A Big Deal

Scripture: Genesis 6:5-7 "Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great... And the Lord was sorry that He had made man... and He was grieved at heart. So the Lord said, "I will destroy man whom I have created..."

Observation: This is a portion of the lead-in to the Flood story. God says that He was grieved. How great is the grief of God? Sin and our desertion of Him are the two things that are said to hurt and grieve God (Eph. 4:30 and the book of Hosea).

God is not man, however, that He wallows in self-pity. His response here and in the cross of Jesus demonstrate the reason for the seriousness of sin to God. God's grief stems from 2 things: (1) sin is an offense to God's very existence and because He is omniscient He cannot forget or ignore even sin that He so greatly abhors; (2) man was created to display and praise God's glory. He is the end of all praise. Sin diverts the praise that should go to God. This all sounds very egotistical of God but it is good for us that God protects His praise. To love anything else is to love and praise and honor and adore an infinitely less worthy thing. It's like rejecting and turning from the most lushly stocked buffet to gorge myself on sludge from the sewer drain.

Application: First, I need to take sin seriously and follow God's example - eliminate it and any sources of it in my life. Compromise on sin means I love the thing (TV, movies, a song, a relationship) more than God, whom I hurt by it.

Second, love God only. God alone will satisfy me in ways that nothing else can. Have no substitutes.

Prayer: Father, may I love You better. Please continue to sanctify me. Amen.

Further considerations from John Piper.