I’m OK, You’re OK apparently only applies when I give up what I believe in order to agree with another person’s beliefs. So, if that’s the case, then I’m not OK, at least according to the responses at most Third Friday events in Safety Harbor, FL. The Northeast Church of Christ in Clearwater, FL, where I preached for four years, would set up a booth to hand out Bibles and offer a Bible quiz board to test people’s knowledge of God’s word. One particular evening stands out in memory because there was a distinct antagonism toward the quiz.

Except for a handful, those who stopped were more interested in correcting me, and our questions, than in hearing what God said. When their answers differed with what they saw God said in the Bible, there was an almost universal yawn. No one said it out loud, but it was written on their faces, “So what!” They clearly believed their answers were correct even when the Bible said something very different. Two even patted me on the shoulder, smiled a ‘you poor deluded soul’ smile, and said, “We believe in the same Lord” and walked away.

At least they didn’t give me the Amos treatment. When he went to Bethel to preach against Israel’s degraded national worship (think walking into the Vatican and denouncing the Catholic Church) the response was quick and to the point – Shut up and go away! Oh, it was said more politely, but the message was the same. First, they twisted his words into a direct threat against King Jeroboam (Amos 7:10-11). In modern terms he was being “too aggressive.” Then they told Amos to go back to Judah and prophesy there; he and his message weren’t welcome in Bethel (Amos 7:12-13). In other words, “This is our safe space and you’re not allowed here.”

Like the folk who stopped by the booth on Third Friday, they believed their method of serving Jehovah was OK, and refused to hear anything different. But Amos refused to back down or make it about himself (Amos 7:14-15). Being OK begins and ends with God and the only way any of us can be OK is by listening to and obeying God’s word. Since the priests of Israel refused Him, God’s message was plain, they were going to suffer and go into exile (Amos 7:16-17). It’s never OK to reject God.

None of us is OK, if we refuse to serve the Lord in simple obedient trust that does what He says. And, on one level, none of us is OK since we’re all sinners, but the good news is this: God is patiently waiting and calling us to come to Him where we can all be OK. Will we go to Him and become Ok? The choice is yours. Let me know if I can help you learn how God makes us OK.