17 Yet they would not listen to their judges but prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped them. They quickly turned from the ways of their ancestors, who had been obedient to the Lord’s commands.
Why did the people keep falling off the wagon, so to speak? Why could they not see what they were doing? The Israelites got very selfish. The attractive features of the Canaanite gods was that a person could remain selfish, do what they pleased, and fulfill religious requirements. They could do what they wished and still be obeying at least one Canaanite god. Faith in the One True God does not offer short term benefits that appeal to our sinful nature. We are selfish by nature, and the essence of sin is selfishness. We may say things like, “It is all about me. I want to be happy. I can do this because I want to do it.” To live God’s way, we must be selfless. We must put others first. We must serve others. We must love others. To do this, we need to seek Christ’s help to live God’s way. You must seek Jesus, ask the Holy Spirit for help, and obey God. When you do this, you will know how fulfilling, life giving, and joyful it is to be selfless living God’s way.
