Elections and the Fear of God

Have you ever thought how life would be easier if everybody would just get along, if everybody would love and care for each other, if everyone would just be nice to one another without thinking that he or she might get something out of being nice... what a world that would have been!

And yet God chose to place us in this world where, most of the time, people do things out of selfishness, pride, jealousy, foolishness and many other reasons. The sad thing is, most of the time, people are not unaware of what they are doing. It is the same as a person who puts shades while doing these horrible things. They know it is bad enough to even think about these things (they see through their shades), but they still do it (pretending not to see it). The recent Philippine election was a testament to this fact. We see people deliberately killing each other for the position - no wonder they say that in the Philippines, "People would even kill just to serve." Actually, we should add a follow-up question "They serve who?"

The Bible accounts in Judges the many errors of God's people so that we could learn from their mistakes. I agree with what my Bible Study leader has been repeatedly saying in the Bible Study..."Not only did the Israelites went through the cycle of forsaking God, but they (this includes the judges) also became worst and worst than before." The Israleites knew what they were doing was wrong and yet they chose to do it out of convenience, practicality, and fear of others.

The manner of forsaking God maybe different from that time to this generation, but one way or another if we are not careful, we will relive the mistakes of the Israelites because the root is basically the same - convenience, practicality and fear of others. I must confess that I find myself struggling in this battle arena. How many times have I said I'm sorry because I hurt others? How many times have I made wrong decisions in my life? How many times have I tried to people please than to please my God?

I could still remember a story from when I was a youth. What if God was a guest in your house, would you let him in your living room only where you show off the finest materials, furniture, and household wares? What if He asks you to let Him enter your bedroom or your closet? Would you bring Him to where you go, where you work, where you hang out? Will you let Him in your secrets? I'm sure that if it is someone special, you wouldn't dare to show off your bad traits or the bad side of you! Why? Because there is an element of embarrassment or a hint of fear.

When we come before our God, let us strip ourselves of all these things. He is a holy God, therefore we should also strive to be holy. It is a fact that we cannot be perfect in this world, but God is glorified when we strive to be like Him in this ungodly world. Let us not wait until that time when we don't even feel the shame of doing evil things or when we blatantly (in the open without the shades) do these things. I pray that we will all be men and women who fear God more than we fear circumstances and people.