Avoidance

    Politics and religion are two subjects that are avoided in certain atmospheres. Should these two subjects be avoided in all situations? I can understand avoiding politics because there is almost no way anyone can prove their point, the varied sources of information, news papers, radio, TV, magazines and of course the internet, who can depend on any of these to be accurate or truthful, of course, some information may become factual in time, but most are short of fact and remain just opinions. Can we know which is fact or which is fiction? In this arena, contradictions are the standard, one side says one thing, the other side says the opposite, and even the same sides often differ. As for the subject of religion, in the Christian arena, proof is available, if both parties believe that God’s inspired word is protected, then, conformation is within reach. However, there are several different versions of the English Bible, most all are taken from the same Hebrew and Greek text, so variation shouldn't be very different. The biggest problem isn’t the different Bibles, what causes most discrepancies are that people use other writings of man to explain what the Bible means to say and they let the thought of men shape their understanding of the Bible, which are also used in many sermons. If we rely on, even to just a small degree the writings in other books, we then have the same unreliable situation as we have with deciphering politics. The writings of man can prove nothing, and filtering Jehovah's word through the hearts and minds of man, it becomes imperfect, opinions rein and proof is not possible. Even though the writers of these articles and books use Bible verses to support their beliefs and claims, many times they fail to consider all the verses available for the topic they’re addressing and sometimes the verses they quote are taken out of context or quoted incorrectly, or not completely.

    The general attitude is to avoid these social taboos because they usually result in a pointless standoff. In a social setting this may be wise, but to steer clear of serious religious inter-communications is sad, because the truth is never investigated or revealed, avoiding Christ's purpose to bring the light of truth to all humanity. Many Christians will believe what they hear in a sermon or what they read from the many respected writers, and even worst, what they want to believe, and consider their thoughts as correct, also, they avoid searching all of God’s word, where the truth originated. Consequently, because of this avoiding attitude, we give up the opportunity of learning more or enlightening others to Jehovah's truth. The accumulated result of avoiding communication about the Bible with others is that errors remain uninvestigated or tested for accuracy. Many have adopted the attitude of leaving investigation up to others, to their pastors or theologians, even though we, the laymen have the same important source of information as the trained pastors and educated theologians, God's word, the only difference is that they have access to more writings of other respected men and they sometimes sadly consider these outside opinions to shape their thinking. But I question, is this a solid study practice or a distraction from the pure truth, which is only available in God's word? Could this be a reason why there are over two thousand Christian denominations?

   Engaging in a disagreement of Bible doctrine can often be a stressful and a fruitless experience, but it also can have a positive result, if all involved are persistent in reaching a unified conclusion from discovering truth by searching God's word together, not by compromising beliefs but moving forward in understanding what Christ has given to His inspired Old and New Testaments writers. The additional results of this collective pursuit, beyond discovering God's truth, could be bonding with a new friend, developing a mutual respect and best of both, a clearer knowledge of God's instructions. Would you say it would be worth taking a risk to finding God's truth? Our court system attempts to find truth, guilt or innocence, for the sake of justice and this is a noble effort, needed to maintain social order. There is no established Biblical court system outside of Heaven’s Authority, so it becomes our responsibility to investigate the truth of God's word and He is just waiting to serve you with correct understanding in this task. Divine judgment is due for each one of us, finding the Biblical truth and the endless challenging path to the “narrow door” is left up to each individual, and this should be a personal duty for every one of us. Each of us is responsible for securing our own salvation, "...work out your salvation with fear and trembling." (Philippians 2:12), which Christ has made available to us by His blood sacrifice. Too many seem to rely on their church, the radio, TV ministries and books written about the Bible for Biblical guidance and not God's actual word. We consume the other sources for instructions and put our faith in the church leaders, expecting them to do all or most of the investigative work and we sometimes blindly believe their conclusions without looking further into what is being presented to the congregations. Considering that each writer has a slightly different or a wider different understanding of what the Bible says. Who can know which writer is closest to God's intended instructions, unless we know God's word? This is really not fair to them; they are human and just as fallible as we are. If they error and misdirect us, are they at fault or is it not our error for believing them without investigating further? You need to understand that we, at this period of time will be in error, because we chose to follow man and not the divine leadings that are readily available to us since the printing press made Bibles affordable. Often shown in the Old Testament, armies were destroyed because a king didn’t seek God's directions or failed to follow the directions Jehovah had given them and other men paid the price of their leader's mistake. By not seeking God’s word, we are putting ourselves in that same position, we can be held responsible for their errors if we don’t investigate the divine source for ourselves. What God has given us in this age, is the ability to read and we do have access to a Bible. To consider that errors are rare in the Christian community is foolish, all the many denomination are different, and most all use the same Bible, and they all consider and claim themselves to be Bible based. There is only one correct way, only one truth, in accordance with God’s word as it is written. On the other hand, if you, in your personal search for the truth of God’s word make an "honest" mistake, I believe God, may overlook your sin because of your sincere motive in finding the truth in His book; trusting that Jehovah is a just God.

    In suggesting to people the benefits of reading "all" of God’s word, many respond with “I don’t have the time,” or “I’m not a good reader”, this is one important reason why God gave us the Sabbath day, not only for resting from our daily works, to rest from the world's influence but to devote a day to God, reading and studying God's necessary word; this is a rewarding way to spend some of that 24 hour Sabbath day. Another excuse I hear is, “The speakers are more educated and understand the Bible better.” God and Christ are so anxious to give each of us understanding, if we would only ask and commit to reading what He has already provided for us, He would gladly bless us with the understanding we seek, but one must be patient. If we can read (fast or slow), God wants to share His truth with us, keeping in mind, He reveals His truth at His speed because He knows us better then we know ourselves. By reading and reading again, each time He gives us more, clearer and deeper understanding. We need to read this most rewarding Book for ourselves, it is the safest, surest avenue to the truth, but that doesn’t mean you should avoid asking others for help or occasionally read other books, but always go back to the Bible for conformation of the words of man. Sermons can also be important for us because God sometimes uses these servants to speak to us and direct us forward, but we need to look into each sermon for ourselves, because Satan also uses speakers and writers, inserting a little error with much truth. God's word is the standard and it is to our advantage to know what it says, so that we don’t rest on anything outside Jehovah's truth. That is why He gave us this wonderful treasure map, especially during this last day period. The Bible is how to gain access to His thoughts, warnings and concerns; His word is reliable and true. Trust in God Jehovah and His Son Jesus and please don't avoid this important and rewarding step in seeking and serving God. Our destination is with our Father, Jehovah, the living Almighty God of all existence.