I weighed myself one day recently. I weighed a certain
amount (nope, I am not going to tell, so don’t even ask!) on
one scale. I guess
I wanted a second opinion, so I weighed on another one. It showed me 20
pounds
heavier than the first one did. (I liked the first one better; it must
be doing
a better job.) Therefore, just to see if I could get a majority ruling,
I found
a third one and weighed on it. It showed me 10 pounds heavier than the
first
scale, and 10 pounds lighter than the second scale. (I still liked the
first
one better.) To be honest, I do not know which one was right, so I just
went
with the one that pleased me the most.
Sadly, I believe that many religious people follow this
same path. They try one religious organization, church or preacher, and
then,
they try another, which tells them something different, and maybe
another that
tells something totally different yet. They get confused, and then they
just go
to the one that pleases them most.
How can I know how much I truly weigh? I have to find a
reliable scale, one that is calibrated properly and that is consistent
with the
true weight of what it weighs. While all three of the scales I used
were
different, the fact is that I did actually weigh a certain amount when
I used
those scales. All of them could have been wrong, or one right and two
wrong (I
know you figure the heaviest one was right), but only one could have
been
right.
Religiously, there is a truth that does not change. It
is the truth that is God’s Word (John 17:17), and that truth
is understandable.
In the religious world, we may find all kinds of
“interpretations,” sort of
like the measurements of my weight on those scales. The fact is,
however, that
there is a truth that is sure and certain, and is right. If two or more
people
are teaching different things on a matter of doctrine or Scripture,
then either
all of those teachings are wrong, or one is right and the others are
wrong.
That is an unpopular sentiment in today’s world.
If we take it and think about it in terms of how much I
weigh, it is not hard to understand. I have a true weight. However, it
cannot
be 20 pounds different from one measurement, and 10 pounds different
from
another and all three measurements be true. That just makes sense. For
example,
I cannot weigh 100 pounds (I wish!), 110 pounds and 120 pounds all at
the same
time. If three scales weigh me these weights, then at least two of them
are
wrong (I know what you are thinking, in my case all three would be
wrong at
these weights, although the three combined might come close-Ha,Ha!).
From
the perspective of religion, we must go to the
Bible, and allow it to speak as the authority of God. We need to use it
as our
spiritual scale, or measuring instrument. In the end, it will be that
by which
we are judged. It is truth in its purest form. We must measure by
God’s
measurements and not by ours.
I would like to lose some weight. However, just going
from one scale to another that gives me a reading that pleases me more
does not
change my real weight. I want to go to heaven. Just changing to some
other
organization or preacher that tells me what I want to hear will not
change the
course I am on. Only obedience to the truth of God can do that. Be
careful what
measuring instrument you use to guide your life.
The
Measuring Instrument