Are You In Church Praising & Worshiping GOD Out Of Fear Or Love?
It may seem like an odd question. I mean, who goes to church unwillingly or out of fear of punishment from GOD? That's crazy. Right?
You and I both know that is the case with some folks. I remember as a kid, I would actually pretend I was dead so I wouldn't have to get up Sunday mornings and go to church (sad, I know). Eventually, I would roll out of bed, though, and head off to church with the family. Back then, I wasn't going to GOD'S house for myself...I was basically going because my parents said I had to. So I'm not too sure if I was in church clapping and signing because I really wanted to or because I believed I had to.
Things changed, however. I grew up and stumbled along the way, but eventually began a real walk with Christ Jesus. So do I love going to church now? -- Not always. But when I go, I try to make sure it's because I want to go. I really don't think GOD Almighty is going to condemn me for skipping when I am sick, tired or just not in the mood to go to Sunday service. I must admit, however, that sometimes I do feel a slight pang of guilt when I have no real reason to not go. After all, look at all GOD Almighty has done for me. Would it kill me to show my gratitude by going to fellowship at HIS tabernacle? But I always try to remember, it's meaningless to GOD if you do something while grumbling... or with the wrong motivation behind it.
And when I'm in church, I usually enjoy myself. I sing along in praise and I try to understand how the pastor's sermon can apply to my life and spiritual journey. I know that by my going to church doesn't 'do' anything for GOD really. Fellowship is more about the individuals getting together for edification. I know when I leave Sunday service, I leave with a full heart and a renewed spirit. Being around like-minded people who share the same love you do for GOD can do that to you...especially when you feel like an outcast in the world around you.
So back to the question of fear or love... I know for a fact that some folks think (mostly young people I know or used to know) going to church every Sunday is all you need to do to get into heaven. I know some folks who believe that simply going to church makes them somehow 'better' than the heathen that do not. And I wouldn't be surprised if there are some adults who tell their kids they won't get to heaven if they don't go to Sunday school. Wrong, wrong, wrong.
First off, Lucifer himself can walk into church... with a Bible under his arm and even go sit in the first pew. A church is just a building, my friends. It's the folks in the building that gives the place meaning. Don't let those Hollywood movies fool you... no statues and holy water can keep him out of a place he wants to be -- unless GOD Almighty forbids him.
Consider Job 1 (NKJV):
6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them.
7 And the LORD said to Satan, “From where do you come?” So Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.”
8 Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?”
9 So Satan answered the LORD and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing?
10 Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.
11 But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!”
12 And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.” So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.
Now, if GOD Almighty still gives Satan an audience when it pleases HIM and would even give him permission to raise his hand against one of HIS own servants... why do you think a simple church would be off bounds to the devil? If he can approach the presence of GOD, he can surely walk into a church filled with mere humans. And let's not forget how satan tempted Jesus the Christ after his baptism.
So simply attending church on a regular basis does nothing for your personal salvation. Satan can do that, too.
And it's not like you really need to go to a traditional church and go through some traditional 'routine' to really worship before the LORD. As Jesus the Christ said in Matthew 18:20, "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”
You see church is not about a physical location... it's a shared state of mind amongst a body of people.
As for going to church because you think GOD might strike you dead if you don't...if you really believe that then you don't know much about GOD. There's a difference between walking around on pins and needles because of someone and having reverence for someone.
Growing up, most of us respected our parents and conducted ourselves with them in mind. We knew our parents weren't going to murder us because we disobeyed them or broke one of their rules, but we did know that they would be disappointed. And why wouldn't they literally kill us? -- Because they loved us and simply wanted the best for us.
What's the first and greatest commandment given to Moses? Deuteronomy 10:
12 “And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,
13 and to keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes which I command you today for your good?
And, yes, the 'fear' above is about respect and reverence...not about being afraid.
As it is written in Hebrews 12:28 "...let us have grace, by which we may serve GOD acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our GOD is a consuming fire."
