Jeremiah 44:18 But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine.
Is What Works the Right Thing?
There are two ways you can make choices today. The one is to ask, “Will this work?” The other is to ask, “Is this true or right?”
The exiles in Egypt were not only indifferent to Jeremiah’s message, they were rebellious, smug and defiant. In Jeremiah 44:17 they said, “But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth.” They had gone on to describe a goddess they called the queen of heaven, whom everyone from the prince to the pauper had been worshipping. Why? Their answer to Jeremiah was, “We were worshipping the queen of heaven because when we did, we didn’t want any good thing. And ever since we stopped it’s been nothing but trouble, trouble, trouble. Jeremiah, don’t you tell us how to live. We know how to live. The queen of heaven works.”
Now the problem with that is that there is no such thing as the queen of heaven! The queen of heaven was only in the minds of those who worshipped her, and thus she is moldering in the sands of Egypt today. The only reason that anyone knows about the queen of heaven today is because the God of Heaven mentions her in this account.
Now, God is not against things that work. I believe the truth works. But we don’t judge whether something is true or not merely by if it seems to work. People whose main concern is “Does this work?” as opposed to “Is this true?” are easily misled. We can often look at some religious outfit with incredible wealth and innumerable followers, and if we’re pragmatists we say, “Well, look, God must be blessing them.”
God only blesses the truth. If your church meets in a nondescript brick building, storefront, or house, don’t hang your head if you value the truth. If you are a part of a church with thousands of members, state-of-the-art technology, and gorgeous facilities, praise the Lord. But don’t think that God values that wealth over a soul or over the truth. Anything worth doing is worth doing well, but nothing is worth doing simply because it seems to work. Determine to know the truth and ask God to help you implement it well.