Feb
25
Point of Reference
Filed Under Devotional
There’s a parenting trick we used quite a bit when our son was young. We realized how much easier it was to get him to do the right thing when he had decided to do it. It’s much harder to force him against his will. So, the idea was to present him with a choice where the right choice was obvious. So, it would be things like, “Your choice: do you want to skip your video games for the night or help set the table?” He’d grumble, but he’d choose to help set the table. It was obvious to him that the penalty wasn’t worth it and he’d choose to do the right thing even though he didn’t like it. Because he had made the choice, it didn’t occur to him to refuse to do it. That system only works when you have a more knowledgeable observer setting the parameters. If he had been constructing the choices himself, we would have had mayhem.
So, what happens when we decide to assess the moral value of our choices in a vacuum or, even, measured against the world? The truth is that we drift and we drift badly. Suddenly, things that were clearly out of bounds a few years ago are within the realm of reasonable decisions now. Bad doesn’t seem so bad. Our ideas of right and wrong shift and slide without the more knowledgeable observer.
You see this in the story of King Josiah. He wants to do right and follow God, but the kingdom has drifted away because they’ve lost track of the Law and nobody even has a clue that this has happened. The king sends his secretary to collect the money from the high priest, but the high priest has a surprise:
“Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, ‘I have found the Book of the Law in the temple of the LORD.’ He gave it to Shaphan, who read it.
[...]
Then Shaphan the secretary informed the king, ‘Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.’ And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.
When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his robes.” 2 Kings 22:8, 10-11
Putting aside the shock that the high priest had found the Book of the Law (what had he been referencing before then?), the king knew immediately what was going on. The Law had been ignored for so long that the country didn’t even know what was right and wrong. The king was distraught and wanted to correct the problem immediately, but God only gave them a temporary reprieve, not a pardon. In a sense, it was already too late to correct the problem without consequence.
The best of men with the best of intentions cannot hope to walk a straight line without the guidance of a more knowledgeable observer. The only one qualified to be that observer is God.
You cannot measure how far off you are if you are your own point of reference. Don’t lose sight of Him or His Word or you’ll wake up some day while trying your best and wonder how you got so lost.