Just Because

Just Because

by Pastor Gary

“Just because,” was the inevitable recourse of adolescence when one could think of no better answer for the question at hand. Why was your daddy the strongest, smartest, or “bestest?” “Just because.”

Unfortunately, we have a culture, today, that has adopted this adolescent response and immortalized it as the supreme essence of self-realization. “It is so, because I believe it is so,” or, “Just because” It appears one has no right or authority to question another’s perception of reality. We are all equal. Education, position, or life experience have lost their significance. What I think is just as valid as what you think. What is truth for me is truth for me, and what is truth for you is truth for you. It matters not the preponderance of factual evidence to the contrary, one can stand in the face of conventionalism and declare his right to disagree. Why? “Just because!”

In Jeremiah 16:10-13 we read, “And it shall be, when you show this people all these words, and they say to you, ‘Why has the Lord pronounced all this great disaster against us? Or what is our iniquity? Or what is our sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?’ then you shall say to them, ‘Because your fathers have forsaken Me,’ says the Lord; ‘they have walked after other gods and have served them and worshiped them, and have forsaken Me and not kept My law. And you have done worse than your fathers, for behold, each one follows the dictates of his own evil heart, so that no one listens to Me.’”

God is a loving God, but He cannot bless rebellion. There are many who feel that they have the right to follow the dictates of their own evil hearts, and feel God should find that acceptable. What is the big deal about lying, stealing, or cheating? Everybody does it. What is wrong with pre-marital sex? Why shouldn’t I get an abortion? What is wrong with pornography? So what if my sexual preference is same-gender?

It is as if God has expressed no opinion in these matters. The truth is, however, that God, in His Word, has emphatically condemned these as wrong behaviors. We just don’t want to hear it! One might respond, “I don’t think they are wrong!” This might seem harsh and certainly is counter-cultural, but frankly, it doesn’t matter what you think.

When people ignore the mandates, commandments, and dictates of the Bible they are, in essence, refusing to listen to God. When Christians try to warn the world that they will have to stand before God some day and answer for their misdeeds, we often hear, “What is my iniquity? What is my sin? I’m a good person.” One is not considered to be good, “Just because.”

God has measurable standards for what is good. God made the heavens and the earth. He gave us his Word to inform us of His love for us, and His laws, commands, decrees, precepts, and concepts. God is not bossy, He is good. Doing what God says to do is not just right, it results in our greatest good. He is the reason you have a life. God’s kingdom is not an egalitarian postmodern, free-for-all. God expects, deserves, blesses, and rewards our obedience. He will also rebuke and discipline our disobedience. He is not impressed with the profundity of our self-awareness, and He will not accept “Just because” as a viable answer.

Thanks Pastor.