And what did Jesus the Christ have to say about this? Matthew 22:
36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”
37 Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’
38 This is the first and great commandment.
If you find yourself in church clapping your hands and singing those praise songs because you think that you have to and that someone is watching you, you're partly right -- GOD is watching you...and probably wondering what the heck you're doing.
Don't think that our Creator the LORD GOD Almighty wants to drag anyone kicking and screaming into heaven. You cannot be saved against your will. You have to willfully and joyfully accept the invitation extended to you. This GOD does not want spineless, frightened children following him blindly. HE wants courageous, spirit-filled warriors who love blindly among HIS flock.
I was reviewing the Book of Genesis recently and some new questions popped up as I was reading certain passages.
Specifically, I questioned the true value of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Bad, the Tree of Knowledge of Eternal Life, what sin is, and how the devil (it is the devil, right?) used the snake aka serpent to tempt Eve (formally known as Woman).
Since we partook of the Tree of Knowledge does that mean that we are like divine beings? And if we had partook of the Tree of Life would we be able to live forever? And why did GOD, the Most High, even create these two very special Trees if they were not for man? GOD and HIS angels (and whomever else there were) didn't need these two Trees, did they? So who were they for?
Keep reading...
I guess this is the part where we should look at the text...
KEY: (words like this are my own); the asterisks*** mean you should take special note; this [!huh!] means I don't get it; this [wow] means I'm amazed.
You're going to have to read along either online or with your own Holy Bible (I'm using NIV).
Gen. 2:
15The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden*** to work it and take care of it.
16 And the LORD God commanded the man***, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden;
17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die***."
Gen. 3:
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made***. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"
2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,
3 but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.' "
4 "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman.
5 "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil***."
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked***; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
GOD soon shows up in the Garden of Eden looking for the man (Adam), and calls out for him when he doesn't see him. Adam then tells him he's hiding because he's naked. GOD wants to know who he knows he's naked. ...The circle of blame is rather interesting.
Gen.3:
12The man said, "The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it."
13Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."
Adam blames Eve. Eve blames the serpent. GOD punishes the serpent and puts division (hostility/enmity) between serpent-kind and humankind. GOD then punishes the woman. GOD then punishes the man. GOD kicks Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden. We don't know where the serpent goes...
INTERPRETATION
GOD didn't say 'I'm going to kill you if you eat of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge.' My guess is that GOD knew once man could discern from good and bad, that he would be conscious that his actions were either good and bad, then he would be held accountable for those actions. If here were to consciously choose to do something bad, he would be sinning...and the punishment for sin is death.
Look at passage from the Holy Bible where GOD explains who will and who will not see the 'promise land' based on their behavior and reverence for HIM... Deut. 1:
9 And the little ones that you said would be taken captive, your children who do not yet know good from bad—they will enter the land. I will give it to them and they will take possession of it.
Your children who do not yet know good from bad... that's an interesting phrase, isn't it? We all know that babies aren't born into the world knowing their left from their right, nor good from bad. They learn along the way. And we all know that once this knowledge is acquire, that despite discerning a good action from a bad action, some children (who eventually become adults) consciously, willfully choose to do bad. And we don't punish babies when they pee on us while we're doing a diaper change... they don't know any better. The 4-year-old you're helping on the potty who does that, however...
So it was with Adam and Eve - GOD made them innocent, not knowing their left from their right, so to speak. So HE would not hold them accountable for their actions, unless they willfully disobeyed HIM...Like if HE were to tell them that something they have done should not be done and they do it anyway.
Eating from the Tree of Knowledge destroyed that innocence - they now knew full well that either choosing left or right would either result in a good or bad thing.
They could choose to do good or bad and we humans often delight in doing bad. As in Gen. 6:5 The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.
We read in Gen. 2:15-17 that GOD made the man first and put him in the Garden of Eden, and told him not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.
