Don't Raise a Fist

 

Wednesday, July 22, 2020

“I warned the proud, ‘Stop your boasting!’  I told the wicked, ‘Don’t raise your fists!  Don’t raise your fists in defiance at the heavens or speak with such arrogance.’”  For no one on earth—from east or west, or even from the wilderness—should raise a defiant fist.  It is God alone who judges; he decides who will rise and who will fall.  For the Lord holds a cup in his hand that is full of foaming wine mixed with spices.  He pours out the wine in judgment, and all the wicked must drink it, draining it to the dregs.  But as for me, I will always proclaim what God has done; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.  For God says, “I will break the strength of the wicked, but I will increase the power of the godly.”  Psalm 75:4-10

Like most people I laugh at goofy things I do, or other people do.  Humor is generally spontaneous and understandable.  We laugh when we get tickled.  One of the components of humor is absurdity.  When, for instance, you have told a two year old she cannot grab that snarling dog by the nose, and she whirls around to lock eyes with yours, and her icy glare screams I hate you, and if you don’t let me pet that puppy now I’m gonna wring your neck, you pompous idiot, well, you just gotta laugh!  It’s absurd that a two year old, who is only 30 inches tall, and weighing in at a massive 30 pounds, and not understanding the least bit of the danger of wanting something best left alone, is going to wring the neck of a 6’, 200lb father. And, if you’re not somehow tickled by that absurdity, you’d better check your pulse.

It’s humorous, but reasonably harmless to see the immature actions of a two year old; but with adults, not so much.  Adults, of any age, operating with an immature short fuse, and the power to lift a dangerous fist in anger, is not funny at all.

We have a lot of that in our culture.  Frankly, it’s in our nature.  And who is to say, definitively, exactly why it seems worse these days?  Perhaps it’s the relatively new platform that social media, or news media have given that entices and empowers the attention-grabbers towards outrageous acting-out, capitalizing on a perceived injustice.  Or, maybe, it’s just a grab for attention.  In the end, it’s still a two year old who hasn’t got a clue, but is going to demand his way.  The folly in it all, and the tragedy that follows is, in getting our way, will we be better off?

The current movement which clamours for an end to racism is a fact in point here.  An end to racism is a lovely thought, and one of which God heartily approves.  After all, God’s hand created Adam and Eve with the DNA chain that held the key to every form of diversity we now see in the human race.  To disparage one of God’s own, or any who are disparate from our tribe is to denigrate the Creator; we all hail back to the same set of parents in the garden. 

The problem with the movement du jour is not the rallying point of an end to racism, but rather with the methodolgy.  To use anger, the raised fist, either metaphorically (as in cancel culture), physically or verbally, against others and their motives, will not remove racism; rather it further divides those who are already different.  It puts those who push the anger on the same level as, say, Adolph Hitler, a monster with a heinous quest.  His quest was to push racism to it’s ugliest, purist conclusion – put all the other tribes to death, and then we’ll have a perfect society.  Adolph Hitler was just another two year old with a distorted sense of his own grandeur.

Granted, Black Lives Matter, and it’s push for an end to racism have a rightful support in their end game from any fair-minded individual.  But, unless the fist is laid down to open the hands to take my hand, and others (even the perceived enemy), they stand as just another two year old stamping his feet, pushing any hope of reconciliation down the drain.

And, considering the imagery God uses in today’s Psalm, the dregs of what’s down that drain will be a pretty rough drink to swallow when they get there.

Let’s Pray Together:

Father, forgive us our foolish ways of trying to correct violence done with more violence given. 

For You Today

Sometimes it seems like the more sophisticated and educated we get, the dumber we become.  God hates violence of all kinds…how many ways does He have to say that?

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road today.  Have a blessed day!

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Title Image:  Pixabay.com  Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©

For other posts on this text:  Chosen Still and The Promise Over the Power