Dangerous Reasons

Judges 18:20
“And the priest’s heart was glad, and he took the ephod, and the teraphim, and the graven image, and went in the midst of the people.”

One of the characters talked about in the verse above is a Levite who left his ordained position of being a servant in the temple to take a position of priest for a man named Micah. The reasons this young Levite used for leaving his God-ordained position seemed to be good reasons at the time, but they led to compromise and disobedience.

Satan always gives good reasons to leave what God wants you to do. In fact, every reason offered often sounds spiritual, but just because you can reason spirituality doesn’t make the decision scriptural. Most reasoned decisions become dangerous to the Believer’s life. You should never base decisions on reasoning, but you should always base decisions on principle and God’s Word. There were four dangerous reasons this Levite used to validate his decision to follow Micah and eventually the children of Dan.

The first dangerous reason this Levite used was a title. It says in Judges 17:10, “And Micah said unto him, Dwell with me, and be unto me a father and a priest, and I will give thee ten shekels of silver by the year, and a suit of apparel, and thy victuals. So the Levite went in.” Micah offered the Levite the title of priest, which immediately should have been an alarm to this young man that it wasn’t right to do because he was to be a worker in the temple. Just because you get a title doesn’t make what you are about to do right. Titles never make decisions right. Accepting a title to leave a God-ordained position always leads to compromise. If you can be lured away from God’s will with a title, you will never find yourself living in the will of God.

The second dangerous reason this Levite used was increased income. This man offered him prestige and money, to which the Levite accepted. Money and prestige have never made a church or an individual spiritual. Too many people get caught up in the financial realm to excuse their reasoning for a decision. God’s will has never been based on finances. Faith is removed when finances become your basis for serving the LORD. When finances replace faith as the basis of your service to God, disapproval will replace God’s favor in your life.

The third dangerous reason this Levite used was influence. The children of Dan told this young man that his services could influence more people if he followed them instead of being a priest to one man. Because money wasn’t enough, this Levite was not lured by influence. You must be careful not to go with a certain crowd just so that you can have greater influence. Influence should never be the basis for decisions. If you allow influence to be your basis for a decision, you will one day accept the influence for wrong. It is always dangerous when the Believer is more interested in influence than they are with God’s will.

The fourth dangerous reason this Levite used was opportunity. There will always be greater opportunities when opportunity is your basis to serve God. Instead of looking for greater opportunities, determine to make the best of where the LORD has placed you. Compromise became a part of this Levite’s life because he followed faulty reasonings for his actions. You will find yourself compromising your beliefs if these four dangerous reasons influence your decisions.

Author: Allen Domelle