We also learn after this that GOD made the man a companion, a woman. We don't read when GOD told the woman the same thing about the Tree of Knowledge. It is implied, however, that either GOD and/or Adam told her this. But for some reason she thought the serpent had the authority to know what's what. Now, at no point is it written in Genesis that the serpent told Eve to eat from the Tree of Knowledge. The serpent only gave her contradictory information, he lied and told her GOD was lying about her dying if she eats its fruit. He said GOD lied about the fruit because HE knows those who eat of it can become like HIM.
For the love of me I don't know why Eve didn't ask the serpent how he knew all this or if he had eaten any of the Tree of Knowledge's fruit himself. Eve must have been kinda dumb (gullible, to be nice), like Adam (who didn't recognize that this fruit looked different from the others)...innocent, right?
So, the devil (yes, the serpent was his chosen vessel) essentially tells her 'You can be like GOD'. Ironic, that's what got Lucifer expelled from heaven -- his vain desire to replace GOD ALMIGHTY HIMSELF. Eve, fully aware that her Father, the CREATOR, already told her not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge, chooses to follow her desire to be like GOD and eats of the Tree. Why else would she eat of the Tree if the only information she knew about it was that eating the fruit would make her like GOD? Satan didn't tell her it was nutritious and delicious or would make her beautiful or anything. The singular incentive was to be like GOD. Eve wanted to be like GOD... that's a big no-no. Perhaps that's why it seems she was held more accountable than Adam.
GOD cannot stand sin, so HE evicted Adam and Eve from Eden. Eve and Adam destroyed their chance of living in paradise with GOD. Imagine that, from paradise to hard manual labor. Adam lived 930 years (as did Eve, too... I guess).
And since HE had seen the desire of Eve's heart, GOD gave the Tree of Life special protection... else they might be convinced that they too should live forever...one Lucifer is enough. But what of Lucifer's power, you say. Lucifer has no power - only what GOD gives him. He cannot raise from the dead, make the cripple walk, turn water into wine -- Lucifer has no power. But, we'll save that for another blog post.
QUESTIONS:
My question is, if Adam was made first and had been hanging out in Eden for much longer than Eve, shouldn't he have known what the Tree of Knowledge's fruit look like? Shouldn't Adam, therefore, have been held more accountable? I suppose this goes back to why Eve chose to eat of the Tree of Knowledge when she only knew one thing about it - that it would make her like GOD (according to the devil).
But the eating from the Tree of Knowledge did give Adam and Eve a divine quality. Does that mean GOD lied? Nope. HE said if they ate from the Tree of Knowledge that they would die. HE just didn't go into details as to what HE meant. GOD and those with HIM (the hosts of heaven) are incorruptible. HE made man from the earth...a corruptible being. So what is GOD? - The ETERNAL SPIRIT.
Why does knowing that he's naked make Adam ashamed? How did he know that he should be covered? Are we to assume that the LORD appeared to him clothed? Adam must have seen GOD since it was just the two of them (besides the host of heaven and the other creations on earth) It says in the Holy Bible in Gen. 3:8, Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. A being can't walk unless he or she has legs, right? I suppose the LORD was walking around clothed when HE chose to appear this way (as he does in other parts of the Holy Bible).
As for the nudity question, I guess Adam and Eve were made to desire each other. You can't really be fruitful and multiply unless you want to start that process. So that goes to say that the fruit of their desire was pleasurable. We humans don't usually choose to do things we don't enjoy.
Why should I obey GOD or care what HE wants from me? GOD created us for HIS pleasure, not for our own - we didn't exist. Life was a gift and HE gave us dominion over the earth (another undeserved gift we totally destroyed). You respect, love and appreciate your parents, don't you? You're glad they didn't decide to abort you or even decided to procreate, else you wouldn't be around. So you hold them in reverence. Why can't you do the same for GOD, who made life possible?
BOTTOM LINE:
You should obey GOD. If HE tells you to not do something, you should probably not do it. Most assuredly, if HE has attached a consequence to this thing you're not supposed to do, HE will carry out HIS word and punish you. Usually when HE tells you to abstain from something, it's usually for your own good and to save you trouble and sorrow.
