The definition of correlation, according to one dictionary, is "the degree to which two or more attributes or measurements on the same group of elements show a tendency to vary together." In other words, where there is correlation, there is a mutual relationship or parallelism. Despite this, one attribute, measurement, or element does not cause the other, instead, they vary together. A simple example would be, developmentally as our hands grow, our feet grow as well. Our hands do not make our feet grow; neither do our feet make our hands grow. The cause of simultaneous growth is the same for each.
Let's look at another example. In most large cities, crime increases in the summer as does the number of ice-cream sales. One could erroneously deduce that ice-cream causes crime to increase, or vice versa. However, we know that is not true. In simplistic terms what happens instead, is that hot weather, along with other activities and inclinations encourages people to go outside. Among those that go out, many will buy ice cream, as it's considered refreshing in the summer heat. And among those that go out, are would-be perpetrators, assailants, and their victims. This makes it easier to find a target and or become one.
Upon a cursory reading of the Bible, we see God rebuking the Israelites for idolatry, immorality and unethical behavior. We could easily assume that either idolatry caused these ungodly behaviors or vice versa. But that would be incorrect. These practices are correlated not causal. Therefore, you can predict that when you see the one behavior, you will also see the other. The common factor which originates both, is the turning of our hearts from God. We see this in Micah 6:6-8.
"Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?"
The Lord had told the people what pleased him—what was in line with his character of love, which was to walk humbly in communion with him. This and this alone would bring about the living justly and loving mercy he desired. However, the people had yet to comprehend this even by the time of the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah. In his mercy, the Lord gave them a similar diagnosis and prescription as can be viewed in both in Isaiah 1: 11 – 17; 58: 4-7 and in Jeremiah 7: 3-- 10. As we can see in these texts, where there was idol worship, there was oppression and abuse of their fellow countrymen. Clearly, where the one was visible, the other was present. These attributes are correlated, because the same factor caused both. Per Ellen White,
"In Isaiah's day the spiritual understanding of mankind was dark through misapprehension of God. Long had Satan sought to lead men to look upon their Creator as the author of sin and suffering and death. Those, whom he had thus deceived, imagined that God was hard and exacting. They regarded Him as watching to denounce and condemn, unwilling to receive the sinner so long as there was a legal excuse for not helping him. The law of love by which heaven is ruled had been misrepresented by the archdeceiver as a restriction upon men's happiness, a burdensome yoke from which they should be glad to escape. He declared that its precepts could not be obeyed and that the penalties of transgression were bestowed arbitrarily.
In losing sight of the true character of Jehovah, the Israelites were without excuse. Often had God revealed Himself to them as one "full of compassion, and gracious, long-suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth." Psalm 86:15. "When Israel was a child," He testified, "then I loved him, and called My son out of Egypt."" Hosea 11:1. (PK 311 – 312)
Now, if the same factor caused both, then the cure was the same: turning of hearts and minds toward God--repenting. God not only wanted his people to believe that He was indeed a loving God who had their best interests at heart, but that he also desired their fellowship. Through the prophet Isaiah he told them,
"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool" (Isaiah 1:18).
God's intention with them was for good, not evil. He wanted to take all selfishness, uncleanliness of mind, and impurity of heart motive from them. He said through Ezekiel,
"Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them" (Ezekiel 36:25-27).
Just as it was with the Israelites, so it is with us. When oppression and abuse are present among us, there is also idolatry. When there is immorality and unethical behavior among us, there is also idolatry. Many believe that as long as you are "nice," it does not matter how you "worship." Others think that if you "worship" God in the right way, it does not matter how you "behave" (worship in this context is seen as a task). Yet, God is saying that both issues are a problem. And, where one is evidenced, the other will also be visible. Both issues co-exist and arise from the same cause. Therefore, both have the same cure. What was prescribed for the Israelites has been prescribed for us. The question is, will we respond positively by receiving the cure of a clean heart and a new mind from Him?
| RR |
