Who Are You Following

People follow what they desire and who they want to be like, many times those who are famous.  I know some people that follow the group called “The Grateful Dead.”  These people have followed them from concert to concert, city to city, and I don’t know how many places they have chased after them over the years.  I believe everyone follows after someone or something and that is usually what shapes their way of thinking.  

There are people that follow after different rock bands and various other bands playing different forms of music.  Many follow movie and TV stars, even to the point of trying to look, act and dress like them.  Usually when people get caught up in following different fads and trends and the people that teach them, it will cost them something, it may be emotional, physical, psychological, mental, financial and even spiritual problems.  Some may get caught up in all these things, but to them it will seem like it is worth it all.

Some follow after what they may call a hero, someone that has really impressed them in some way or other, maybe a military person or a candidate running for a government position or one that has a position and pushes for the same things they like.  There are many people in the mafia and there are gang leaders that people follow because they look up to them because they like what these people stand for.  Sometimes people follow people because of ignorance, hearing and believing things that are deceiving, because they are ill-informed.

Who are you following?  There is only one that we can fully trust and put our full confidence in, and that is the Lord, everyone and everything else will fail us.  But even believers have to be careful not to be drawn away because of deception and fall into the hands of cult leaders who have traded the truth for a lie.  These people may have the form of religion but they lack the power therein.  There is only one that you can follow to have the abundant life and be led into all truth and that is the Lord, the God of the Universe and, praise the Lord, many do follow Him, but sad to say many are not studying God’s Word and because of that they can be led astray.

God’s Word says this in Hosea 4:6, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; because you have forgotten the law of your God,

I also will forget your children.”

Preachers and teachers have a great responsibility to teach truth, people are depending on it.  You can either lead people to the Lord or away from Him.  In Hosea’s day, the religious leaders were leading the people away from God and there are those that are doing the same thing today.  In Hosea’s day the priests were happy when the people that were under them sinned because they profited from it.  When the people brought their sin offerings, the priest received a portion of it.  The more the people sinned, the more the priest received, when they had too much and couldn’t eat it all, they sold some of it and some they gave to their relatives, so you can understand that they profited from the people’s sin. This kind of behavior also gave the priest power and position in the community so they encouraged the people to sin.

I wonder how many people today profit by using the Lord, teaching or preaching or doing other ministries for gain.  In Hosea’s day the people didn’t have the resources we have today, they couldn’t go to the store and pick up a Bible and study it, but we can.  We are in a much different situation and have access to all kinds of religious material, therefore we have no excuse for not studying for ourselves, so we have to bear some of the responsibility if we are not reading it and are led astray.  

God’s Word says this in 2 Timothy 2:15, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”  Every believer has a responsibility to study the Word of God, if it is possible, and not to neglect it.  The Word of God is His love letter to us, shame on us if we don’t take time to study it.  Without studying the Word, how will you know the truth and who to trust in and follow?  Be careful and don’t be deceived.  Something to think about!  God bless you and yours and may you have a great day!!