Stand Up And Stand Out

Abram replied to the king of Sodom, “I solemnly swear to the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, that I will not take so much as a single thread or sandal thong from what belongs to you. Otherwise you might say, ‘I am the one who made Abram rich.’ [Genesis 14.22-23]

[This is an edited re-post of the article Uncompromising Unquestionably Undivided Faith written on this date in 2024]

I suppose it could be said that Abram was being proud or hard-headed regarding the matter of the king of Sodom wanting to reward him. Considering however that Abram (later called Abraham) would attain Biblical notoriety as "The Father of Faith," this event deserves our careful attention! Abram stood up and stood out in indisputable faith.

In a world full of advanced 'solutions' for man's problems, there exists little that man (in his reasoning) could really need from God. Oh sure, man could use a little help from time to time when the world's solutions fall short, so God is solicited from time to time. Otherwise, as long as man's solutions work as planned, God's help is not needed. 

Of course, religious people insist on giving God at least some credit for man's solutions, but these solutions still remain a necessary part of dealing with the problem.

If we transliterated Abram's response to the king of Sodom using today's religious justification for utilizing man's solutions, it might read like this...

Abram replied to the king of Sodom, “I solemnly swear to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, that I will take what belongs to you because that is how God provides for me. So I will say, ‘God is the one who made Abram rich using you.’ [Genesis 14.22-23 modified to reflect today's approach]

As ludicrous as this twisting of the scripture may seem, it is exactly what we do every time we embrace worldly solutions instead insisting that God alone is our Provider for everything! While we may accept and allow it (and even God may accept and allow it), it "peeves" the world when its accomplishments are credited to God! Had Abram said "thank God," as he accepted what the king of Sodom offered, could not the king of Sodom have said, "Wait just a minute, that was me who gave it, not God!"?

Indisputable faith is not only concerned with how God views its actions, but painstakingly stands up and stands out to avoid any potential for misinterpretation by a doubting godless world! And, that is exactly what Abram did!

What is revealed here puts most "believers" in a compromised position. Our embrace of the world's solutions (debt, insurance, medicine and technology) makes us functionally dependent upon them regardless what we religiously 'claim' with our mouths. While we may cry "Hallelujah!" declaring, "God gave [worldly solutions]," this "testimony" is invalid to the world because they know God ALONE is not our source! Unless we have a credible testimony to the world like Abram had to the king of Sodom, then we really have no purpose to even exist here.

This Commandment of God should govern what we trust in:

You must not have any other god but me. [Exodus 20.3]

The world today is hopelessly lost in its own 'advancements,' but God is calling His people to stand up and stand out! This will ONLY be accomplished through uncompromising, undivided, indisputable faith!

Father, I want to stand up and stand out with a testimony of uncompromising, undivided, indisputable faith!