Who do you think you are? That’s not a recommended conversation starter, but I think it’s a question we should often ask ourselves and others. In a world where everyone wants to create God in their image or deny He exists at all, I think it’s a fair question. Once upon a time, there was a man named Job who suffered almost every loss and calamity imaginable.
Being a God-fearing man, he couldn’t make sense of the logic of it all. He was confident if he could present his case to God, that the Lord would relent and exonerate him from all his sufferings (Job 13:3; Job 23:3-5). God’s response was to ask Job the question we are contemplating today: “Who do you think you are?”
Trying to define God by their terms should terrify those who do such things. They either twist and misunderstand scripture, or just make up their version of what they think God should be. On its major points, the Bible is not a hard book to understand. The Word of God is clear throughout the pages of scripture. The rub comes because we don’t want Him to be the God He is. It seems apparent we think God would be better off if He played by our rules and within our understanding. It was to this kind of thinking that God responded to Job, “Who is this who obscures my counsel with ignorant words?” (Job 38:2). Or, “Job, who do you think you are?”
Regarding our morality, God is straightforward (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). But living according to God’s holiness is not something we want to do. We want to pursue our preferred lusts and desires, so we assert God didn’t mean what He said because God just wants us to be happy. We say the things in the Bible were written in a different time and to a different people, so they don’t apply to us today. To all these excuses, God responds with, “Who do you think you are?” (Job 40:2).
The root of all the games people play with God’s Word lies in the fact they don’t love Him. If they did, they would obey all He commands (John 14:15). But men love darkness rather than light (John 3:19), so they are content to walk away from the truth of scripture for the sake of indulging their flesh (Galatians 5:19-21). Even those of us who profess Jesus as Lord spend too much time trying to redefine who God is and what He requires. What He requires is holiness (1 Peter 1:15-16). We can only be holy if we believe and do what He says (James 1:22).
Every word in the Bible is inspired by God and is provides a roadmap for life on earth and in eternity (2 Timothy 3:16-17). God is still speaking through the pages of scripture, and what He says is the same as what He has always said (Isaiah 40:8). God does not change (Hebrews 13:8; Numbers 23:19). He is not subject to the whims of culture or swayed by our clever but pitiful arguments (Isaiah 55:8-9). He is God and we are not. Not only did He create all things, but He sustains them every second of every day (Colossians 1:16-17). What have we done that comes anywhere close to what God has done and continues to do? We are weak, but He is strong (2 Corinthians 12:9-10; Psalm 46:1). Who do we think we are? Give God the honor, glory, and devotion He alone is due.