(PART ONE)
For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel, “Seek me and live.”
AMOS 5:4
If you’ve ever purchased a car, you’ve seen the owner’s manual. It’s the book that tells you about the nonnegotiables for maintaining the car—things like changing the oil, filling the tank with gasoline, topping off the transmission fluid and having adequate tread on the tires. They are nonnegotiables, because if you don’t fulfill these tasks regularly, your car either won’t run properly or won’t run at all.
The same principle is true for the life of a man or a woman who is a follower of Christ. You need to know some of the nonnegotiables that the Scriptures teach so that your life, marriage and family function the way God intended.
In my study of the Scriptures, I’ve discovered seven nonnegotiables for life. Each of the seven is essential, if you want to experience life as God designed it to be lived. As you form your new life together in marriage, these nonnegotiables will provide a “North Star” to help you navigate during some dark times.
Nonnegotiable 1: Seek God, not sin. God is the life-giver (see Amos 5:4). You will find life in no other. But as a sinful creature, your heart is naturally prone to wander from your Creator and to “seek” lesser gods—self, success, wealth, beauty, etc. Your soul, however, is made to pursue God, know God and walk with God—nothing else, nothing less. It’s only as you pursue Him that you find life. If someone were to do an analysis of your life over the past year, who or what would he or she say you are seeking?
The book of Amos describes how God tried over and over again to get the attention of His people. He allowed them to experience famine, drought and pestilence; yet God had to admit, “[My people] did not return to me” (Amos 4:11). But Amos 5:4 reminds us of where life is found. God said, “Seek me and live.” A simple, clear command: Find life as you seek God.
Nonnegotiable 2: Fear God, not men. Proverbs 19:23 says, “The fear of the Lord leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied; he will not be visited by harm.”
Your God is holy and is the Lord God Almighty. When you think of His power and authority, you can’t help but fear Him and hold Him in reverential awe. Do you care more about what people think of you than what God thinks? Learn to fear God, and you will be preoccupied by thoughts of walking in His presence, not wondering what other people think of you. You will begin to live your life in His presence and in light of eternity, and the temporal views of men will grow dim by comparison.
The fear of the Lord also keeps you from evil and sin. A. W. Tozer wrote, “It is impossible to keep our moral practices sound and our inward attitudes right while our idea of God is erroneous or inadequate.” When you lose the fear of God and don’t respect Him and His commandments, you live your life without accountability to God and one another, which results in your going your own way in what the Bible calls sin—missing the mark. Who do you fear? Who are you living for?
Nonnegotiable 3: Love God, not the world. First John 2:15 tells us, “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”
What is the object of your affections? Power? Recognition? Hobbies? Self? Where does the world trip you up and try to seduce your heart? Not too long ago, I visited an unbelievably beautiful home; and as I walked around it, for just a moment I thought, I could have had a house like this. But I was reminded that a house is not what life is all about. The world seeks to seduce us into a love affair with temporal stuff, but God wants our hearts to be preoccupied with pleasing Him alone.
When I first fell in love with Barbara, no one doubted that I loved her; I was obviously preoccupied with pleasing her. God desires that same kind of singular devotion from each of us. If you love God, then you will do what He wants and be concerned about His mission and His will; you will fulfill His expectations for you as they are spelled out in the Scriptures.
Nonnegotiable 4: Believe God, not the deceiver. John 8:44 describes the devil as “the father of lies.” What God says is true, but there is a devil who wants to discredit what God has said and who wants you to believe him instead. God says that “the wages of sin is death,” but the devil taunts, “You will not surely die!” (Romans 6:23; Genesis 3:4). The devil wants to destroy you, your marriage and someday your family, so he works to make you doubt God’s commands and promises and instead believe him. When Scripture and life collide, which one do you believe and trust? The Scriptures say that “without faith it is impossible to please [God],” but your nature is to move toward unbelief, which is what the devil wants (Hebrews 11:6). Will you believe God?
Discuss