The Danger of My Way

“It’s my way or the highway!” We cringe when we hear declarations like these. But what about our subtle self-perceptions in light of Scripture? Are we living God’s way or our way?

This week, while reading 1 Kings 12–14, I was convicted to check not just my actions, but also my thoughts and motives. This passage details the actions and consequences of King Rehoboam (Solomon’s son) and Jeroboam.

Only the tribes of Judah and Benjamin of the house of David were following King Rehoboam in Jerusalem. The other tribes of Israel made Jeroboam their king in Shechem, about thirty miles north of Jerusalem.

God had commanded that all the tribes were to offer sacrifices at the Temple in Jerusalem, but Jeroboam’s insecurities caused him to forbid his people to travel to Jerusalem, for fear they would transfer their loyalty back to Rehoboam, thus putting Jeroboam’s life in danger.

So Jeroboam devised an alternative mode of worship. He installed two altars at Bethel and Dan (at the southern and northern borders of his new domain) to receive the sacrifices of the northern tribes. Even worse, he made two golden calves and announced to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.” Jeroboam was ascribing deity and salvation to man-made idols.

In essence, Jeroboam’s altars proclaimed, “Worship God your own way!”

Then Jeroboam realized he had a problem. There were no priests in the northern kingdom because all the Levites living there had gravitated to the southern kingdom of Judah at the time of the split. (See 2 Chronicles 11:13–14.) Jeroboam solved the problem by choosing priests from “every class of people” (NKJVJ). All of these actions deviated from God’s plan; thus the Bible called them sin (I Kings 12:30).

𝙊𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙖 𝙧𝙤𝙖𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙮 𝙬𝙖𝙮, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙣𝙚𝙜𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚.

God sent a man of God to confront Jeroboam at the Bethel altar. He prophesied there would come a day when a king named Josiah would burn the bones of these illegitimate priests on that very altar. The prophet added that the sign these things were true was that the altar would split apart and its ashes would pour out.

Rather than repenting and respecting the Word of God, Jeroboam went wild with fury. He thrust out his arm and pointed at the prophet, shouting, “Seize him!” Suddenly, his outstretched arm froze in that position, and he couldn’t pull it back. Then, with a resounding crack, the altar burst apart, and all the ashes poured out, just as the man of God had predicted.

This convicting passage causes us to ask ourselves these questions:

1.    Are there man-made idols in my life that get my affection and worship through my time?

2.    Have I implied that anything has brought me salvation other than the grace of God and the blood of Jesus Christ? Works will not save me.

3.    Am I negating what God calls holy and priestly and inventing my own substitutions while expecting God to honor them or look the other way?

4.    When God confronts my sin through His Word or a spiritual authority in my life, will I humble myself and repent so I can be saved, or will pride destroy me and cause me to speak against spiritual authorities?

“Obedience is better than sacrifice” (1 Samuel 15:22).

God’s ways are always better, always higher, and bring true joy. Search your heart, your mind, and your motives. Make the exchange—your ways for His ways.

God sends His Word to confront us. Are we listening?

© 2026 Kimberly Sciscoe