“I Don’t Care What God Thinks!”

I Don’t Care What God Thinks! Who would ever say that to God? Would you tell a judge, who was about to pass sentence on you, that you didn’t care what he thought. (Not that it would matter.) I don’t think we would do either... consciously.

You see God is our judge. Not only will we stand before Him on the Day of Judgment, but He is constantly viewing and judging our lives daily. God knows (and judges) our every thought, sees our every action, and the Bible says He will judge our every word. (see Matthew 12:36) To not care what God thinks is really to ignore His judgement. It is saying to God that His directives are not important and do not concern me. It is what some people do after they get a bad report from the doctor; ”if I don’t think about it, it will go away.” Whether we care, or not (think about it or not) about how God views our lives, it does not rescind His judgment. 

But looking at God’s judgement as a motivator of our lives is, for the most part, short lived. The Cancer Society proved, years ago, by publishing posters of pictures with tar-filled lungs and campaigns of how cigarette smoking was certain death, that people were very oblivious to fear tactics.

Humans are creatures of adaptation. We are fairly used to change in our world. We may be taken back momentarily by new technology, new thoughts, new standards, fears, but soon adapt to them as part of life. When fear comes as motivator or warning ( especially fear of a future doom), the human mind eventually adapts to it and comes to terms with it. The fear becomes venial or trivial in a short time.

Old time revival preachers used to count thousands of converts because of their message of hell fire and brimstone. With many people, the experience did not last. Soon, many settled back into their old habits, and God quickly vanished from their lives.

(Bear in mind that we are trivializing God’s judgement here. One day we will stand before God to be judged by Him. Everything that was not washed away by the blood of Christ, will be held to our account.)

So, the question begs to be ask: “What, if not fear, fear of eternity without God, fear of God’s retribution, is the ultimate motivator of the Christian?” What could possibly cause the ever present question, “What does God think?” to order our lives.  Is there anything that will be a constant loyal reminder to be wary of what God’s opinion is of our every word, deed, and thought? I think the answer is found in the first and greatest commandment. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” (See Mark 12:30)

“Love is an energy - it can neither be created nor destroyed. It just is and always will be, giving meaning to life and direction to goodness...Love will never die....”

- Bryce Courtney. 

Loving God, with our totality, serves to drive us to do things, with such passion, that we will refuse to fail... and we refuse to fail God. Our love for Him will not allow us to make any decision that would hurt His heart. John 14:15 says “If you love me, keep my commands.” He is the path to every purpose. He is the resolve to every issue. Loving God means that He not only becomes an incentive for choice, HE becomes our choice. 

Yet, I have seen so many christians, so many leaders, so many followers of the doctrines of the Bible who do not care what God thinks. They make knee jerk decisions without the first breath of a prayer. They pick up life, like it belongs to them, and make choices based on their human reasoning and ignorance, never to consult the divine. They design each play, in life, from their human, limited, perspective. They step on the caring heart of God, His loving plan, like it was a casual counsel from a man on a street corner.

So, why care what God thinks? Does God care about the car you buy? What about the person you marry? Does God care about where you live, the college you attend, or the career you choose? Have you asked him? Do you care, if He cares? We go through life as if we are in charge. Yet, we call Him Lord. Matthew 7:46 Jesus said, “Why do you keep on saying that I am your Lord, when you refuse to do what I say?”

Not asking God is not trusting Him. It is obstructing God’s divine plan for your life. It is saying to God, that my plan is better than Yours! It is telling Him that you are not open to His suggestions.

Do I believe that we should ask God what color socks to wear? No. Or... maybe. I believe that God will be part of any decision you allow Him to take part in. 1 Peter 5:7 says “Casting ALL your care upon him; for he careth for you.”  I believe that His intentions are far beyond my understanding. (see Isaiah 55:8-9) He could tell me to do things that seem insignificant to me, but have a point in the scope of my life, and perhaps the lives of others.

I remember hearing a story (said to be true) of a young man wrestling with something God told him to do. He was in the grocery and felt God’s spirit speak to him. “Go to the produce section and stand on your head,” was what God directed. I am sure, like him, we would question the command of God; especially when it did not make sense to us. Would you have done it? 

The young man, must have loved God totally, because he obeyed God. Feeling like a complete idiot, he left his cart, went to the produce section, and there in the corner, stood on his head. After a few minutes he stood up. He had obeyed but... what was it all about? Did God just want to see if he could do it? This was a mystery. He felt embarrassed and humiliated. Why would God care if he could stand on his head? Why in the grocery store? I am sure many more questions came to him.

As the young man left the store still in bewilderment and confusion regarding the Lord’s request, he was stopped by a young lady. “Are you the man who was standing on your head in the corner?” she ask. He acknowledged her with the expectation of her laughter and mocking. But, something quite different happened.

“You see,” she began. I was once a devoted christian. I believed in God with all my heart. But a few years back I began to lose my faith. I no longer believed in God. He was so far away and seemed to never make Himself known to me.” She smiled and there was a suddenly excitement in her voice. “Today, was my last plea for God to reveal Himself to me. I wanted Him to prove Himself in a way that would not be mistaken for happenstance or coincidence. So... I said to Him. If you are real, let someone stand on their heads in the produce section!”

Do you really care what God thinks? Is His voice the determiner of what do with life? Do you wait for His response? Do you consider His will, even in the smallest of matters of your life? Are you the ruler of your destiny or have you bowed to His will and plan for your fate. Do you ask for His best despite your personal convictions. Do you give God the opportunity to open your eyes? When you don’t see His point will you follow blindly in His charge?

God, throughout the Bible, asked men to do things that did not fit into their strategy or human understanding of their circumstances, or the steps that God purposed. Why did God tell Gideon only 300 men? How could a small boy defeat a giant? How could dipping in a muddy river cure leprosy? How is it possible to walk on water? Yet God told them to do these things. And, in each case God’s plan was more effective than the outcome that man could speculate.

So what is this message? Simply: Is God allowed to be part of the decisions you make? Have you come to the place, in your christian walk, where you are no longer in control of your fate but you surrender every decision to His will? If not, why not give it a try? You may be surprised at what God thinks, and what He has been waiting to do for you.

The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.
Psalm 37:23 (NLT)

How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.

They cannot be numbered!

I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand!

And when I wake up, you are still with me!

Psalm 139:17-18 (NLT)