GO
AHEAD AND DO WHAT YOU WANT TO DO
Have you ever heard
of a parent who in frustration at their child’s unwillingness to obey
say, “Go ahead and do what you want to do.
You’re going to anyway!”?
It is usually NOT said with approval, but with the sad
realization that the child has no intention of obeying (at least at the
moment) a specific instruction.
At times it is said for the shock value, with the hope that the
child will wake up and realize that they are being disobedient and
perhaps even rebellious and needs to repent.
The Bible is filled
with examples of rebellion against God.
As you study the history of Israel you find not only God’s
patience, but the depth to which He went to try and bring them back.
The Lord tried everything He could to bring them back, at times
with limited results and at other times with NO response.
One example of this
is found in 1 Kings 22 where Israel is governed by Ahab (and Jezebel),
who has the distinction of being its most wicked king.
The context records an occasion when Jehosephat, king of Judah,
visits with him. Ahab
invites Jehosephat to join him in taking Ramoth in Gilead.
Jehosephat, being a righteous king has a request first, “Please
inquire for the word of the Lord today.” (22:5)
Jehosephat wanted to know if the Lord was with them.
So Ahab calls for his parade of “yes men” who all told him to go
and he would find great success. But
Jehosephat knows they are charlatans and further requests, “Is there not
still a prophet of the Lord here that we may inquire of Him?” (22:7).
Ahab’s response is, “There is still one man, Micaiah the son of
Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the Lord; but I hate him, because he
does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil.” (22:8) Nevertheless,
Micaiah is called and as he is prepared to see the king he is urged to
“speak encouragement” (13) to the king.
Micaiah clearly says that the only words he will speak are those
commanded of the Lord. (14)
When the prophet
finally appears before Ahab and is asked if they should go to war
against Ramoth Gilead he says, “Go and prosper, for the Lord will
deliver it into the hand of the king!” (22:15) Based on the context it
is obvious that Micaiah was being sarcastic and it reflected in his
voice (cf. 22:15-16). In
essence, what the prophet was saying was, “Go ahead and do what you want
to do.” After he was rebuked
(i.e. the shock effect got the king’s attention) Micaiah tells the
truth. In essence he said
that if Ahab went to battle he would be killed and lose.
In fact, in vs. 19-23 Micaiah explains that all those who said,
“go ahead” were lying and it was the Lord’s hope that he would be
persuaded to go and thus perish.
Ahab was WARNED NOT to go.
As you read the rest
of the text you find the sad conclusion.
Ahab went anyway and died in battle that day (22:29-40).
I find it amazing that even after being told he would die if he
went, by the only TRUE source he knew of, Ahab went anyways.
The text shows efforts to avoid defeat, including wearing a
disguise and dire consequences for the prophet who told him the truth,
but the word of the Lord came true as a random soldier drew his bow and
struck the king between the joints of his armor and he died that day.
One might ask why Ahab acted as he did in the face of a direct
warning from God. The answer
is simple and plain – HE WANTED TO!
There is a reality
that influences the overwhelming majority of people in this world: We
do what we want to do.
Often what this means is that we is that we think about what we want
right now for ourselves. We
may be warned about the consequences of continuing a certain behavior
but we bulldoze ahead full force and do what we want to do anyway.
There may be other things we know we need to be doing, but since
we don’t want to do them, we find every conceivable excuse to get out of
it. Often times we bury the
truth, even from ourselves so that we won’t have to face it.
But, the fact that
we do what we want to do can also be a good thing.
IF what we want to do is the right thing, then it is good.
That does not mean that we find the task ahead of us pleasant.
It simply means that with wisdom we have weighed the consequences
and determined that whatever discomfort we face in accomplishing the
task is worthwhile because of the goal is worthy and right.
That is why the true Christian is willing to suffer and
sacrifice. It is not because
he enjoys the physical misery that might be inflicted upon him but his
desire to please God and do what is best for others is MORE important to
him. In other words, it is
what he wants to do. His
desire is to please God and that is his priority.
Consider Paul in Philippians 3:7-11 where he says, “But
what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.
Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the
knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of
all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ
and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is
from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the
righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the
power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being
conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the
resurrection from the dead.”
What is the point of
this article? As a preacher,
I realize that I have a responsibility to preach the word “in season and
out of season” (2 Tim. 4:2).
That means that when I notice we are not what we ought to be as a
congregation or I see problems, either already here or beginning to
materialize, I need to tell you the truth.
Sometimes this must be done as a rebuke and/or with harsh and
strong language. I will tell
you: At times, because I know the attitudes that many have, what I want
to say is, “GO AHEAD AND DO WHAT YOU WANT TO DO!”
Why? Because I know
that no matter what I say, OR what the scriptures say, you are going to
do what you want to do anyway.
For example:
·
When it comes to attendance
there are some to whom I might as well say, “Go ahead and do what you
want to do” because regardless of what the Bible says (Hebrews
10:24-25), you are only going to be here when you want to be here
and you are NOT going to be here
when you don’t want to be. I
can’t do anything to change your mind!
·
When it comes to our attitude toward one another
as brethren I must emphasize our need to prefer one another and to love
one another (Romans 12:12-16, 1 John 3:11, John 13:34-35, etc.).
It must also continually warn us about how we use our tongues and
attitudes (Ephesians 4:29-32, Colossians 3:8-9).
But I must confess there are times I want to say, “Go ahead and
do what you want to do” because there are some who think of themselves
first and their demeanor shows NO intention of changing (Phil. 2:1-4).
·
When it comes to living a moral life
we know that God has set a HIGH standard.
We have to watch what we wear, where we go, what we do, and it is
not just when we are in public but also in the privacy of our own homes.
Preachers are obligated to preach God’s standard of morality
(Ephesians 4:17-23, Galatians 5:19-21, James 1:21, Colossians 3:8-9,
etc.) and how you cannot serve God with divided loyalties (James 4:4, 1
John 2:15-16, Matthew 6:24, etc.).
But sometimes I feel like saying, “Go ahead and do what you want
to do.”
·
When it comes to our need to reach the lost
there are times when I want to say, “Go ahead and keep the gospel to
yourself because it is what you want to do anyway.” But I know that God
expects us to share His word with the lost just as someone did for us in
times past. I know that the
great commission applies to me (Mark 16:15, Matt. 28:19).
I know that untold millions are dying untold and I have the truth
that I must find the courage to tell them about (2 Tim. 2:2, 2 Cor.
5:10-11). I know that
the TRUE church is dying in many communities and after all the excuses
are scrubbed, the REASON remains that we are NOT doing our job to reach
the lost. And the reason:
Because we really don’t want to do it.
Other reasons could be easily be added to
these, but it is my hope that the point has been made.
We do what we want to do.
It
has not been my intention in this article to discourage us from doing
what is right. NOR am I
saying that it is impossible for one who is selfishly bent on his own
ways right now to ever change.
Change can happen and sometimes what it takes is a strong rebuke.
Just like the preaching of Peter on the day of Pentecost caused
them to be “cut to the heart” (Acts 2:37) so it can change hearts today.
And that is why preachers keep preaching the truth and trying to
motivate the congregation in the right direction.
It is their job, regardless of what you do (2 Tim. 2:3-4, cf.
Ezek. 3:16-21). BUT
the fact remains, that no matter what is said by the preacher, the
elders, your best friend OR God Himself through His word, you will do
what you want to do. The
question is: WHAT DO YOU REALLY
WANT TO DO? Only you can
answer that, but be prepared for the consequences (cf. Eccl. 11:9,
12:13-14; Romans 2:1-11).
Think about it!