Having Regard for God

Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Matthew 25:37-40 KJV

God is ever present and He expects us to show a regard for him by been a reflection of who he is. We do this in obedience to His words concerning our love for him and our neighbour as well as our leaders. God is the only stabilizing force in the life of man, irrespective of all the problems that may come our way, God will always be there for us. Pick up the word of God, everyday because God is all you have. If you lose a spouse you remarry, if you lose a loved one you mourn for a few weeks at the most a month and life will move on. When we lose wealth or property, life will move on.

God is all we have, therefore we must look for him with all we have. We must have a personal relationship with God, because He alone is the one who will not forsake us or leave us. The truth is we misbehave because we have not seen God. “No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us” 1 John 4:12 KJV.  That place were we have chosen to serve God becomes the home of God for us, The shepherd in charge of the place where you serve God is the representative of God in our life. The neighbour that we see each day, is the reflection of God in our life and we must treat them right.

If we have no regard for the people who work for us, the house keeper, driver and all the lowly staff that work for us then we have no regard for God. The way we treat our church is the way we treat our God. If we have no regard for the church, the pastor, the ministers and the people around us, we have no regard for God.

If we are to work for God in His house we must have a regard for him and everyone of his people that has charge over us. It is not a matter of what we want of think is right. We have to take God very seriously. The little boy we see on the road begging us for money, and we shout on him to “get out” may be the reason we are having issues, because he is our neighbour that we have no regard for.  “Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” Matthew 25:40 KJV. 

If we are to serve God in spirit and in truth, we  are to have regard for the people in our life and those that God has placed over us to lead us. The key to having a regard for God is as seen in His word.

Where does disrespect of God takes us?

"And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things." Acts 5: 5 KJV

The story in Acts 5 was as a result of people living from a common purse, helping each other grow and looking out for each other. But Ananias and Sapphira his wife, decided to also add to the common purse but held back part and told a lie. They pretended to do good not knowing that we cannot pretend before the Spirit of God. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction." Prov 1:7 KJV

Most of the problems that we have today; the sudden deaths, the lacks, poverty, is as a result of 2 things.

1. We do not fear God sufficiently
2. We lack wisdom

In the story we read in Acts 5, we see that the fear of God was lacking. They had no respect for God and so lied and decidedly mocked the holy spirit of God. They willingly lied. The property they sold was theirs and no one would have faulted them if they didn't want to share the proceeds from the sale with the brethren. This tells us that God sees our hearts and the intentions therein. 

To live in peace with man and to weather the storms of life, there is the need to fear God (have respect for God, have reverence for Him). This respect (a feeling of deep admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities, or achievements) puts us in a place of deeper wisdom and knowledge of life in Christ. To live a life that reflects Christ what we need first is the fear of God and this fear (respect) gives birth to knowledge. 

A man who does not fear God would find it easy to live in sin. A life that does not have respect for God would not seek to please Him. As Christians (believers) we are not serious as believers and hence we are have difficulties enjoying the benefits and dividends of Christianity. If your desire is to be a Christian, be a Christian. If your desire is to enjoy life and its material things, then by all means enjoy life. 

Simply because judgement doesn't come swiftly does not mean God is not seeing and hearing. But His grace through Christ Jesus gives us the second and many other second chances. God gives us a long rope and we take it for granted, thinking God does not know. This is a lack of fear for God exhibited by man. 

If we look around we would see challenges and problems all around us. We see people in need of help or in need of a way out. One of the ways by which believers show their lack of fear of God (disrespect for God) is taking part in sexual promiscuity (immorality). The resultant effects of this level of disrespect for God opens doors to sorrows and pain; it results in challenges that we otherwise should not have experienced.

The disrespect for God through sexual immorality leads to:

1. The person looses his/her place in destiny Gen 35: 22; 49: 4. Reuben lost his place among the children of Israel because of the act of sexual impurity
2. Major family conflicts would arise
3. Confusion and crisis in the family Gen 16: 3; Prov 6:33
4. Unwanted pregnancy and strange children Gen 19
5. Spiritual covenant. Every act of sex is an act covenant with an authority over the sexual partner
6. It leads to abortions that limits progress and causes death Gen 4: 8

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. "Start with God—the first step in learning is bowing down to God; only fools thumb their noses at such wisdom and learning." Prov. 1: 7 MSG We must be willing to bow down to God, surrender to Him and giving Him the respect that he deserves. A respect for God would lead to that respect for our body and the respect for our future. It would automatically move us to separate us from anything that brings dishonour to Him that we respect and bow to.