Don't give into temptation when you know that you definitely should not. Yes we are weak and make mistakes (definition of human), but don't be willfully disobedient.
And don't trust the devil. He's a liar and his only aim is to keep you from having a real relationship with your GOD ALMIGHTY.
-Theist @ http://goodbible.blogspot.com
Satan Moves David To Take A Census | GOD Sends An Angel To Kill 70,000 In Israel
2 comments Posted by Name: Theist at 3:09 PMSomeone wanting to hide the truth of the Holy Bible from you may point out to you that GOD is a cold-blooded murderer by using 1 Chronicles 21. They may tell you that in this chapter GOD orders the killing of innocent people (and juxtapose it with the commandment 'thou shall not not kill'). But they don't ever show you the whole passage in context.
KEY: (words like this are my own); the asterisks*** mean you should take special note; this [!huh!] means I don't get it; this [wow] means I'm amazed.
Let's look at it 1 Chronicles 21 (NKJV):
1 Now Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel.***
2 So David said to Joab and to the leaders of the people, “Go, number Israel from Beersheba to Dan, and bring the number of them to me that I may know it.”
3 And Joab answered, “May the LORD make His people a hundred times more than they are. But, my lord the king, are they not all my lord’s servants? Why then does my lord require this thing? Why should he be a cause of guilt in Israel?” ***
4 Nevertheless the king’s word prevailed against Joab. Therefore Joab departed and went throughout all Israel and came to Jerusalem.
5 Then Joab gave the sum of the number of the people to David. All Israel had one million one hundred thousand men who drew the sword (military men), and Judah had four hundred and seventy thousand men who drew the sword (military men).
6 But he did not count Levi and Benjamin among them, for the king’s word was abominable to Joab.***
7 And God was displeased with this thing; therefore He struck Israel.***
8 So David said to God, “I have sinned greatly, because I have done this thing; but now, I pray, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly.”***
9 Then the LORD spoke to Gad, David’s seer, saying,
10 “Go and tell David, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD: “I offer you three things; choose one of them for yourself, that I may do it to you.”’”
11 So Gad came to David and said to him, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Choose for yourself,
12 either three years of famine, or three months to be defeated by your foes with the sword of your enemies overtaking you, or else for three days the sword of the LORD—the plague in the land, with the angel of the LORD destroying throughout all the territory of Israel.’ Now consider what answer I should take back to Him who sent me.”
13 And David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Please let me fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are very great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man.” ***
14 So the LORD sent a plague upon Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell. 15 And God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it. As he was destroying, the LORD looked and relented of the disaster, and said to the angel who was destroying, “It is enough; now restrain your hand.”*** And the angel of the LORD stood by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
16 Then David lifted his eyes and saw the angel of the LORD standing between earth and heaven, having in his hand a drawn sword stretched out over Jerusalem. So David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell on their faces.
17 And David said to God, “Was it not I who commanded the people to be numbered? I am the one who has sinned and done evil indeed;*** but these sheep, what have they done? Let Your hand, I pray, O LORD my God, be against me and my father’s house, but not against Your people that they should be plagued.”***
18 Therefore, the angel of the LORD commanded Gad to say to David that David should go and erect an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
19 So David went up at the word of Gad, which he had spoken in the name of the LORD.
20 Now Ornan turned and saw the angel; and his four sons who were with him hid themselves, but Ornan continued threshing wheat. [!huh!]
21 So David came to Ornan, and Ornan looked and saw David. And he went out from the threshing floor, and bowed before David with his face to the ground.
22 Then David said to Ornan, “Grant me the place of this threshing floor, that I may build an altar on it to the LORD. You shall grant it to me at the full price, that the plague may be withdrawn from the people.”
