Don't Get Cheated

Jude 1:10 (NASB)

But these men revile the things which they do not understand; and the things which they know by instinct, like unreasoning animals, by these things they are destroyed.

Proverbs 12:15 (NASB)

The way of a fool is right in his own eyes,

But a wise man is he who listens to counsel.

Keeping a teachable spirit will grow you closer to God. If you work against Him, He will let you—for a time;

James 4:6 (NASB)

But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.”

Like the false teachers of Jude, if we go around communicating things to others that are not biblical, we will be held accountable;

Matthew 18:6 (NASB)

but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

Dismissing the authority of Christ in daily living is much the same as being a false teacher. What we do communicates to those around us. When you communicate the sins of worry and anxiety, laziness and depression, fear and doubt, anger and resentment, it is possible to affect the attitudes of others. 

1 Thessalonians 5:15-18 (NASB)

See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people. Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

As in Jude 1:10, many revile [criticize in an abusive or angrily manner] what is not comfortable to them. They dismiss the authority of Christ, creating their own set of rules that they have typically adopted from the world rather than the commanding power of God found in His Word. Paul warned that we not be cheated by people that act this way;

Colossians 2:8 (NKJV)

Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.

Change is hard for some. When you have set a standard for yourself and lived it for years, it can be difficult to admit you have wasted time. Some will not begin to obey God because it is hard to review the past and let go of wasted years. It is never too late to be forgiven and walk in His Love.

Be encouraged! Don’t revile the truth because it is uncomfortable. Refuse to dishonor your Lord with unbelief. Avoid cheating others out of God's goodness through you. God can make the years of regret from following your own standards seem as though they didn’t exist. He has a way of doing so much in a short amount of time that it is as if it didn’t happen. He loves you. Seek, Trust, Obey.

Joel 2:25 (NKJV)

“So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten...”