PRINCIPAL NOT JUST RIGHT

Five Judean kings receive a modest acclamation that would have been more enthusiastic had hey abolished the sacrifices at the high places.

1. Asa = 1Kings 15:11-15
2. Jehoshaphat = 1Kings 22:43
3. Jehoash = 2Kings 12:2-3
4. Azariah (Uzziah) = 2Kings 15:3-4
5. Jotham = 2Kings 15:34-35

These were the greatest of the great kings of Judah but their only problem was that they did not deal with the high places. (I discussed what high places were).

We all know that no one is perfect in this world. I don’t think the Bible historian expected these good kings to be perfect. At the same time also these kings were not extra expected not to make any mistakes, mistakes are for human (as we say).

The problem of these kings was a fault on principal. While they were well behaved (as individuals) and good political heads, they did not pass good policies on religious matters.

They acted liberally with what was right. They knew the right God to be worshipped and where that God was worshipped but did not bother to enforce that in law.

It doesn’t matter how right one is, as long as the principal is compromised, one’s rightness proves to be nothing.

There are many good people and celebrated heroes who will not inherit the kingdom of God. They will go to hell not because they were bad people in life, but because they did all the good and neglected one principal.

Hell will have many saints and Heaven will be dominated by sinners. The defining factor will be, how right we deal with the principal.

Take, for example, the Bible teaches that we are SAVED BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH the principal here is GOD’S GRACE and once we believe that God is gracious even to the worst sinner and a recurrent sinner and we turn to him always. We are saved.

But if we ignore that truth and hustle our way to heaven at the expense of the principal. We will eventually be right but not right for Heaven.

Friend…even in ordinary life, you always need to secure the principal good, the rest are details.

THE MAIN THING IS TO KEEP THE MAIN THING, THE MAIN THING.

Pr White
The Gospel Hawker