Inquiring Minds Want to Know
It’s not that people don’t want help or guidance—they’re just looking in the wrong places. Rather than turn to the Scriptures for God’s eternal wisdom, people will consult advice columnists, check their horoscope, or maybe even pay some psychic for a “look” into the future.
Advice columnists may occasionally give some good advice, but when it’s a matter of any great importance, we should look for principles from God’s word. For example, people often write to them for marriage advice, but since God designed the marriage relationship, shouldn’t He be the one we turn to for help?
Consulting psychics—now that’s another matter entirely. We’ve got no business consulting someone like this. What they do sounds an awful lot like sorcery—a practice condemned in Galatians 5:19-21. Ask King Saul how God feels about consulting a medium. Do you remember that story? Without rehashing all the details, here’s how it ended. “So Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he had committed against the Lord, because he did not keep the word of the Lord, and also because he consulted a medium for guidance. But he did not inquire of the Lord” (1 Chronicles 10:13-14).
There is at least one big reason people don’t consult the Bible often enough. Sure, there are some who don’t believe it contains the inspired word of God. But for many others, the problem is simply that it just takes too much effort. They like to get their answers quickly and in a condensed form. They don’t want to put forth any effort themselves. Make no mistake about it; getting answers from the Bible does require effort. God’s teaching on any given subject is not always found in one place—you have to keep searching diligently. But the reward will be well worth the effort. “Yes, if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding, if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God” (Proverbs 2:3-5). Some might say, “I don’t have to do that, I can just ask my preacher.” Consulting your preacher can even be a dangerous thing, unless he can prove his answers from the Scriptures (Acts 9:22; 18:27-28).
I’ll be the first to admit that I need help and guidance, because I certainly don’t have all the answers. But I know where I’m going to look for them. After many of His disciples had turned away, Jesus turned to His apostles and asked, “Do you also want to go away?” Peter’s reply was, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). The words of eternal life—we won’t find them in an advice column or in a tarot card reading, but we will find them in the Bible. It’s time to open it and start reading.