23 But Ornan said to David, “Take it to yourself, and let my lord the king do what is good in his eyes. Look, I also give you the oxen for burnt offerings, the threshing implements for wood, and the wheat for the grain offering; I give it all.”***
24 Then King David said to Ornan, “No, but I will surely buy it for the full price, for I will not take what is yours for the LORD, nor offer burnt offerings with that which costs me nothing.”***
25 So David gave Ornan six hundred shekels of gold by weight for the place.
26 And David built there an altar to the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and called on the LORD; and He answered him from heaven by fire on the altar of burnt offering.
27 So the LORD commanded the angel, and he returned his sword to its sheath.***
28 At that time, when David saw that the LORD had answered him on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he sacrificed there.
29 For the tabernacle of the LORD and the altar of the burnt offering, which Moses had made in the wilderness, were at that time at the high place in Gibeon.
30 But David could not go before it to inquire of God, for he was afraid of the sword of the angel of the LORD.
INTERPRETATION:
That was a lot to read...but most of it made sense and it flowed rather well, so we shouldn't have too much trouble figuring it all out.
1. David decided he would have a census in Israel. Why? - Satan tempted him until he gave in (we give in to temptation all the time, don't we?). Now why would Satan move David to conduct a census? The very first sentence in the passage says 'Satan stood up against Israel'. He apparently had a problem with Israel. My guess is that he hated that GOD had chosen a group of people -- any group of people -- to be saved from the consequences of sin (which is death and eternal damnation). Remember, Satan hates GOD and wants to be like HIM, but he can't so he tries to mimic HIM with his own church (followers; and remember, Satan has been condemned already, there is no hope for him). But he knows he can never beat GOD, so he goes after the next best thing - what GOD loves the most - you and me. Satan hates every single one of GOD's creation, even the ones who call themselves satanists...yet GOD still loves those and offers them the chance to change. We can talk about this particular issue later. In the mean time, reading this page may help (hit your mute button if you don't like the music).
2. Now, David knew this was wrong, but didn't come to the realization until a bit later. His servant Joab, however, knew it was wrong from jump (verses 3 & 6) and even said so to his King David. It appears, based on what Joab says to David in verse 3, that Joab thought it was wrong because there was no question that everyone in Israel was under King David's rule. Why is there a need to count them? Now that's just my guess based on the text.
3. In verse 7, we learn that GOD also thought the census was ridiculously offensive. Why? Perhaps for the same reason Joab found the census unnecessary -- everyone belonged to GOD anyway, why did King David think he needed to number them? You see, it's like a king makes you mayor of a particular area he owns. Then you up and decide that you're going to take count of the population. The king, once he found out, would probably be a little upset considering it's his territory and therefore his people, and he didn't give you permission to take a count. It's like, who do you think you are? I'm the king. Again, that's my guess, based on the text, of what may have angered GOD.
4. GOD is so angry, it says, that he sends an angel to kill thousands of the people. Why? I don't know. It's HIS business, but I will guess that it was to show David who the people really belonged to and who was the real KING. Again, my guess.
David quickly sees the error of his ways and his grave sin against the GOD who made him king over the people in the first place. He asks GOD to punish him and hold him accountable instead of taking HIS anger out on the people, who are innocent as sheep.
But look at what David says in verse 13. He pleads with GOD's messenger Gad to let the LORD know that he accepts whatever befalls him, but to please let it not be at the hands of other men. Why? David says let GOD deal with him because GOD is infinitely more merciful than mankind could ever be (to one of their own).
5. This chapter of 1 Chronicles appears a bit repetitive (which is actually common among books in the Holy Bible), so it may not be clear on first read at what point David repented of his dumb mistake (totally inspired by the devil). However, it you take a closer look, it seems that David only realized the error of his ways when the angel of the LORD started slaying the Israelites (that is usually when we realize we've messed up, huh? when bad things start to happen).
It appears GOD may have had the angel strike the people in different ways, I'm not sure. However in verse 15, when HE saw the devastation (and I guess HIS anger subsided a bit), HE relented and told the angel to stop destroying the people. But David still had some atonement to do.
