Can We Really Please God?

WHAT CAN WE LEARN?

As imperfect humans, we cannot avoid making mistakes.  (Romans 3:23) But when we do, we need to show that we are sorry and then do what we can to put matters right. 

How did Job, Lot  and David try to put their mistakes right?  At heart, Job was a man of integrity. After God reasoned with him, Job corrected his wrong thinking and took back what he had said.  (Job 42:6) Lot's view of the immoral conduct of people in Sodom and Gomorrah completely agreed with God's standards. It was his temporary lack of urgency that was the problem.  He eventually fled the condemned cities and escaped God's judgment. Obediently he did not even look back at what he was leaving behind. Although David made a serious mistake in breaking God's law, he revealed what was truly in his heart by sincerely repenting and throwing himself on God's mercy. -Psalm 51. 

God's favorable view of those men is in accord with his reasonable expectations for imperfect humans.  God "well knows how we are formed, remembering that we are dust." (Psalm 103:14) So, if God knows we cannot avoid making mistakes, what does he expect of us? 

Next time: Can We Really Please God? - HOW CAN IMPERFECT HUMANS PLEASE GOD?

From the Watchtower magazine, 2015