With the gigantic increase in our understanding of the various biological processes in animals and human beings, the idea of ‘playing God’ has become very real. Today, human beings can be created in a test tube. Today, you can not only choose the gender of your baby but you can choose likely color of eyes, hair and physical build, if not intelligence and personality traits. We are on the verge of being able to create exact duplicates of ourselves through cloning. In biomedicine, we now create embryos (human beings) just to steal their stem-cells and then destroy them. We literally sacrifice children to help others overcome disease and impairments. Women are allowed to choose life and death of their unborn children with legalized abortion and individuals are increasingly gaining the right to have a doctor kill them if they decide they do not wish to live longer. In some parts of the world, a doctor can euthanize someone without gaining the patient’s permission nor the permission of their loved ones. In the field of biological reproduction and biomedicine, people ‘playing God’ is becoming commonplace. Our growth in scientific knowledge is out-pacing our application of ethics and morality.
May I say that there are other ways in which we can ‘play God’ other than manipulating biological processes. It is my intent to have us look at a handful today.
1. Establishing Spiritual Laws and Regulations.
So many people have played God and are continuing to play God by deciding that they can take-away from or add to the Scriptures by devising their own religious laws and regulations. Over the last 2000 years, people have thought that they could improve upon God’s Plan by introducing new rules and regulations or ignoring the Scriptures relating to how one is saved, how to worship, how to demonstrate holiness inone‘s life, how to enter the Church, how to structure the Church, how to run the Church, what to call the Church, etc.
It is preposterous to think that we can improve upon God’s Will as presented in the Scriptures. Isaiah 55:8-9, "‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.’”
We are commanded through-out the Bible to not add nor take away from God’s Word:
Deuteronomy 4:2, "You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.”
Deuteronomy 12:32, "Whatever I command you, you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to nor take away from it.”
Proverbs 30:6, “Do not add to His words Lest He reprove you, and you be proved a liar.”
Revelation 22:18-19, “I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God shall add to him the plagues which are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.”
We may think that we can come-up with wise rules and regulations to help us be more righteous, but such efforts are vain. Colossians 2:20-23, “If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, ‘Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!’ (which all refer to things destined to perish with the using) - in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.”
We may think that we can come-up with more powerful and majestic ways to worship God, but such is vain. Matthew 15:9, “’But in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’"
We must be careful not to ‘play God’ by adding to and taking-away anything delivered to us in the Scriptures. As we recognize that we are mere servants, we must say to God in thought, word and deed, ’Not my will but Thy will be done.’
2. Judging Motives and Intents.
Another way in which we ‘play God’ is by thinking we can know and judge the inner motives and intentions of each other. We are ‘playing God’ when we think we can know what is truly in somebody else’s heart. We read in 1 Samuel 16:7, “God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."
We cannot read hearts and minds as God can. We can take note of a person’s words and actions and attempt to draw conclusions about a person but, even then, our conclusions can be faulty. A person can make verbal blunders and do wrongly in their actions and yet have the best of motivations and intentions. A person can be pleasant in speech and kind in deed and yet have the very worst of motivations and intentions. Making judgments about people can be really difficult because we don’t have all the facts about a person as does God. 1 CHRONICLES 28:9, "The Lord searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts.”
Back in the Sixties, there was a popular song by the Animals that had the chorus lyric - “I’m just a soul whose intentions are good. Oh Lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood.”
There have been numerous occasions in my life when my motivations and intentions have been good but my words or actions have been greatly misunderstood. It really hurts when that happens. I am sure that I am not the only one here who has been wrongly judged by others.
Jesus implores us to not make superficial judgments about people and their hearts. In John 7:24, He says, "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment." He is telling us to take the initiative to explore a little deeper into a person before you start drawing conclusions about the person. Pay attention to words and deeds but try to get to know what is on the inside of the person before making judgments. Until we do get the inner facts, Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 13:7 that love “believes all things, hopes all things.” In other words, when it comes to judging somebody, give them the benefit of the doubt and hope for the best until their motivations and intentions are fully known and lead you to think otherwise.
Let’s not ‘play God’ by thinking we can know and judge somebody’s motivations and intentions based upon the outward appearance.
3. Seek Revenge.
The third way that we find some ‘playing God’ is by seeking revenge upon people. Revenge, of course, is doing something bad to others who have done bad things to us. If somebody says something negative about us, we say something negative about them. If somebody calls us a bad name, we call them a bad name. If somebody hurts us, we try to hurt them back. If somebody harms us or the things that belong to us, we try to harm them back or things that belong to them. Revenge is giving someone ‘a taste of their own medicine’ as we sometimes describe it.
It is perfectly acceptable to confront a person who has wronged us and to ask them to apologize - Luke 17:3, "Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.” However, it is never acceptable to to seek revenge upon someone, no matter what they have done to us or those we care about. When we begin to think about vengeance, we are ‘playing God.’
