Where’s the Respect? :: Deeper Devotion

by Glenn Ansley

1 Corinthians 6:12
All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.

“If God created it, why can’t I smoke it?”
“God obviously gave me the desire for sex, so why should I wait?”

There is and endless source of similar justifications being used by you and your friends on a daily basis. Many of you justify your actions out of selfish want. Some of you do it out of ignorance. Romans 7:6 reads, “But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.” If you are a believer, both this verse and 1 Corinthians 6:12 applies to you. They don’t, however, give you the freedom to do whatever you want. In fact, they give to you an even greater responsibility: the duty to glorify God in everything you do.

I challenge you to apply the second and fourth clauses of 1 Cor. 6:12. First of all, “Not all things are profitable.” It’s important to recognize Paul doesn’t include the words “for me” after his saying. That’s because Paul is no longer at the center of the equation, God is.

This principle must be the subject of the first question you ask for every decision you make.
“Will God be glorified if I do this?”
Not, “Will I get in trouble?”
But only, “Will God be glorified in my actions?”

The second question that should be asked is, “Will I be mastered by this? Have I become a slave to this habit?” If the answer to either of these is yes, you must determine not to go any further in what you are doing… regardless of who said it was okay, how fun it will be, or how popular you will become.

All things truly are lawful for the Christian, but not all things are profitable for the glory of God. Isn’t it about time you started thinking more about God than yourself?

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