Beneficial

July 27

2 Chronicles 35-36

Psalm 85:1-7

Proverbs 19:5-6

I Corinthians 6

Beneficial

“’I have the right to do anything,’ you say –but not everything is beneficial.  ‘I have the right to do anything’ –but I will not be mastered by anything.”  I Corinthians 6:12 LSB

This verse is a part of a longer teaching about sexual immorality, but it can be applied to many areas of our lives.  Whether we are allowed to do something is not the most important question we need to ask ourselves.  It is much better to ask if something would be wise to do.  The life of a Christian should not be primarily characterized by the things he does not do but rather by the things he does.  If we spend our time and attention trying to figure out what we can get by with doing and what is prohibited, we have missed the most important part.  The Jews had focused so much of their time and energy making sure they obeyed all the rules that they didn’t understand what it meant to have a relationship with a loving, merciful God.  When we turn our focus to Jesus and spending time with Him daily, our perspective changes.  Instead of worrying about what we can’t do, we are able to recognize the life He has for us.  We no longer desire to do things that are not pleasing to Him.  He doesn’t have to tell us we can’t do something because we no longer want to do it anyway.  The more time we spend with Him, the more we will want to please Him and the less we will want to satisfy worldly, fleshly desires. 

Alcohol in excess, drugs, pornography, gambling, sexual promiscuity, and a host of other things are no longer things that we want to have in our lives because we understand that they can become addictive and have destructive consequences in our lives.  We do not want anything to have mastery over us.  Matthew 6:24 says, “No one can serve two masters.  Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other.”  Paul gives us the perfect question to ask when we are trying to make important decisions in our lives.  Is it going to be beneficial?  Is it a wise thing to do?  We don’t need to have the mindset of “Is God going to get mad at me if I do this.”  In almost every decision we have to make in life if we ask ourselves if it is going to be beneficial and wise we will have our answer about whether we need to do it.  Even if the choice is morally neutral, we can get a clear direction when we determine the wisdom and benefits.  If the answer is no then we are better off just not doing it.  Thankfully, our God wants to help us make good decisions.  He is available whenever we call on Him.  He has omniscience so He can see into the future and knows the consequences of our actions before they happen.  Only He can lead us to make wise and beneficial choices.  We just have to avail ourselves of His divine guidance.