“Every man’s way is right in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the hearts.” (Proverbs 21:2, NKJV)
Sin is disobedience to God’s Word. Then what is evil? Simply put, evil is the nature of the heart that leads us to sin, while sin is the expression of that evil. Of course, evil thoughts harbored in the heart can themselves be sinful.
We know that hatred, envy, jealousy, and pride are evil. These are things we can recognize relatively easily when we examine our hearts. However, there is another kind of evil that we may not recognize because we believe we are doing what is right, even though God sees it as evil. Why do people commit evil without even realizing it?
Think of our hearts as soil. If something is buried deep in the ground and covered with layers of soil, we cannot see what lies beneath the surface. The same is true of the evil hidden in our hearts. Something is covering it, preventing us from recognizing it. What, then, is hiding the evil within our hearts? Let us consider three examples from the Bible.
The Pharisees Could Not Recognize Their Own Evil Because of Self-Righteousness
In Luke 18:9–14, Jesus told the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector to those who trusted in their own righteousness and looked down on others. The Pharisee prayed that he was not like other sinners. He fasted twice a week and faithfully gave his tithes. Because he believed he was keeping the Law, he considered himself righteous and despised others. Yet he failed to recognize the pride and contempt hidden in his own heart.
Some Pharisees in the Gospels also criticized and rejected Jesus because they placed their own interpretation of the Law above His teachings. They believed they were faithfully serving God, yet they failed to understand His will. When we are caught up in self-righteousness, we may fail not only to recognize the evil within our hearts but also to receive God’s Word properly.
King Saul Covered His Disobedience with Self-Justification
In 1 Samuel 15:13–22, God commanded Saul to completely destroy everything belonging to the Amalekites. However, Saul spared the best sheep and cattle. When Samuel confronted him, Saul explained that they had been kept to offer sacrifices to God. Although he had placed his own judgment above God’s command, he justified his disobedience by claiming that it was for God’s sake.
Saul insisted that he had obeyed God’s command, but what God desired was obedience rather than sacrifice. His religious excuse and self-justification prevented him from acknowledging his wrongdoing.
Jonah Could Not Accept God’s Mercy Because He Believed His Own Judgment Was Right
In Jonah 4:1–4, God spared the people of Nineveh after they repented. Instead of rejoicing, Jonah became very angry. He believed that the people of Nineveh deserved punishment because of their wickedness. Convinced that his own judgment was right, he could not accept the mercy and compassion God showed them.
God asked Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry?” (Jonah 4:4, NKJV). Jonah could see the wickedness of the people of Nineveh, but he failed to examine the anger and lack of compassion in his own heart. His belief that Nineveh deserved judgment kept him from accepting God’s will.
What About Our Own Hearts?
These examples show that people may commit evil without recognizing it because self-righteousness, self-justification, and their own judgments hide the evil within their hearts. We, too, may believe in God, worship Him, pray, and serve Him faithfully, yet still judge others or place our own desires above God’s will because we believe we are right.
Consider Cain and Abel. Both offered sacrifices to God, but God accepted Abel and his offering while rejecting Cain and his offering (Genesis 4:3–5). Can we confidently say that we are not like Cain? The fact that we worship and serve God does not automatically mean that every thought, attitude, and action of ours is pleasing to Him.
The person who commits evil without realizing it may not be someone else. It could be us. Today, let us examine whether what we believe is right is truly right in God’s eyes, and whether we are seeking our own interests while believing that we are serving Him.
Have you ever believed that you were doing the right thing, only to realize later that you were wrong? Let us share our experiences and learn from one another.
In the next devotional, we will explore how to discover the evil hidden in our hearts by self-righteousness and self-justification.
Many times, we do things that we think are right, but they may not be right in God’s eyes.
We know that judging others, jealousy, adultery, and hatred are sins that God does not accept. But there is another kind of sin that we often fail to recognize because we think that whatever we are doing is right. However, in reality, it may not be right, and God does not accept it. We need to purify our hearts and become holy before God. We need to follow His will and walk according to his desires, not our own.
Amen.
