God’s Ways or Man’s?
THAT God’s ways should differ from man’s should not surprise us at all. Does not his Word tell us that man is unable to direct his own steps, that the bent of man is bad from his youth up and that the human heart is deceitful? And does it not also show that Satan the Devil has misled all mankind? Yes!
Certainly Noah’s building the ark at God’s command appeared strange to the antediluvians, even as did Abraham’s picking up and leaving his native land to the natives of Ur. What puzzled expressions must have been on the faces of the Egyptians as they watched the Israelites sprinkle blood on the sideposts and across the tops of their entrances!—Gen. 6:14, 22; 12:1; Ex. 12:7.
Many of the things Jesus taught at first seemed exceedingly strange to his followers; in fact, so much so that on one occasion some of them called Jesus’ words shocking and quit following him. However, those whose hearts were right inquired as to the meaning of the strange things Jesus said.—John 6:60-69.
When the apostle Paul was in Athens, preaching the good news about Christ, certain philosophers “laid hold of him and led him to the Areopagus, saying: ‘Can we get to know what this new teaching is which is spoken by you? For you are introducing some things that are strange to our ears. Therefore we desire to get to know what these things purport to be.’” Here we have an example of persons who pursued the wise course, even if some were but idly curious. While some mocked and others patronizingly, no doubt, said, “We will hear you about this even another time,” still “some men joined themselves to him and became believers, among whom also were Dionysius, a judge of the court of the Areopagus, and a woman named Damaris.”—Acts 17:19, 20, 32-34.
Likewise today, the mere fact that the message of Jehovah’s kingdom that Christian witnesses are bringing to the peoples of all nations may seem strange to us is no valid reason for despising it or dismissing it with a shrug of the shoulders. What does matter is whether it finds support in the Scriptures and reason or not. Some may find that what God says at Isaiah 55:7, 8 about his ways and thoughts not being men’s ways and thoughts applies to them. So in the light of God’s Word and reason, let us “make sure of all things; hold fast to what is right.” Then we will not go wrong, for the greatest Teacher of all time said of God’s Word, “Your word is truth.”—1 Thess. 5:21; John 17:17.