Unless you’ve studied Latin, you’ve probably never seen or heard the word, quodlibet*, before. But you’ve certainly heard its contemporary counterpart – “whatever.” This word is often spoken with a tone of resignation or dismissal. Think of a teenager being given instructions they don’t like but can’t ignore. It’s not just a problem for teenagers, though. It’s an age-old human problem.
The message of the Old Testament prophets was largely a message of calling people to understand that “whatever” isn’t a proper response to God and His laws. Isaiah and Jeremiah particularly come to mind in this regard, but Moses issued a solemn warning to Israel as some of his last recorded words in Deuteronomy 29:14 to 19.
“I make this covenant and this oath, not with you alone, but with him who stands here with us today before the Lord our God, as well as with him who is not here with us today (for you know that we dwelt in the land of Egypt and that we came through the nations which you passed by, and you saw their abominations and their idols which were among them—wood and stone and silver and gold); so that there may not be among you man or woman or family or tribe, whose heart turns away today from the Lord our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations, and that there may not be among you a root bearing bitterness or wormwood; and so it may not happen, when he hears the words of this curse, that he blesses himself in his heart, saying, ‘I shall have peace, even though I follow the dictates of my heart’—as though the drunkard could be included with the sober.”
And the writers of the New Testament affirmed and strengthened that message. Not long ago, for some reason, when I awakened in the morning, before I got out of bed, the Holy Spirit brought to my mind the words of Jesus in Matthew 18:8 and 9. “If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into the everlasting fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into [Gehenna] hell fire.”
Jesus’ words don’t convey the idea that “whatever” is an okay response to sin. Some people feel that Jesus never meant for us to take this literally. That would be an overreaction, self-mutilation, barbaric, etc. Really? Indeed, it may be legitimate to use some of those terms in the physical sense but consider the alternative!
For many of us today who profess to be followers of Jesus, our attitude toward sin is much too casual. While we may not respond to God and His commands with a verbal “whatever,” our lifestyle choices demonstrate how seriously we take His warnings against our sin.
So, the next time you hear the Lord speaking to you through another Believer, through His Word, and by His Spirit, don’t say “whatever.” Instead, say, “Lord, what do you want me to do?”
-J. Mark Horst
*literally, “whatever you wish.”