Does my desire match God's will?
We were not created as robots, but as human beings. And we have been given free will to choose. To choose between good and bad. A good Christian chooses to do good. But there are lots of good things you get to choose from. You are free in that. Yet the Bible says in Eph. 5:10: Examine what the Lord asks of you (NBV). The Bible gives 3 principles that help us know if my desire is consistent with God's will.
1. Can I thank the Lord for it?
Paul gives a great example in Rom. 14:6. There are Christians who eat meat and they thank God for it. But others do not eat meat because of their faith and they too thank God.
Two believers can do the same thing while it is right for one and wrong for the other.
It's not about what you do or what you don't do, but it's about why you do or don't do something. With what motivation do you do something. Can you thank God for what you are doing? Because if you cannot thank Him for something and you are ashamed of what you are doing, you wander.
Then you abuse the freedom you have been given for yourself, and you will experience more and more separation between you and God.
2. Does my behavior encourage mutual peace?
The second question to ask yourself is this: Does my behavior encourage peace among each other? Do others around me become happy with my behavior and my choice? Or am I causing others trouble and irritation? The first principle was about your relationship with God. This principle is about your relationship with your spiritual brothers and sisters. The Bible teaches us in Rom. 14:17 that always our motivation should be to goodness, peace and joy increase among yourselves. If you allow yourself to be led by selfishness you will lose more and more contact with God and also have less and less good contact with brothers and sisters.
"Do not harm the good that God gives you, for the kingdom
Romans 14:17
of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of justice, peace and
joy through the Holy Spirit. "
3. Do unbelievers see something of the character of Jesus in us?
And the third question that may help you is this: When unbelievers look at me, am I a good example? Jesus says in Mat. 5:14 You are the light of the world. A city cannot be hidden if it is on top of a mountain. ...
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