आज का यह संदेश हमें एक बहुत महत्वपूर्ण बात बताता है कि हमारे हृदय में जो बुराई होती है, वही प्रकट होती है। हम अपनी इच्छाओं को परमेश्वर की इच्छाओं से ऊपर रखते हैं, क्योंकि हमें लगता है कि हम सही हैं।
हम जो कर रहे होते हैं, ज़रूरी नहीं कि वह सही ही हो। हम सोच सकते हैं कि यह परमेश्वर की इच्छा है, लेकिन वास्तव में वह हमारे ही हृदय की इच्छा हो सकती है। हम स्वयं वैसा करना चाहते हैं।
इसलिए यह जानना बहुत महत्वपूर्ण है कि परमेश्वर क्या चाहता है और परमेश्वर की इच्छा क्या है। इसीलिए हमें हमेशा परमेश्वर के वचन के द्वारा स्वयं को जाँचते रहना चाहिए और अपने हृदय से हर प्रकार की बुराई को दूर करते रहना चाहिए।
आमीन।
धन्यवाद पिता परमेश्वर आज के संदेश को हम जानेंगे कई कई बार हम समझते हैं हम उपवास करते हैं प्रार्थना करते हैं यह सही है लेकिन परमेश्वर के नजरों के सामने क्या हम सही कर रहे हैं बाइबल से समझ पा रहे हैं फिरीसी साहुल यौन परमेश्वर के आशीष को समझ नहीं पाया इससे हम समझ पा रहे हैं हम भी अपनी गलती को आज नहीं समझ पा रहे हैं दूसरे की गलती को लालच को क्रोध गुस्सा को देखते हैं इससे हम समझ पाते हैं हमें दूसरों कि नहीं अपने अंदर छिपी बुराई को ढूंढना है और त्याग देना अपने हृदय को वचन और आजा से भरना है सभी दुष्ट विचार को दूर कर देना है आज के संदेश पिता परमेश्वर बहुत गहराई से समझने में मदद करें और हमें ले चली जय मसीह पास्टर जी
आज इस संदेश मैंने ये सीखा
कई बार हमें लगता है कि हम जो कर रहे हैं, वह सही है, लेकिन जरूरी नहीं कि वह परमेश्वर की नजर में भी सही हो।
बाइबल में फरीसी अपने अहंकार को नहीं पहचान पाया, शाऊल ने अपनी गलती मानने के बजाय बहाने बनाए और योना अपने फैसले को सही मानकर परमेश्वर की दया को समझ नहीं पाया।
कई बार हम भी ऐसा ही करते हैं। दूसरों की गलतियाँ तो जल्दी देख लेते हैं, लेकिन अपने अंदर के अहंकार, गुस्से और स्वार्थ को नहीं पहचान पाते।
इसलिए हमें खुद को हमेशा सही मानने के बजाय परमेश्वर के वचन के अनुसार अपने हृदय की जाँच करनी चाहिए।
Ha hame apne hriday Ko bhi tarse dekhna hai ki Ham kisi ke bare mein kya sochte hain ki sach mein hamare man mein dusron ke prati burai aati Thi Ki yahan han ki Ham sabse upar hai aur ham sab kuchh kar sakte hain but Ham dusron ke prati Ham hamare rudai mein kuch buri Bhavna sochte the Ham Kisi Ko kam samjte the aur hamari dimag mein Aisa chalta tha ki Ham sab kuchh kar sakte hain but is Sandesh se humne yah sikha ki sach mein hamen Kisi Se shikayat nahin karni hai aur kisi ke prati Apne riday mein bair nahin rakhna hai hamen kisi ke prati buri Bhavna bhi nahin rakhni Hai hamen Kisi Ko kam bhi nahin samajhta Hai hamen hamare hriday mein Kisi ke prati kuchh ek acchi soch rakhna chahie kisi ke pair jalan irsha nahin rakhna chahie kabhi kabhiHam sochte Hain Ki Ham Jo kar rahe hain vah Sahi Hai To Aisa nahin hota Jo Ham karte vah galat bhi ho sakta hai aur hamen apni buraiyon ko jachna chahie ki Ham yah Sahi kar rahe hain ya galat jisse hamare Jo bure bartaav bure Bhavna Jo hamare dimag hriday mein hoti hai use dur karne mein bahut sari madad Hui thank u Jesus