Personal Convictions
"I will take nothing except what the young men have
eaten, and the share of the men who went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let
them take their share."- Genesis 14:22-23
Personal convictions are, well, personal. It is frustrating
to expect others to keep your creed.
During a battle between several kings in and around the
region of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abram’s nephew, Lott, and everyone in his
household were taken captive.
Abram found out about the raid from an escaped prisoner and
immediately took off after them with a few of his neighbors and several of his own trained
fighting men.
A battle ensued, Abram and his allies prevailed, and not long
afterward the king of Sodom, who was still licking his wounds from the defeat suffered at the hands of the army Abram just conquered, came forward to thank
Abram for his help in knocking off his enemies. Naturally, this king wanted to
lavish gifts upon him for his bravery. (Again, everyone loves a winner)
What the king of Sodom didn’t realize was that Abram was a
God fearing man who had already made up his mind (Gen. 14:22) not to take any of
the spoil from his defeated enemies (which, by the way, was common practice
back in those days).
Interestingly, Abram, who was obviously the leader of the
rescue party, made it very clear to the king that these were his personal convictions, and although he didn’t want anything from anyone, he
still expected his allies to receive the customary spoils of war (Gen. 14:24).
Principles are powerful tools in helping us give glory to
God. But, when we expect others to live according to our creed, we’ve crossed
the line from teacher to tyrant. God changes the heart; not us.
Do you have a personal conviction?
Live it out for the glory of God. Perhaps He will use you to
help others develop their own biblical world view as well.
