WHY CHANGE IS NOT ALWAYS GOOD
(My daughter Bianca is getting married in July. On Sunday, my wife and I hosted a gathering to send her off. The event was held in a beachfront restaurant called La Jolla Shores and were fortunate that they placed us in a corner of the outdoor patio where we can talk without bothering the other diners. This was an answered prayer because I prayed that God give a message for Bianca, her fiancée and the guests and that He opens an opportunity for it to be delivered. What is written here has been amplified (to add clarity) so it is longer than what was delivered.)
To trust and obey has been and will always be the correct respond to God’s love, grace, commandments and prescribed ways. A careful observation of how the Old Testament saints responded to God confirms this. It was also reiterated by the Lord in His words; “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow Me.” Simply put, that is another way of saying “Trust and Obey.”
To get married, as we know marriage to be, is to leave one’s parents and one’s singlehood and be joined to another of the opposite sex to start a life together as a new family (Genesis 2:24). Marriage was and is to live life with a partner, a wife or a husband. To Adam, God gave a helper comparable to him so they can make a house (a family) that can be blessed by God. We all want to be blessed when we start this new life with our chosen partner. And we solemnize it with a vow before the Lord.
When you look at marriage and relate it to what Psalm 127 states, it will make sense:
Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.” Psalm 127:1
Simply put, it is by getting the Lord involved, as Lord in the lives of the new couple so that they can be blessed, by God, to have a successful and fulfilling marriage and family, both materially and spiritually.
Culture Opposed to Marriage
I know the enemy and the culture are trying to change this. They say marriage is not needed in a relationship. It is just but a piece of paper. And, marriage can be between a man and another man or woman to another woman. Not so. If it was, the civilization would have become extinct. For, since the beginning it was and still is the plan of God.
Marriage is not the only thing our culture is trying to change. The enemy has worked slowly in the beginning but exponentially fast in recent days. Look at what he worked to change successfully:
- Removing prayer in school (https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2019/10/03/religion-in-the-public-schools-2019-)
- Tearing down symbols of our faith and history, such as crosses and the Ten Commandments (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-cross/supreme-court-clears-way-for-california-cross-removal-idUSBRE85O0WJ20120625)
- That it is okay to abort a baby in the womb and that the mother has the right to choose and has autonomy over her body. The problem with this is by insisting on this supposed right, she has taken away the right of the baby to life. This all started with the misguided acknowledgement that such right exist, which it does not, neither in the bible nor in the US Bill of Rights. (https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/410/113/)
- That same sex marriage should be legal. We do not oppose the adherents of LGBTQ to live together and live as they prefer. But, to make their union celebrated as marriage is disrespectful to us believers and our faith. However, the culture and the judges prevailed to the opposition of many. (https://apnews.com/article/marriage-anthony-kennedy-ohio-state-government-united-states-tennessee-9dc57b83f3ae2fc7d2e007aa80bf33a3)
- The war against fossil fuel and Global warming. Environmentalists are pushing the idea that Global Warming is an existential threat and that the planet will get destroyed if we do not act drastically about it by stopping use of fossil fuel and controlling harmful gas emission. The fact is scientists are not unanimous that Global Warming is real because we did not take temperature reading until several hundred years ago. The truth is climate is cyclical and the earth will thrive until the Lord’s return. Otherwise, there is no earth He can return to.
Previously, it was believed the earth will freeze. Now, Al Gore and his allies, who have positioned themselves by investing in renewables, are pushing hard for governments to take drastic steps to follow what they preach because the planet will get too hot and burn.
Among other things, the solution they propose is to stop the use of fossil fuel, shut down air and sea travel and stop the use of nitrogen fertilizer and we all stop eating meat and become vegetarians. The source of energy they recommend is solar and wind, which are unreliable, costly and not sufficient to feed the demand of industry and preserve the status quo of the way we live. If the agenda of these climate change proponents is followed, the livelihood of billions of people, farmers, businessmen and manufacturers, specially in poor countries will be negatively impacted. Without fertilizer, the world’s food production will plummet causing shortages and prices will dramatically rise. Cheap electric power is needed in manufacturing to be competitive. Cheap Diesel fuel is vital for transporting goods from farm to market. All these are needed to control inflation. Looking at it through the lens of wisdom, the drive to fight fossil fuel is a power grab to bring people to be more dependent on government and perpetuate the elite ruling class to keep power for themselves.
Scriptures command us to love God and love one another. There is no command to love the planet. The earth is the Lord’s and He will take care of it. As a matter of fact, He will destroy a major part of it in the Great Tribulation with earthquake, fire, hail, plagues and meteor strike (Revelation 6-19). If we follow the environmentalists, the liberal media and the misguided liberal governments with their mandated change, we will just waste time and money and cause a lot of grief, especially on the poor worldwide.
Negative Change
All these are attempts to change our thinking and the truth given by God, to alter our Judeo-Christian beliefs. The truth is we are created in God’s image, we are created male and female and expected by God to excel in the gifts He has gifted us while abiding in the truth. The changes demanded of us are lies.
Look at these warnings given to us in scriptures-
“My son, fear the Lord and the King; Do not associate with those given to change; For their calamity will rise suddenly, And who knows the ruin those two can bring?” Proverbs 24:21-22
“He (the coming new world leader, also known as Anti-Christ) shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hands for a time, and times and half a time.” Daniel 7:25
Do you see that the change we thought is devised by men and our courts is actually the work of the enemy? He intended to change times and law and we see that clearly.
Conclusion
Change can be both good or bad. While we must be ready to change when the situation calls for it, we should not be easily swayed by change if such change is a departure from the ways and teaching of God. As we can see in the above reminders from scriptures, we must:
– not associate with those given to change; lest they influence us
– stand our ground and resist change when we have to; that we should no longer be children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine…by trickery and deceitful plotting Eph 4:14
– abide in the Word steadfast in our faith and strengthened for the spiritual battle, strong in our faith
As the culture departs more and more away from our Judeo-Christian beliefs, we must stand firm on what the Word of God declares. We are becoming a minority, a remnant in our culture but let us stand up as the faithful remnant obedient to the Lord. We trust and obey.
For Bianca and her groom, it is the right step to take and as they say, “Take the plunge!”. May the Lord bless and prosper your marriage with the blessing that can only come from Him, the One and only true God, the Creator who loves us, the God who does not change.
