Psalm 149:2 and 4 Let Israel rejoice in him that made him…for the LORD taketh pleasure in his people
I am running out of people and companies to boycott. Have you ever been enjoying some product and someone rains on your parade? You’ll go to a restaurant and they will say, “You know who owns this restaurant chain, don’t you?” Or you will drink some coffee and they will say, “You know the political positions of this coffee company, don’t you?” There is certainly a place for saying no.
If a company is so antithetical to what I believe, against God, virtue, and values, then I am not going to bankroll them, but this has become difficult because there is such a mix across the board. I wonder if many companies are good or bad. They are savvy and are playing both ends against the middle. They support a number of causes so they are never caught off guard by the people who end up coming to power.
I have come to a general policy for myself. I don’t patronize those who poke me in the eye. Am I perfectly consistent with whom I patronize and whom I do not? I don’t know that I am, but I am not going to do business with someone who makes me mad for using their product. I’m not going to drink coffee and choke on it because I am so incensed by what the company believes.
Having said that, what does one do? In I Corinthians 5 God talks about not keeping company with fornicators. Verse 10 says, “Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world.” In other words, there is nobody perfect, and there are a number of people who do not believe what I believe, maybe in a strong way. Here is a vocalist at Woodstock back in the day. He is clearly godless. But what about some of the composers of Baroque music? Some of them were not too good either. There is the message of the music, that is a big point. But what do you do? Do you just leave the world? One of these days that is exactly what you are going to do, but what do you do until then? Whom do you boycott and whom do you accept?
I think it is important to remember that one of the judgments for ignoring the God who loves you is serving the enemy who hates you. If you look at the Old Testament story of Israel, over and again one of the judgments for Israel’s ignoring God Jehovah was their serving the very gods that hated them. Psalm 149 reminds us of something we should think about, that harmony in life is rejoicing in the God who loves you.
Psalm 149:2 says, “Let Israel rejoice in him that made him.” That is God Jehovah. He is called their king. Verse 4 says, “For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people.” Why would I love and rejoice in a God who hates me, what I believe in, and the things that are dearest to me? Why not love the God who loves me? That is what harmony is. A lot of times there is this dissonance in the back of our minds where we believe one thing, but we are amused, entertained, or serviced by something totally the opposite. Again, I don’t know that any of us are or could be completely consistent in this arena, but I think we have to begin by realizing at the very least that the more I harmonize what I do with what I believe, the better I will be in life.
Harmony is rejoicing in the God who loves me. “Let Israel rejoice in him that made him…for the LORD taketh pleasure in his people.” It is God who loves you, not Hollywood, not corporate America, not the state university. It is God that loves you! You say, “Wil, can I build a big wall around me and my family and just ignore the world around me?” That is not what God is suggesting, but there does need to be harmony with what you believe and what you do. Now, there are some things perhaps that I do that you would not, and there are some things that I would not do that perhaps you would do. Many of those things may be debatable. We both have the Bible and if we have trusted Christ, we have the Holy Spirit living within us.
There is much more to be said, but the question is, “To what extent is there harmony between God and all that you hold in your life?” There shouldn’t be anything that creates dissonance and friction between your God and your life. So, how much harmony is there between God and the things you allow in your life?
Let me give you a couple of examples. How much harmony is there between God and your influencers? I notice here on the Bill Rice Ranch that many of us who don’t need to talk to someone or track some line of thought for their work may put in ear buds and listen to podcasts. Is that wrong? No, but the sheer amount of volume coming into your head every day is unparalleled in human history. I can literally be pumping things into my brain for many hours a day. If I am listening to a podcast while I am driving, the podcast will end and all of a sudden, I will awake as if from a stupor or a dream and think, “Where am I?” My eyes have been seeing the landscape on the road, but it is like I haven’t seen any of it because I am focused on what is in my mind’s eye, which is what I was listening to on the podcast.
There are a number of people who are engaging and may even be right in their positions, but they don’t know the Lord. We don’t need Republicans; we need revival. The answer to this country is not politics; it is coming clean with God. Politics is important, but not more important than the revival that only God Himself can give. So how much harmony is there between God and your influencers? They may be good, wise, and agree with your positions, but be aware that the more they are in harmony with God, the more they are in harmony with truth. The more they are in harmony with truth, the less dissonance and stress there will be in your mind.
How much harmony is there between God and your education? Someone has said, “You will be the same person in twenty years except for the books you read and the people you meet.” That is largely true. I can think of a number of people I went to school with who after a few years I thought, “Wow, they are totally in a different place now than when they graduated. They are a different person.” Why is that? Oftentimes it is because of the books they read, the people they meet, and the place where they get their master’s degree.
Who is influencing your mind? We can change, but if you belong to God, the change should come from what God has said. Can you rejoice in the things in your life and harmonize those with the God you hold in your heart? If there is a dissonance, something will have to go. We need to give God every part of our lives. Will we be consistent every day? I don’t know that we will be. Are there things in which we may differ concerning what we should allow in our lives? That may well be, but we have got to be honest with ourselves because harmony in life is rejoicing in the God who loves you.