6. David goes to a particular place in the city, Jerusalem, as instructed by GOD through Gad (verses 18-19). He ends up at Ornan's threshing floor (I guess something to do with wheat; and it seems to be just a designated area outside) Now, if you paid close attention to these verses, you see that Ornan tries to give the field (where the threshing area is located) to David. Why? Because David is his king and he could seize it if he wanted to anyway. But David says, no, he won't take something that doesn't belong to him and then turn around and try to pass it off to GOD. He will deal fairly with Ornan and purchase it. Honestly, I'm not too sure at what I'm getting at here, but I feel as if this passage is meant to reflect David's error in thinking he could number the people, who didn't even belong to him anyway. (What do you say?)
David built there an altar to the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and called on the LORD. GOD accepted his repentance and peace offerings and put aside David's sin and, the angel put his sword away.
QUESTIONS:
What's up with the [!huh!] in verse 20? Well, my friends, if you were reading the same passage, it says quite plainly that the angel that GOD sent was very, very visibly standing above Jerusalem (I guess the dude was huuuuuuuuuuge). Now Ornan and his sons that were with him saw the angel - as must have everyone else in Jerusalem and possibly neighboring areas. Ornan's sons took off and hid (as most of us would do, I think), but Ornan just continued on with his work. That had me a little stumped at first. Like, why didn't Ornan run and hide, too? But you know, I think Ornan knew that it was obviously and angel, and that he was about GOD's work...as Ornan must have been affected by the deaths as well. So maybe Ornan's attitude was, well, if GOD wants to get me, HE'll get me... in the meantime, I might as well keep on with my life. That's just my interpretation.
My immediate question concerns why David built an altar and burned offerings? Well, an altar is a place (designated) where you pay special tribute to GOD. It's not just some corner or alley. But a place specifically chosen and purified in a way. The offerings mentioned were a bull and wheat (verse 23). Why? Well, the wages of sin is death. But GOD is not going to ask you to kill yourself to show you're truly repentant. Instead, he has you spill the blood of an animal, which takes the place of you. It sounds crazy, I know, but it makes sense if GOD finds sins so deplorable that HE would permanently have you removed from HIS sight if you sinned so against HIM. Animal sacrifice is quite common in the pre-Messianic era (started with Moses...when the people accepted GOD's covenant but was still sinning up a storm). That all stopped, though, when Jesus the Christ died on the cross - he was the ultimate sin offering. So we no longer need to offer these sacrifices when we sin - we can sincerely repent in our acknowledgment of the sin - Jesus already did the sacrificing.
What about the 70,000 apparently blames Israelites who died? - Dude, I don't know. But if they were innocent (that is found blameless in GOD's sight), they were not eternally condemned. GOD only condemns the wicked, as it says in the Holy Bible (you can look any of this up in the Holy Bible, if you feel so inclined). No, that doesn't make things better for the people left behind who may have missed these 70,000 slain...but that's not my business. If you got issues with it, take it up with GOD when you see HIM. But don't write HIM off. Remember, HE created us and everything else... so, quite frankly, HE can do whatever HE wants.
David accepted this, but knew full well that despite it all, GOD is a most merciful being. Remember, David knew he had to be punished, but he'd much rather GOD do it than man. GOD is infinitely more compassionate and merciful than anyone of us could ever be.
That may not be 'good enough' for you, but that's OK. It doesn't need to be. No one is asking you to become a Christian.
THE BOTTOM LINE What have we learned from this passage from the Holy Bible? Number one, it's usually a bad idea to give into temptation to do something you know is wrong. Second, don't pretend you have power or ownership over something that you do not...that is, practice humility. Don't puff yourself up and act like you're more important than everyone else. Remember, Jesus, the Son of GOD, had no problem washing his disciples' feet and encouraged them to follow his examples always. Third, when you've recognized you've done wrong, it's wise to acknowledge it to whomever you've committed it against and repent of it (whether it's to GOD or man...remember treat others as you would want to be treated).
- Theist @ http://goodbible.blogspot.com/
