The law of the Lord is perfect,
    refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy,
    making wise the simple.
⁸ The precepts of the Lord are right,
    giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are radiant,
    giving light to the eyes.

Psalm 19:7-8 NIV

Reflecting on this passage today, and truly acknowledging that there are few things in this world that I have any level of trust in, aside from God. Over the past few years, I have learned that many people who I once respected and held as an authority on certain topics were ill-informed and have proven themselves to be unconcerned with facts. And now, in light of the things I have learned through being open to other viewpoints, I see that these “authorities” are nothing more than mindless drones who are only concerned with fitting into a culture that has been working doggedly to push God to the outer corners of our minds. Maybe they don’t see it, or maybe they don’t want to see it, but the fact remains that their unwillingness to see and acknowledge the evil that has been at play has made just as much of a contribution to our society’s decline as those who are in the thick of the actions that chip away at that foundation. In other words, people who refuse to call evil out and rebuke it in the name of Jesus are just as evil as that which they observe and ignore.

For me, I spent the first twenty or so years of my life just enjoying (or at least trying to enjoy) being me. I was finding my identity and hoping to be able to make a life that included all of the things that I wanted. Of course, I was never able to do that. Especially since I entered adulthood with the idea that it was all about me and my happiness. This is absolutely the wrong attitude and it really gets you nowhere. I didn’t learn until much later, that our happiness depends largely on our alignment with God and on how closely we walk the path that He sets for us. It really has little to do with constructing a life for ourselves and collecting all of the things we need to make our lives look a certain way. That kind of life is built on nothing and those pieces have no value if God wasn’t a part of the equation.

We have to live in this world, but that doesn’t mean we have to abide by all of its dictates. That doesn’t mean that we are here on this earth and that the only laws we need to obey are the ones set by man. Gods rules come first. And if man’s laws are in conflict with God’s, then we need to figure out how we are to move forward without offending God. Man can be offended, our loyalty shouldn’t be to him. It should be to God. So, when I am confronted with an option that asks me to choose a path that honors man more than it honors God, I’m choosing the path that honors God. Even if it means that I have to go without some things from time to time. Even if it means that people look down on me or think that I’m crazy. There were many in the Bible who faced rejection due to their willingness to follow God. Jesus, Himself was ridiculed for not going along with the ways of man.

People need to understand, now more than ever, that man doesn’t always get it right. In fact, man rarely gets it right because he is so tied into his own ego. So, looking at these things that are occurring in our world and not seeing that the root cause is a lack of acknowledgement of God, makes no sense if you claim that your heart is focused on serving God. If you are standing up for causes that feed the devil’s agenda for this world, then you do not have a heart for God. If you are looking the other way while destructive forces are attacking our children and those in need, then you are not a follower of Christ. It’s really that simple. There are things you cannot support here if you intend to call yourself a Christian. If you are okay with the greed and dishonesty that are feeding today’s political agendas, then you are not following God. You cannot be afraid to say that what you see is wrong, even when society is trying to tell you that God is wrong or that following Him makes you a bad person. And believe me, that’s exactly what this world wants you to think.

There is no twisting of God’s word that will make it okay in His eyes for you to follow the wrong path. You can’t take God’s word and say to yourself, “I don’t like how restrictive this is, so I’m going to adjust it a bit.” That doesn’t work. I challenge you to look at the path you’ve chosen and ask yourself, is this where God wants me to be? Did I follow what He wanted for me or what I wanted for myself? If you’re anywhre other than where you believe He means for you to be, take a step back and ask Him for direction. He will always lead you back to where you need to be. But you have to want to take the steps needed to get there.

Rebecca Benston is the owner of Higher Ground Books & Media and the author of over twenty titles currently available through Amazon and other outlets. Her books include a mystery series (The Rona Shively Stories), empowerment resources such as Wise Up to Rise Up, Don’t Be Stupid (And I Mean That in the Nicest Way), and From Judgment to Jubilee, children’s books including Grumble D. Grumble Learns to Smile, All the Scary Things, and See How Strong You Are. Benston lives in Springfield, Ohio with her awesome daughter, Mya and enjoys traveling, reading, writing, and telling it like it is. She enjoys being able to help other authors get their stories out there through Higher Ground and has recently expanded her freelance services to offer more extensive guidance as a writing coach and social media manager. For more information, you can contact Benston at highergroundbooksandmedia@gmail.com.

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