Don’t listen to your heart!

There’s a school of thought today that a God of love would never condemn anyone to hell. Therefore, hell is just a myth and we can do whatever pleases us because that’s what God would want. No rules, no condemnation, no sin, just pure, uninhibited love. God wants you to be happy in your personal relationships, so if you’re not happy then divorce your spouse and pursue whatever form happiness takes. If your sexual identity or feelings contradict your physical identity then fulfill your desires and, if necessary, change your physical identity to match your sexual or emotional self. 

In fact, the most important aspect of life is to find a life that suits you, pleases you, fulfills you, makes you happy. It is even written into our nation’s founding documents. The right “to pursue happiness” is a fundamental right granted to us by our creator. Fundamental to our existence. Right? Or is it? 

If you claim Jesus as Lord, then none of that can be true. Your life is NOT about being happy or even fulfilled. It IS about pleasing God and being obedient. It is all about loving God more than you love anyone or anything else, most especially more than you love yourself! 

This is in direct contradiction to our culture. More specifically, it is in direct competition with the selfish desires of sexual fulfillment whether that takes the form of a heterosexual person divorcing their spouse because he/she “no longer feels” loved or attracted towards him/her, or a homosexual person who seeks to fulfill their need for love and fulfillment with another of the same gender. Even the right of a woman to “choose” what happens to her body after she finds herself pregnant MUST be submitted to God’s authority if she claims Jesus as Lord. 

In fact, even those of us who have already submitted our sexual behavior to God’s authority must remember that other areas of our lives are just as selfish, controlling and in need of transformation. For example, are we driven to fulfill our food appetites or professional goals of success? Are we overweight or fighting diabetes because of some addiction to food? Are we proud of some achievement or purchase and desire to show it off? 

Every part of who we are must be surrendered to God and His authority. Every desire or dream is subject to Him. Paul said it this way, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (‭Galatians‬ ‭2‬:‭20‬ ESV)” 

Sin is not nearly as ugly as we often think. Don’t take that wrong. Sin is horrible and destroys everything it touches. But, we’ve tried to tone down this idea of sin and how much God hates it. It can’t possibly be sin to be happy, fulfilled or successful. It can be, and is, when it is in contradiction to God’s purpose and plan and it is in contradiction when it causes us to love ourselves, anyone or anything more than God. Our greatest call is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. (‭Matthew‬ ‭22‬:‭37-38‬ ESV)