Must God Serve With Sin?

“Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices: but thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities.” (Isa 43:24 AV)

It sounds a bit odd to think of the LORD when reading these words, but indeed, this is the LORD speaking to Judah.  Judah had been offering sacrifices to idols.  They had gone after the false gods of their neighbors.  At the same time, they kept up sacrifices at the Temple.  They were trying to play two ends against the middle.  The reason we think it odd is that God says He is serving.  Yet, that is not out of the ordinary.  God does serve with His people.  He uses His people as the vessel by which the good news of the gospel goes forth.  So, in looking at the question, we can apply it inward.  How often does God serve with us while we have known sin in our hearts?  How much does He have to put up with just to use us for His glory?  Do we expect the blessings of God when we know we are not right with Him?  It is only by God’s grace that He uses us at all.  Compound that with the curse of sin, and grace becomes all that much greater!

Running a business is not for the faint of heart.  There are many challenges.  There are taxes to pay and maintenance costs to consider.  There are advertising, pricing, and competitive edges to consider.  There are surveys to take, customer feedback to consider, and new product development to pursue.  However, one of the biggest challenges is dealing with employees.  Many are terrific.  Many show up on time and give an honest day’s work.  However, there are a few who do not.  When I ran the restaurant, we had mostly under 18-year-olds working for us.  With school schedules, their social life, and inherent immaturity, they were not the most reliable of demographic groups.  When I was that age, it was cool to work for a wage.  It was the thing to do.  Not so anymore.  If teenagers are working, more than not, it is because their parents are forcing them to.  They do not want to be there.  They would rather be somewhere else, doing something else.  Anything else.  This meant that on any given night, there would be at least one worker who called in sick.  You over staffed to make up for it.  Part-time employees are notoriously unreliable.  I was forced to work with those who really didn’t have the best interests of the business at heart.

God has it much worse.  Not only are we unreliable.  We are also counterproductive.  When we harbor sin in our heart, it is difficult for the LORD to serve with us.  It may even be repulsive.  The question can be asked: I wonder how much glory God could get from our lives if He didn’t have our sin to deal with?  Just think of it.  If we fled sin, our hearts would be completely clean, yielded, and ready to do the bidding of our great God.  If we were quick to confess sin and forsake it, there is one less barrier to surrender God must overcome.  Imagine if a carpenter had an old worn out drill that was prone to quitting versus a brand new one.  This is what we do to God.  When we are not right with Him, it limits what He can do through us.  We are asking the LORD to put up with our sin while He seeks to use us as His messengers to the lost.  This is the idea expressed above.  How long does the LORD have to put up with saints who entertain sin and serve God at the same time?  How long does He have to use sullied people because He has no better?  Do we really want God to move?  DO we really want to see revival?  Then it starts with a people who will confess, forsake, and hate the sin that hinders our service.  Does God use imperfect people?  All the time.  Does He wish He didn’t have to?  All the time.  Let us strive to overcome sin so that God doesn’t have to use what is available rather than use the best.