Loving God's word

Not many people realize that the rules God gives his people in the Bible are not meant to suck the joy out of life, but rather to equip one to enjoy life, family, relationships, and worship more and more. This is the perspective of the psalmist who penned Psalm 119:9-16.

4 STEPS OF GODLINESS SO YOUR WALK WILL NOT BE A DRUDGERY BUT A DELIGHT

1. THE BELIEVER’S DESIRE

Psalm 119:9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.

The psalmist is asking – how can I stay pure, how can I obey God?

This is a great question, true godliness begins with this desire. You have to want to be godly for the rules to work. Even if God gives you his word, if you don’t want to please God, you might obey him while others are watching, but you will cut corners in private

The law of God only works if it springs from a desire to please God.

Jesus reprimanded religious hypocrites for doing their service only to be seen by men.

Matthew 6:1 Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

When your religion is genuine, you don’t care if people see, you only care what God sees.

What is your desire? What do you really want? Do you want to get away with secret sin, or do you want to be godly?

2. THE BELIEVER’S DECISION

Psalm 119:10 With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments!

If you truly desire to be godly, then the next step is to make a real decision. Not a decision to manicure a clean-cut life, but rather to be in a right relationship with God. And notice how complete the decision is: “With my whole heart I seek you.”

No half-heartedness will do. You must be fully committed to this thing.

Remember Jesus words in Matthew 10:37-38 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

Jesus is talking about the commitment to become a Christian. If your family forbids you from becoming a Christian, let them be upset! Let them disown you, let them persecute you. That is commitment. If you are not fully committed – what is it that you love more than Jesus? Sin, career, money, family?

3. THE BELIEVER’S DUTY

Psalm 119:11-13 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Blessed are you, O Lord; teach me your statutes! With my lips I declare all the rules of your mouth.

You may be asking – but what must I do? The psalmist answers: O Lord; teach me your statutes!

If you truly desire godliness, then you must store God’s word in your heart, yourself. Not just read it as a new year’s resolution, but store it. Make it part of your heart. Carry it in your mind and life, not just your pocket. Memorize it, study it, use it.

This takes a lifetime, but you don’t need to have every verse in the Bible memorized before you can start applying it to your life. You start learning, and as you learn, you apply it. Like learning a new language – you don’t need to know every word before you can start talking to someone, and if you get stuck you can look a word up in the dictionary – but the more you talk, the more you memorize the words.

In the same way, the more you read, memorize and apply your Bible, the more verses and teachings and concepts become part of the way you think and live.

4. THE BELIEVER’S DELIGHT

Psalm 119:14-16 In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches. I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.

We might praise God that we do not have all the Mosaic laws to obey, but that is not how the Jews felt. Godly Jews did not consider the law of Moses to be oppressive, they found it to be delightful. The pagan gods were impossible to please, they were capricious, unpredictable, and frustratingly silent. Religion was all guesswork; it was trial-and-error. People tried everything to appease their gods, they even sacrificed their children without any clue if it was what the gods demanded.

But Yahweh did not leave his people guessing. He said to them – this is what I want from you: to love me and each other, to care for each other in these specific ways, to stay healthy and hygienic in this particular way, to stay pure from destructive influences from toxic people and false religions, to rest once a week, to treat your animals well, farm efficiently, etc.

What a relief! What a delight. They knew precisely how to please God. They knew what was good and what was bad, what was right and what was wrong. And they knew for sure.

And just like a loving husband delights in doing the things that please his wife – they are not a burden to him because he loves her – so we ought to delight in doing what pleases God – it is not a burden to us.

And while the law of Moses is no longer binding on us – God has given us many laws in the New Testament – and obeying them is how we express our love for Jesus.

If you find it a burden to keep God’s law, then perhaps you are not really a follower of Jesus. You might just be a Christian by culture not by a devotion to Christ. I urge you to give up your slavery to sin, trust in Jesus’ death on the cross for you and become a willing servant of Jesus who loves his law.