Deuteronomy 10:17
The LORD your God is more powerful than all other gods and lords, and his tremendous power is to be feared. His decisions are always fair, and you cannot bribe him to change his mind.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
“I’ll make you a deal…” If we had a nickel for every time we have said or heard this phrase, we would all have hefty bank accounts! We humans often operate in bargains, manipulations, and bribes… for everything from paying kids to make good grades to getting your spouse to help with the dishes or put gas in the car to promising the police officer we will never speed again if he/she will agree not to write us a ticket. We operate in “if you will do this, I will do that” on a daily basis… if not more frequently.
Our Spiritual life is no exception. We tell God, “If you will just grant me this one thing, I will do XYZ for you.” We promise to serve Him in unbelievable ways in exchange for good health, prosperity, a certain relationship, and even tangible things like a new job or a new car. “Lord, just make me skinny, and I will serve you night and day. Give me a new SUV, and I will hall the children’s choir around for You! Let our team win the championship, and I’ll organize a new chapter of FCA in your honor! Lord, please don’t let me lose this job, and I promise I will give you all the glory.” The sad part is that we really think this sort of tactic can work!
Apparently many of us have not paid attention to Deuteronomy 10:17. We cannot bribe God. We cannot make Him change His mind by making outrageous promises. We can’t earn God’s grace and mercy… or salvation through Jesus Christ… and we can’t bargain with God.
“So why bother?” you may ask. If God has made up His mind already, what difference does it make what we say or do? The key is to understand that God may very well change His mind… but not because of our ridiculous displays of desperation and conniving. If God sees us earnestly working to serve Him and honor His blessings upon our lives, He may extend additional grace and mercy to us out of unconditional love for one of His children.
We’ve all experienced a time when we changed our mind out because we felt a deep love and compassion for someone else… a time when we did something nice for them “just because” we wanted to make their day. God wants to do things for His children… to bless us “just because.” But trying to bribe Him can actually serve to question His judgment… and God’s judgment is always fair.
We would do well to learn how to operate without bribes, manipulations, and con games - certainly when it comes to God, but also in our everyday lives. We should live in way that God – and others - want to work with us and do things for us because of who we are and how we conduct our lives.
God may change His mind from time to time… but it won’t be because of any bribe we may offer. Cons and bribes are for the devil and his gang. Instead of trying to change God’s mind, let’s concentrate on changing our attitudes and behavior to line up with His will. Let’s offer God our very best every day… and trust His decisions to always be perfect and fair.
©2010 Debbie Robus
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