What if you really could do anything you wanted to do?
This sermon takes a deliberately backwards approach to that question. Using the story of Micah in Judges 17–18, we see what happens when a person stops asking, “What does God want?” and begins living according to whatever seems right in his own eyes.
The lesson begins with the story of famous hacker Kevin Mitnick. From figuring out how to ride Los Angeles buses for free as a 12-year-old to eventually breaking into major computer systems, Mitnick became remarkably good at finding ways around the rules. His story illustrates something all of us are capable of: justifying what we already want to do.
Micah does the same thing—but spiritually.
In this sermon:
Fear the wrong people instead of God.
Micah stole 1,100 pieces of silver from his own mother, yet only returned it after hearing her pronounce a curse. He seemed more concerned about the consequences coming from his mother than about having sinned against God.
Surround yourself with people who enable you.
Instead of correcting Micah, his mother blessed him and helped finance the false religious system he created. We need people who love us enough to tell us the truth, not simply people who tell us what we want to hear.
Surround yourself with people who justify themselves.
His mother claimed to dedicate all 1,100 pieces of silver to the Lord, but only 200 were actually given to make the idol. When the people around us constantly excuse compromise, it becomes easier for us to excuse our own.
Make possessions the center of your life.
Micah accumulated idols, an ephod, household gods, a shrine, and eventually his own priest. More possessions never filled the spiritual emptiness—they simply gave him more things to trust instead of God.
Make yourself your own standard.
Judges explains the problem perfectly:
“In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” — Judges 17:6
When I become the standard, I can always create rules that excuse myself. The question is no longer, “Is this right?” but, “Can I convince myself that this is right?”
Use people to get what you want.
When Micah meets a Levite, he hires him as his personal priest and convinces himself that having a Levite in his house guarantees God’s blessing. Instead of submitting himself to God, Micah attempts to use religion—and another person—to make God serve him.
Then Judges 18 shows how quickly Micah’s world collapses. Six hundred armed Danites arrive and take his idols, his religious objects, and even his priest. The things Micah built his life around could not save him.
That is ultimately the warning of this sermon: you really can spend your life doing whatever you want—but eventually you have to live with where those choices take you.
The deeper question is not simply, “What do I want right now?”
It is:
“What do I want most?”
Temporary satisfaction, possessions, approval, and freedom from restraint—or a life faithfully lived before God with eternity in view?
📖 Primary Text: Judges 17–18
📖 Also referenced: 1 Corinthians 15:33; Matthew 6; Proverbs; Ecclesiastes; Luke 15
If this lesson encourages you, challenges you, or helps you examine the direction of your life, share it with someone else who may benefit from it.