Relying on God

There is a saying: “The end does not justify the means.”

The Bible is very clear that in God’s eyes, the end never justifies sinful means. God doesn’t just want us to focus on results, even when these are good. God cares how we accomplish our goals. Rather than go through a bad way of doing God’s will, it is much easier to do it the right way.

The right way to accomplish a good thing is always by relying on God and his grace.

It’s not wrong to use marketing tactics to grow a church. It’s not wrong to use a dating website to find a spouse. It’s not wrong to use human wisdom in our efforts to accomplish heavenly objectives. What’s wrong is when we rely on anything other than God for victory. God can use human, earthly means to accomplish his will. But God always wants us to rely on Him even when He directs us to use earthly tactics, tools and techniques for success in the Christian life.

One clear example of God saying that the end does not justify the means is found in 2 Chronicles 16 with King Asa.

Asa was a good king when such leaders were hard to find (2 Chronicles 14:2). But despite all his religious reforms and passion to teach the people the ways of God, Asa lost sight of how to truly please God. In 2 Chronicles 16, Asa does a good thing the wrong way and God is not happy about it.

God is not like man. He is not only concerned with the end, he is also concerned with the means. God doesn’t just want us to do good; He wants us ultimately to bring glory to Him.

When we rely on our own tactics and not on God, we rob God of His glory. God may lead us to do the very thing we were going to do on our own, but when we do it without God leading, we are still relying on ourselves, not God.

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The National Bureau of Investigation has rescued 54 Filipinas who were reportedly working as “customer care assistants” at a KTV bar in Ortigas, Pasig City, and who were exploited for sexual services at prices ranging from ₱P10,000 to ₱P20,000.

NBI director Melvin Matibag said criminal charges have been filed against the owners of the establishment in connection with an alleged human trafficking operation happening inside the KTV bar.

Investigators said transactions were conducted inside the rooms of a hotel adjacent to the establishment.

Aside from human trafficking, authorities also discovered alleged illegal drug use inside the establishment.

The rescued victims were turned over to social welfare authorities for assistance, while several managers, operators, and customers were arrested and placed under investigation for their alleged involvement in the illegal activities.