Divine Order

 

In my church, September 2012 is prophetically our month of divine order. I wrote in my posting last week that a woman who attends every church meeting against her husband’s will loves without intelligence because she is not mindful of divine order. God is not a God of confusion (of disorder in French translations) but of peace; He wants everything to be done peacefully and in order (1Cor 14.33). In other words, God does not act where there is disorder. It is pointless praying and hoping that the Lord would act, visit or deliver us, while we live in disorder. If we want to taste and enjoy all that God has planned for us in 2012, it is important that we bring order into our lives or that we put our lives in order. And divine order is simply God, then family, then the local church and then society.

God

He must be the First in everything. His name must be hallowed and His will sought and done in all things. Immediately after their creation, both Adam and Eve were respectively alone with God for some time. Therefore, before they could interact with whoever/whatever else in the Creation, their first relation was with God. That is why the return to divine order demands the restoration of the Lord’s primacy. Let us avoid as much as possible to talk to men before talking to God: i.e. before praying. Let us fear God, flee from sin and obey His commandments, even at cost to us.

Family

Here, the order goes as: first the couple, and then, the children and the parents (of the couple). The couple because marriage is the very first institution created by God. Before church and society even exist, marriage and the couple (a man and a woman) were. No other institution -human or divine- should therefore take precedence over marriage. It is not for nothing that the Bible says that marriage is honourable in all (Heb 13.4, KJV). Our job, business, hobbies, relationships (friends, etc.) and even our children should never become more important than our spouse. Some people (especially women, but many men are also guilty of this) tend to consider their children before their spouse: it is disorder. Children are merely the fruit of a couple; they cannot become its reason of existence. Moreover, the divine order is very clear in the couple: the husband is the head of the wife. Those who are not happy with this can always tear their Bible: I am just a messenger (1Cor 11:3). There is only one captain in a ship, one MD or CEO in a company, one president in a country etc. After deliberations, once the boss has decided, you execute; unless you are rebellious. Sara called Abraham her lord; why? Because the duty of a married woman is to please her husband (1Pe 3.6, 1Cor 7.34). A wife will be pleasing unto the LORD by pleasing her lord of a husband. This is why the Bible asks that she submits to her husband in all things (Eph 5.24). If she does not agree with a certain way of doing things, the solution is not in stubbornness; but she should rather complain to the BOSS of her boss – Christ is the Head of every man (1Cor 11:3) - and submit. It is God’s duty to take care of her own boss. The only case where she must say no is if her husband asks her to violate God’s commandments. And I say God, and not the local church... Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, thou shalt have no other gods before me etc. Sapphira died like her husband because she agreed to lie and fool the church and thus, favoured her husband’s word over God’s command (Ac 5). Man is indeed the woman’s head; but he should never become her LORD: this would be idolatry.

After the couple, we have the immediate family in which parents must be respected, honoured and obeyed in all things (Ex 20:12, Eph 6:2, Col 3:20). Children must obey their parents in all things in the same way, conditions and spirit that a wife also submit to her husband in all things. Family comes before the church; i.e., when our attitude towards our local church threatens or may compromise our family’s interests, there is disorder. Using your children’s school fees or the money needed to pay for your parent’s hospital bill or prescription in order to ‘support’ God’s work, just to end up with your kids not going to school or your parent dying, would tantamount to madness. This is why Jesus Himself said: “Moses said, 'Honour your father and your mother'… But you say, 'If a man tells his father or his mother, "Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban"' (that is, given to God)-- then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do."” (Mk 7:10-13) And Paul added that if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever (1Tim 5.8).’ Not to mention the fact that God does not need any help to do His work. Uzzah tried and was struck dead on the spot (2Sam 6:6-7). Let us be very clear here; I do not mean to say that we can misuse tithes -if we are in a tithing church- to support our family or that we should not walk by faith: God can also request such sacrifices from us. Just grasp the spirit behind my words and let us give honour to whom honour is due (Rom 13:7). Strong families make strong children, strong people, strong communities and nations.

May God bless you as you put your life in order and see you next week for the continuation and the end of this posting .