He sacrificed his children in the fire in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, practiced divination and witchcraft, sought omens, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the LORD, arousing his anger. – 2 Chronicles 33:6

Today's Scripture Reading (June 16, 2026): 2 Chronicles 33

Life isn't just about your actions. We need to put our beliefs into practice, but actions also need to arise from the core of who we are. We are not designed to be simply actors on the stage, going through the motions and reading the lines provided for us. There is supposed to be a belief system in our lives that underpins everything we do. And when that belief system is missing, it is noticeable by almost everyone around us.

So it shouldn't surprise us that Hezekiah seems to be concerned about the details of his own reign, not so much about those who followed him. After all, Hezekiah waited until it was almost too late to marry and produce an heir to follow him. His son took it a step further, doing what Hezekiah would have thought unthinkable: he actively sacrificed his own children, sacrificing the nation's future, to the gods to ensure his own reign would succeed. While the actions of these two kings may have been very different, they stemmed from a very similar core belief. The only difference was that Manasseh put that core belief into action.

Too many people seem to hold the belief that Christianity is about following the rules. It is about training ourselves to do the right things. Christianity is about denying our passions and living disciplined lives. Except, I am not sure if that is true. I mean, I am not a disciplined person; I hate rules, and when I do the right thing, it often seems incidental.

What if Jesus died on a cross, not so we could play a game and follow the rules, but so we could be successful as we live our lives? What if his purpose was not that we would spend our lives denying our passions (and not having fun), but giving us passion for things that would strengthen our communities and us?  What if what he really wanted to do was to change what existed at the core of our lives? What if his plan was for us to spend our lives not denying our passions but letting them loose? What if …?

I believe that the what-ifs are the truth. God's purpose is to change us on the inside so that what flows from us glorifies God and encourages the people in our circles of influence. We can actually be all that we were meant to be because God has done a work in our deepest places. That is what I believe God wants from us. But following the rules will never get us there, and neither will sacrificing our children on an altar dedicated to our needs. Because the future needs them to follow our example, and be all that God needs them to be as well.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Kings

See Also 2 Kings 21:6