What If?

What if all you know is wrong?
What if you found out that everything you consider evil is not?
What if sin isn't defined by law, but by attitude?
What if you learned all the bad things that happen are not bad in God's eyes?

I am sure these are "what if's" you have considered at some point or another, but why have you drawn the conclusions you have...

I am sure some people think like me and have decided that everything that tradition has hammered into our heads is more wrong than right. Some people may have never had so much tradition stunt them for very long...

... But I am ready to address the "What If's"...

What if all you know is wrong? 
What if the interpretations you learned in church were never taught in the Spirit they were meant to be taught in?

I have already addressed in an earlier post how the church has taught more fear than love, all the while telling us fear comes form the devil...

Does that make the teachers bad people? I don't think it does, they are only teaching what they have been taught.... But how many people have seriously questioned what they have been taught since before they can even remember... Most people are afraid to seriously question what their church leaders have taught, and most leaders are afraid to question what they have taught...

Why would the leaders of the church be afraid of questions? Most of our church leaders have the best interest of their congregations at heart... This is a fact... Because they love the people in their congregations, how would it feel to realize that you have been teaching incorrectly for so long?

What if you teach the tradition and find it wrong? Or worse, what if you decide to teach against the tradition, and find that tradition is the way it should have been?

Why ask serious questions that there are already answers for, if there is a possibility that you will find a new answer? If you find a new answer, will you be held accountable for the many years you spoke the old and incorrect answer as the truth?

There are so many reasons our leaders who have our best interests in heart might not have the right answers... It isn't a sign of a bad person to be wrong... But refusing to  consider whether a belief is correct or incorrect can do allot of damage... EVEN when the believer has the best intentions at heart.

What if your definition of evil and God's definition differ?
What is evil... Really?

Everyone's definition of evil somewhat differs... Some people think that to disobey the 10 commandments is evil... Some people  think that to disobey the OT law is evil... Some people think evil is coming against them when their car breaks down... and some people think that death and disease is a signature of the forces of hell...

... But what if all of that is wrong?
...What if it's right?
...What do we have to gain by thinking about it?

Well, I think we have allot to gain by reconsidering evil. What do you say evil is...

Do you give the easy answer and say that anything that is outside of God's will is evil? ... But then... You still haven't said anything, because God says that no one knows what is in his heart, just as no man knows what is in your heart... What He chooses to reveal is what we know, but no man has the entire picture...

Yet so many people believe they are qualified to reveal God's will for everyone else...

What if sin isn't defined by law, but by attitude?

What if the OT law was more than just a law... What if obeying the 10 Commandments isn't really about doing the Commands, but in what way to do so?
What if evil is not about what happens... What if it is about attitude?

Is death evil? I would say no, I think most people would... Is murder evil? I think everyone would say yes... The Bible doesn't seem to frown on wars, in fact, there are several wars in the OT that are commanded by God... Did God command something evil? If you believe in what I believe, then the answer is no... Are soldiers evil for killing? You are a bit misguided if you say soldiers are evil for fighting wars...

The point is.... Death... in and of itself is not evil... It makes people sad, but sadness is not evil...

What turns death into an evil thing is the intention behind it... If someone dies when they are sick, or old, it isn't evil. It is nature. If someone dies in a car crash, through no one elses fault, it is an accident... Heartbreaking, but not evil...

If someone has the intention of hurting or killing someone for selfish gain or because they pleasure in it, then it becomes evil.

What if God's definition of evil doesn't rest in the Law and the doing of such, but all along it has always been about the intentions of the people AS THEY ARE ACTING upon the Law?... Notice the bold and capitalized letters... Good intentions without actions aren't worth mentioning, because without action there is never the opportunity for correct attitude...

As a Christian, I believe that the heart behind every action is what God looks at... If I am giving money to charity for my own selfish reasons... I believe that act becomes evil. In this scenario, I could care less for the people I am giving to...

What if the definition of evil is about attitude? If it is, and we want to measure by degrees (as Christians tend to do) ... Who would be more evil... Homosexuals, or the Christians condemning them? On the one hand we have people who are not wanting to hurt anyone and succeeding.

On the other hand, we have people who Jesus taught the Way of Love, but people use that message to justify hurting and ostracizing those who they condemn as sinners... All for the pride of being righteously right... It isn't about love for most Christians, it is about doing things the right way.

That pride, to me, shows that the intentions of those actions is done wrong, and to me, this is evil.

When you are truly operating in a Spirit of Love, you don't hurt anyone... You go about doing as you are supposed to do, and you allow your actions to be your voice... You are humble enough to lay down your pride, and not need to say a word to those you help, until the Spirit moves the person you help to ask for your voice... 

What if you learned all the bad things that happen are not bad in God's eyes?

What if the fact that you are devastated about some situation you consider bad isn't percieved as bad to God? What if He was the One who decided you need to suffer? Would that change how you feel about God?

So many times, life inconveniences are written off to the devil coming against us. We are told basically to pray it away... Lord willing, of course... But the truth of it is, we live in an impermanent world... And as such, all situations within it are temporary... They may not seem like it, but they are...

You, as you are now, are temporary... Just a reminder for anyone who wants to argue the fact that some situations are permanent...

So, pain, death, disease, poverty... suffering in general... To God, it isn't 'bad'...

He instructs us to help people in these situations of suffering, but He doesn't say it is 'bad' that these situations exist...

Remember the blind man, John 9, I think... He was born blind, the disciples asked whose fault it was, and Jesus pretty much says, "It's God's, this isn't because of sin... It's because God has a purpose for the man being blind." Then Jesus proceeds to heal the guy... Mommy kisses have nothing on Jesus' spit... LOL

Anyways... The man suffered since he was born... He was made to beg for what he could, because he wasn't considered fit to do anything else... But through his suffering God's work was manifested...

Again, in an earlier post about my thoughts on the devil, I tried to show that suffering isn't necessarily brought on by demons... Allot of things we think are terrible are really what God wants...

If death and suffering are a punishment from God because we went against Him, then why would He want to eliminate the punishment before we have learned the lesson?

When I punish my kids for doing something that would hurt them, I don't stop the punishment until I know my point is made... Is that bad? I think not...

SO....

You might need to rethink evil, bad, and God's will...

You might want to refrain from telling others what God's will is until you can tell them without speaking...

... And you might want to apply what you know of God's will to yourself so that He can be made manifest through your suffering...