulterers or adulteresses in our relationship with God, God still loves us. Imagine that! Bishop referred the congregation to James. 4:6 but he gives us more grace. That is why the Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” James 4:7 states, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:8 also says: “Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”
Pilgrim, after our discussion on the topic, I thought about out struggles with the system of the world, and all I could do was pray to God. My prayers went in this fashion:
Dear God, I open my heart to you, and ask that your peace fill me. Give me wisdom, and strength to keep my eyes on you. Give me strength to resist the things of the world. Help me to be Faithful in my service to you dear God. In my marriage and home, provide me strength and honor as my clothing; and a good man who is upright in your sight, and who respects and loves his family. Teach me to always bless my family, and raise my children to grow in your words dear God. Teach me to relax in your loving care, dear God, and to release all my cares to you, knowing that you are upholding me and sustaining me in all that I do. Amen
I look forward to hearing from you Pilgrim, as I continue to feast on His word.
Sincerely,
Musue
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