John 7:38 “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.’”

This week we are learning how to best keep the river of God’s Spirit flowing freely into and through our life. Here is today’s lesson.

Step 4: Make sure your choices bring honor to God.

Letting the river of God flow through our lives is not about what looks most attractive but rather what is most pleasing to God. The ultimate test is what is pure before God. I have a lot of people ask me this question, “Pastor do you think that ‘this’ is a sin?” Apparently being a pastor makes me an expert on what is and what is not a sin.

Let me challenge you to move away from that question to a better question. Ask this question instead: “Does this bring glory and honor to God?” There are some things that I can do that I don’t do. I do not do them because I think it is a sin. I don’t do them because I want to make sure I am bringing honor to God.

Paul said it this way in 1 Corinthians 10:23. He said, “All things are lawful, but all are not profitable; all things are lawful, but all do not edify.” This scripture was given because there were some questions about whether Christians should eat food that had been sacrificed to idols. In the context of the day this question was being asked, it was the practice to put food on an altar to an idol. Afterwards, they would take the food back and eat it or sell it. Eating that meat that had been on the altar was thought to be a way to take the power of that deity into your life. People wanted Paul to give a judgment on whether eating such food was sin or not. So the question was asked, “Should you eat such food?” Paul is sharing his personal conviction in 1 Corinthians and says that he does not bother him to eat it. In his opinion the idol is nothing so there is nothing to fear of getting in you. However, he goes on to say something else about this same subject. He says if you are eating and someone comes up to you and tells you that the food was offered to an idol, you should push it away and not eat.

Does Paul give this instruction because it became a sin to eat this food? No, he gives this instruction because now it’s not about you. Now it’s not about what you are free to do; it’s about what is going to bring honor to God in that moment. The question is not, “Is this a sin?” That question is the lowest form of Christian living. The better question is, “Which choice will bring the most honor to God?”

Today’s Challenge: Move from asking what is allowed to asking what choice will bring God most glory and honor. Pray that God will use you today to bring honor to Him and use you as a witness to others.