Refer to the Scriptures

I got to thinking about this topic because of something that happened today. Spouse and I had talked a couple of weeks ago about something, and I had pointedly stated that if we made the purchase we were talking about, there was a certain brand which I liked, and that the other brands I wasn't so keen on. So what happened today? Spouse, intending to be nice, makes the purchase - but purchases a brand I said not to purchase. And when I was displeased, suddenly I was the "ungrateful" person. It was a difficult moment, and the purchase as ultimately returned unopened.

But how often do we do this with God? He has given us the Holy Scriptures in which his will is recorded. The Holy Spirit speaks to us through our reading of these scriptures. Yet how often do we go directly against what God has told us, and still expect him to be pleased?

Here's a verse which can be troubling if one thinks about it and applies it their own life.

I have said all this to you to keep you from falling away. They will put you out of the synagogues; indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. John 16:1-2 Revised Standard Version

In the past I have read this verse as referring solely to people seeking to kill me. Terrorists who bomb public places. Vigilantes who don't like my faith. And so on.

But could the reverse be true? What is my attitude about the killing of terrorists? Vigilantes? And so on? Am I happy about this? Do I think God is pleased? The answer is in the Bible.

But if a wicked man turns away from all his sins which he has committed and keeps all my statutes and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. None of the transgressions which he has committed shall be remembered against him; for the righteousness which he has done he shall live. Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, says the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live? Ezekiel 18:21-23 Revised Standard Version

God is NOT pleased when the wicked die. So we shouldn't be either. And we need to be careful about ourselves. It is entirely possible to do things - believing we are pleasing God - that actually displease God very much.