Too Many People Want Success from God, but Reject His Call to Holiness

This morning, I just finished Lamentations. The book was written after the exile, and is often attributed to Jeremiah the Prophet. Regardless of its authorship, considering both Jeremiah and Lamentations together, I can’t help but think that people only want God for what He can do for them, but absolutely reject His call to Holiness. In the last days of Judah as a Kingdom (they were exiled, and then brought back, but it was never again a Kingdom under the house of David), the people gathered for themselves prophets to soothe their itching ears. They inquired of the Lord through faithful prophets, but rejected the messages they were given. They worshipped idols, burnt incense to pagan gods and then wondered why God brought severe discipline on them. Sound familiar?

I think that, as in Judah in Jeremiah’s time, we do the same thing. We have a form of godliness, but deny its power. We want God for our success, and ignore His calls to holiness. We desire to have God’s favor, but we don’t want to be conformed into the image of Christ who died to save us. Loved ones, we play games with God, as humans always have, and wonder why He seems so far away! God’s call to Holiness is far above any earthly treasure or success. We can build homes, lives, and businesses, but if we miss out on Heaven, what have we really done? We can give our children every experience under the sun, but if they miss out on Jesus, was it worth it? This life is but a moment. We are but a vapor. Heaven and Hell are forever. Choose Holiness.

1 Timothy 4:1-5

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

2 Timothy 3

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.

You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me. Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.