Romans 8:8 English Standard Version (ESV) Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

I ended yesterday’s conversation with an encouragement to love the just King who sits on the throne. For the most part we want to please those we love. It is one of the ways we understand our love is being accepted, if the recipient is pleased.

We strive to do things that please God. A god that is pleased will not punish. Note the little g I used in god as this is a generic thought derived from a world view. Man tries to appease power and by doing so has this expectation of avoiding wrath and succoring favor. They will inevitably do what would please themselves if they were in power.

Paul puts it so simply here in Romans that it has to be more complicated than that to satisfy the sophisticated mind that complicates everything. Simplicity is for the simple and that feels like an insult.

Do not please the flesh and that pleases God.

Most of us have an idea of what it means to deny the lust of the flesh. That is probably a narrow definition for many of us. Let me give you an example. Do we consider needing to be right all the time lust of the flesh? There is nothing wrong with being right but the neediness dictates how we treat others. Corrections are often sharp and without consideration of the feelings of others. There is no exploration of the other persons understanding, emotions or experiences.  How we treat God’s children is part of pleasing God because He said, “Love one another.”

Most of the things we focus on with zeal are possible candidates for becoming lusts of the flesh. The amount of time exercising your passion for anything is a clear indication of lust of one type or another. Things that ought not to be ignored end up being ignored. This affects relationships and responsibilities to contract.

1 Samuel 8:1-3 English Standard Version (ESV)

Israel Demands a King

¹ When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel. ² The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. ³ Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice.

Let it be said that Israel did not complain about how Samuel judged them. Their complaint was in how his sons judged Israel. They did not want to be judged by and unjust judges. Here is an interesting twist on their demands for a king.

In verse 5 they said, “….appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.” God had saved Israel out of Egypt and brought them into a land of promise to show the world that He was a God of promise and that His people were a special and unique people. Now they wanted to be like everyone else.

This is a problem that is ever present within Christianity. We are hated for His sake.

Luke 21:17 English Standard Version (ESV) You will be hated by all for my name’s sake.

Do we want to be like everyone else or do we want to be God’s chosen people?

1 Peter 2:9 English Standard Version (ESV) But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

The difference between Israel of 1 Samuel 8 and 1 Peter 2:9 is that we serve a just King. He is righteous in all His judgments and sitting on the throne of heaven cannot be touch by greed and will not pervert justice.

Love our just judge, do not want to be like everyone else.