Romans 12:17, 19, “Never pay back evil for evil to anyone…Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.”
It is hard to be treated unjustly and not take justice into our hands. Its hard sometimes to just let God deal with the outcome of situations where we have been wronged. But that is exactly what the Lord requires of us and He has provided us with a great example. 1 Peter 2:19-23, “For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a man bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly. For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God. For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, Who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him Who judges righteously.”
God is asking that we rise above the behavior of others and to endure the wickedness of others without seeking revenge. We need to trust iin God that He will settle accounts according to His wisdom and justice. 1 Peter 3:8-9, “To sum up, let all be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil, or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead.”
Let us not ‘play God’ by seeking revenge.
4. Judging One’s Eternal Fate.
Another way in which people ‘play God’ is by pronouncing eternal judgment upon others. What I mean by that is that it is not our position to tell someone that they are going to Hell.
I can show somebody the Scriptures and how that they teach that we are all sinners and that the wages of sin is spiritual, eternal death. I can show them that the Scriptures teach that Christ died for the ungodly and that there is no other way to reach the Father than through Christ Jesus. I can show them that they can only receive the salvation of Christ by believing the Gospel, repenting of sins, verbally confessing that Christ Jesus is the Son of God and to be immersed in water for the forgiveness of sins. Furthermore, I can show them that once they obey the Gospel they must continue to strive to serve Christ as their Lord and do the things that He commands. I can even show that if they depart from Christ that Christ will depart from them. I can confidently show a person all of these things; but, I cannot take the giant leap to play the role of Final Judge by telling them their eternal fate. James 4:12, “There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?”
God is just but He is also merciful. I’d like to think that on Judgment Day, grace and mercy will temper God’s justice. Will God take into consideration factors in a person’s life beyond strict obedience to the Word? I do not know. But, I think often of the words of Jesus, found in Matthew 7:1-2, "Do not judge lest you be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.”
Next time we have the inclination to ‘play God’ by judging, let us remember that God will judge us by the same standard of measure that we have used in judging others.
5. Severing a Valid Marriage Contract.
Sadly, many today ‘play God’ by separating spouses whom God has joined together. Mark 10:6-12, "‘But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and the two shall become one flesh; consequently they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.’ And in the house the disciples began questioning Him about this again. And He said to them, ‘Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her; and if she herself divorces her husband and marries another man, she is committing adultery.’"
Only God has the authority and power to join two partners in marriage and only He has the authority and power to separate them through bringing death to one or both parties. We ‘play God’ when we seek to break and sever the “one flesh” relationship that God has made.
6. Changing People.
Another way in which folks ‘play God’ is by trying to change people. It is human nature to want others to be like we want them to be.
Before I go any further, let me make a point for clarification. We parents are obligated by God’s Will to shape and mold the characters of our children. Children’s minds and hearts are such that we can make a significant impression upon who they become. They call early childhood the ‘formative years’ and that underscores the fact that we can and should form them to be the kind of people that God wants them to be. Childhood is a unique period of life where the changing of little ones is achievable.
What I am referring to is dealing with people who are adults. I am speaking of people whose character and personality are already formed. I am speaking of people who are, as we say, ‘set in their ways.’
We can give others advice and direction to help them see where change is needed. We can provide encouragement and support to assist them in making the changes that they come to desire.
What we cannot do and should not do is try to change people who see no need for change nor have any desire to change. We can have the person’s very best interest at heart, but we simply cannot and should not make them change if they don’t want to change.
When dealong with such people, we usually try to control them and manipulate them to force change. We often waste so much time and emotional and mental energy. We get frustrated and angry and bitter in trying to do something that only God can do.
Last week, we looked at the life of King Manasseh. He was raised by a very godly father. Sadly, Manasseh took a wrong turn and became the most wicked king ever. The prophets tried to give him direction. They tried to warn him of the terrible consequences of engaging in evil and promoting it in others. But, that didn’t work. Manasseh saw no need for change and had no desire to contemplate change. Manasseh didn’t change until God intervened and brought about circumstances that caused him to come to his senses and repent.
When we are dealing with others who need to change but ignore our advice and encouragement to change, we should not ‘play God’ by trying to manipulate and control them. We must do two things -
Pray for them. Pray that God will intervene and open their eyes to see the need for change and strengthen their hearts to make the change.
We need to change ourselves. We need to learn to love them and let Christ live in us and through us. Let us remember that even we cannot change without the Lord. John 15:5, "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing.” Romans 8:12-13, “So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh -- for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”
Today, I trust that we have explored areas worthy of our consideration. God is great and we are not God. Let’s refrain from playing sas if we are. Let’s not -
1. Establishing Spiritual Laws and Regulations.
2. Judging Motives and Intents.
3. Seek Revenge.
4. Judging One’s Eternal Fate.
5. Severing a Valid Marriage Contract.
6. Changing People.
