The Bible is full of divine absurdities.  Love your enemies, forgive those who sin against you, tithe your money even if you are in debt, don’t judge.  I came across a verse in John chapter five that brought the reality of God's divine absurdities home to me in a revealing way.
 
As I read one of Jesus words, it struck me how different His belief systems areto my own.  I think in totally opposite ways from His.  I have to betaught to think like Him.  I would never conceive of His kind of thinkingon my own.
 
The verse that stood out to me was, "By myself I can do nothing; I judgeonly as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself buthim who sent me" (John 5:30.)  I think I took note of it because thosepowerful statements just flow out of Jesus’ mouth one right after the other.  Hehardly takes a breath as He makes these bold statements in the midst of tellingWho He is. The Holy Spirit had me do a double take on this particular verse.  Istopped and compared my nature beliefs against these four that Jesus mentioned.

1. By myself I can do nothing.  I try to do everything by myself first.  It is no different when it comes to my ministry tasks.  I think I'm up to the task.  I don’t even stop to consider what God wants me to do.  If someone invites me to do something, I think about whether I think I can do it or not.  God wants me to have the same belief as Jesus that by myself I can do nothing, but in Christ I can do anything, even the things that seem impossible on my own.
2. I judge only as I hear and my judgment is just.  I judge others by my own standards, and my standards may change from day to day.  I make strong judgments based on what I think is the right thing to do or the right way to do it.  I also judge myself by what the world says is success.  I listen to the judgment of the world, that my body isn't good enough, I don’t have a nice enough car, my house isn't good enough.  This kind of judgment only traps me.  Jesus judged only as God told Him.
3. I seek not to please myself.  Do I need to explain my opposite view on this one?  I seek to please myself.  All I have to do is take the not out to come up with the natural belief system I hold.  My spiritual journey is a struggle against seeking my own pleasure which never satisfies me.
4. I seek to please Him Who sent Me.  How often do I think of myself as being sent by God for a specific purpose?  I'm so busy seeking to please myself that I forget that I'm here for a purpose and there are specific tasks that God has for me on a regular basis.

I'm challenged to think a more divine direction today.  I hope you are too.