Tip of the Iceberg

 

Friday, July 9, 2021

I listen carefully to what God the Lord is saying, for he speaks peace to his faithful people.  But let them not return to their foolish ways.  Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him, so our land will be filled with his glory.  Unfailing love and truth have met together.  Righteousness and peace have kissed!  Truth springs up from the earth, and righteousness smiles down from heaven.  Yes, the Lord pours down his blessings.  Our land will yield its bountiful harvest.  Righteousness goes as a herald before him, preparing the way for his steps.  Psalm 85:8-13

When you discover truth it is often just the tip of the iceberg; there is so much more if you dig deeper.  And often what you find is the mirror truth…the negative side of the positive.  In this Psalm, the first sentence reveals a deep, life-changing truth about listening carefully to God’s Word.  The second sentence reveals the negative effect not-listening can produce.  It reveals our propensity as human beings to forget (or just plain ignore) God’s Word, ending in our foolishness.
As it is with people, so it is with nations full of people.  

We have just passed another anniversary of this nation’s founding, 245 and counting (or, might it be winding-down like an hourglass’ sands of time pouring out?).
Considering the wisdom of the Psalmist’s warning that return[ing] to…foolish ways is so common, we must candidly admit the ways of our nation have been anything but perfectly in tune with God’s ways over the past quarter of a millennium. 
With the democratic ideals of free speech, liberty, and fairness with which this country had its beginning, our process, the politic of how things get done to ensure liberty and justice for all, is perpetually in something of a messy stew.  Sometimes, as in our recent post, God Bless America, we sing our patriotic songs with tongue firmly planted in cheek.  It’s hard to proclaim those idyllic words, asking God to bless us when, as a nation, we’ve been found wanting.  Truthfully, the words come out hollow when our legal system oversees the murder of a million infants before they draw a first breath, as well as disdaining many other constraints of God’s Word.  To simply call it returning to foolishness (as did the Psalmist) hardly seems strong enough. 
In short, when it comes to asking God to stand beside her, and guide her when we have no intention of following what God has already decreed…well, it makes a mockery of calling ourselves a nation under God.  In this nation there is no ignorance of knowing God’s Word, only a shortage of hunger for doing God’s will.

For You Today

God is speaking through the Psalmist to faithful people who are committed to peace.  To listen carefully implies receiving information AND acting in obedience to God’s will.  The idea is to gain truth and then put that truth in relationship with righteousness; we are to allow the kiss of truth (understanding what is right) and righteousness (which is doing right).  This is the kind of integrity our leaders and citizens must have to be right with God.

The point is simple:  it doesn’t matter what most humans think; God requires obedience.  When we forget that, or forsake that, we court war with heaven.[1]  That is just as plain a return to foolishness as thinking you can steer-around the tip of an iceberg and still be safe.  The tip of the iceberg is only a hint of what’s below, and the depth of God’s judgment can’t be avoided.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!   

[1] Title Image:  Pixabay.com  Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©    Other images by Pixabay.com

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[1] From another post on this text, The Perfect Kiss, July 16, 2018