When Preference Becomes a God
How Modern Christians Rewrite Obedience
Reformlet counterpart: reformlet.com/preference
The Culture of Preference
We live in an age where feelings speak louder than Scripture. Christians read the Bible the way consumers choose products. If the text is pleasant, they receive it. If the text is uncomfortable, they reinterpret it until it resembles their own desires. This habit did not form overnight. It grew out of a culture shaped by therapeutic language, personal autonomy, and religious convenience. The result is predictable. Personal preference becomes a functional god. The final authority is no longer the Word of the Lord but the emotional state of the individual reading it.
Many evangelicals now speak as if the commands of God are suggestions, opportunities, or options. Conviction is treated as a private experience, not an objective responsibility. Obedience becomes negotiable. Sin becomes subjective. Scripture becomes flexible. This is covenant infidelity.
Objective Sin and Subjective Conscience
Scripture is clear. Sin is whatever God declares to be sin. His Word defines righteousness. His law stands outside us and over us. Our feelings do not create moral standards.
“Everyone who does sin also does lawlessness. Sin is lawlessness.”
(1 John 3:4)
Jesus leaves no room for subjective morality.
“The word I spoke is what will judge him on the last day.”
(John 12:48)
Conscience matters, but it does not override the commands of God. Romans 14 teaches that personal conscience applies in matters where God has left freedom. It guards individuals from violating their own sense of right in areas of food, days, or practices that are indifferent to the law. Romans 14 never gives authority to reinterpret clear commands.
Christian liberty protects believers from human inventions. Christian liberty does not exempt believers from obedience to God.
A conscience shaped by preference is a darkened conscience. A conscience shaped by Scripture is a faithful one.
Eden and the Rise of Personal Gospels
Genesis 3 reveals the origin of this rebellion. The serpent did not simply tempt Eve with fruit. He offered a competing path to moral authority. “You will be like God, knowing good and evil.” The temptation was to reinterpret God’s command according to personal desire. Eve believed she could weigh the Word of God against her own judgment. Adam stood silent and joined her in rebellion.
This same instinct lives today. When Christians decide that obedience depends on inner conviction, they repeat the first lie. They trust their interpretation of reality more than the Word of God. The Fall introduced the desire to reshape God’s authority into a form that suits us. Preference-driven Christianity is Eden rehearsed.
How Preference Rewrites Discipleship
This spirit has shaped entire categories of modern church life.
Women preach because obedience feels inconvenient.
Divorce becomes acceptable because emotions are strained.
The Sabbath is ignored because comfort feels superior to worship.
Children’s church replaces family discipleship because parenting requires sacrifice.
Modesty disappears because cultural pressures make purity costly.
Courtship is dismissed because biblical order seems outdated.
Sexual morality is softened because Scripture feels restrictive.
Education is compromised because the world’s methods seem easier.
In each case the language is predictable. “I do not feel convicted.” As if conviction is the standard for righteousness. As if obedience waits for emotional agreement. Scripture does not bend to human comfort. Scripture calls for submission. The refusal to obey is rebellion.
Liberty of Conscience
The Westminster Confession works this out with clarity. God alone is Lord of the conscience. Christian liberty frees believers from the traditions of men and the inventions of the church. It does not free them from the revealed law of God. Liberty protects us from tyranny, not from obedience.
When Christians use liberty to excuse disobedience, they treat God’s gift as permission to ignore His Word. True liberty produces joyful submission. False liberty produces chaos and self-rule.
Pastoral Consequences of Preference-Based Faith
Preference-based faith destroys households. Men become weak because obedience is optional. Women become insecure because leadership has no structure. Churches soften discipline because clear lines offend modern sensibilities. Families drift because Scripture no longer binds them. Communities weaken because righteousness loses definition.
The result is predictable. Disorder. Compromise. Confusion. Generational decline. A church shaped by preference becomes a church shaped by self. The next generation receives a faith without boundaries and a Bible without authority.
Covenant Theology Restores Authority
Covenant life depends on obedience. Scripture presents obedience as blessing. The promises of God rest upon the pattern He establishes.
“You shall teach them diligently to your children.”
(Deuteronomy 6:7)
“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked.”
(Psalm 1:1)
“Be careful to do according to all the law.”
(Joshua 1:7)
“Forever, O Lord, Your word stands firm in the heavens.”
(Psalm 119:89)
Households anchored in Scripture produce stability and joy. Churches that preach obedience produce maturity and holiness. Men and women who receive God’s commands as the path of life are not ruled by preference. They are ruled by Christ.
A Call to Repentance
The path forward requires humility. Christians must repent for treating Scripture as negotiable. We must submit interpretation to God rather than demanding that God submit to us. The first step toward maturity is not a deeper sense of personal conviction. It is a deeper commitment to obedience.
Preference is a poor guide. Scripture is a perfect one.
Closing Charge
The church does not need a new gospel. It needs renewed allegiance to the old one. God’s law is good. His commands bring life. His Word is the standard for every home and every church. When preference becomes a god, the true God is ignored. When Christ is Lord, preference submits and obedience thrives.
Serve the god of self or serve the Lord of Scripture. One leads to ruin. The other leads to life.