The Elephant in the Room Has Sharp Teeth

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Wednesday, November 6, 2019

For I know the vast number of your sins and the depth of your rebellions.  You oppress good people by taking bribes and deprive the poor of justice in the courts.  So those who are smart keep their mouths shut, for it is an evil time.  Do what is good and run from evil so that you may live!  Then the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies will be your helper, just as you have claimed.  Hate evil and love what is good; turn your courts into true halls of justice.  Perhaps even yet the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies will have mercy on the remnant of his people.  Therefore, this is what the Lord, the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, says:  “There will be crying in all the public squares and mourning in every street.  Call for the farmers to weep with you, and summon professional mourners to wail.  There will be wailing in every vineyard, for I will destroy them all,” says the Lord.  What sorrow awaits you who say, “If only the day of the Lord were here!”  You have no idea what you are wishing for.  That day will bring darkness, not light.  In that day you will be like a man who runs from a lion—only to meet a bear.  Escaping from the bear, he leans his hand against a wall in his house—and he’s bitten by a snake.  Yes, the day of the Lord will be dark and hopeless, without a ray of joy or hope.  “I hate all your show and pretense—the hypocrisy of your religious festivals and solemn assemblies.  I will not accept your burnt offerings and grain offerings.  I won’t even notice all your choice peace offerings.  Away with your noisy hymns of praise!  I will not listen to the music of your harps.  Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice, an endless river of righteous living.  Amos 5:12-24

Just as most people are aware elephants are not known for sharp teeth, most people would rather not think of God other than soft, warm and fuzzy.  That’s a form of denial!

Amos, the sheep herding, sycomore fig-tree farmer-turned-prophet took a walk into the capitol city of Jerusalem and saw a whole bunch of folk who loved to play politics, throw their weight around, get rich and fat, but were living in the worst form of denial.  They imagined God couldn’t see their black hearts and concluded that the idea of Judgment Day was a myth. 

In response, Amos pulled-out some images of his wilderness experience and told them unless their hearts were cleansed they’d be like a man running from a lion who stumbles into the pathway of a hungry/angry bear; escaping the bear claws by a hair, he runs to his house, slams the door shut, locks it, leans up against the wall to catch his breath, and is bitten on the neck by a lethal cobra.  Amos tells the religious fakes they’d better get their acts together, or their history would be written in their own blood…from bad – to worse – to worst!  Their future would be surrounded by darkness, wailing, and a loss of all hope.  We can live without a lot of things, but air and hope are not on that list!  Many people would rather not think about the FACT of JHWH being a sovereign God who does judge sin.  Because we’re all vulnerable to a God like that, we’d rather have a god who winks at our sins, and lets us slide…there, there, you’re ok; I know you tried.  

But God’s judgment of our behavior is more than provable.  From the beginning creation was put together with natural judgment as an incontrovertible principle:

·      Fire has always contained judgment for sticking your finger in the flames. 

·      Up always has a violent result when gravity brings you in contact with Down! 

·      And, if your mother has to tell you to take out the garbage a third time…you’ll find out what fury judgment can bring!

The most evident proof of God’s sharp-toothed elephant in the room is the cross.  Without the death of Jesus no person is forgiven, no one escapes the bar of judgment.  When it comes to justice, the kind of right behavior God expects is our unconditional love with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength…and loving our neighbor that way too![2]

For You Today

Each of us on planet earth wants a soft place to land.  God has provided that; it’s the fellowship of a close relationship with One to whom you can take all your sins, sorrows, and fears.  He forgives the heart’s confession, sets the captive free, and that’s an elephant in your room worth talking about!

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

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[1] Title Image: Pixabay.com      Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©
[2] Luke 10:27 

Snake in the Grass

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Tuesday, April 2, 2019

“When you make an agreement with your neighbor to buy or sell property, you must not take advantage of each other.  When you buy land from your neighbor, the price you pay must be based on the number of years since the last jubilee.  The seller must set the price by taking into account the number of years remaining until the next Year of Jubilee.  The more years until the next jubilee, the higher the price; the fewer years, the lower the price.  After all, the person selling the land is actually selling you a certain number of harvests.  Show your fear of God by not taking advantage of each other.  I am the Lord your God.  “If you want to live securely in the land, follow my decrees and obey my regulations.  Then the land will yield large crops, and you will eat your fill and live securely in it.  Leviticus 25:14-19

You can legislate against evil intent, but how can you stop or change intent without a grip on the heart?  Especially when no heart exists, as in the case of sociopaths?  Among the characteristics of sociopathic behavior is a lack of shame.  

If the person is a true sociopath, then he or she will feel no remorse about hurting others, lying, manipulating people, or just generally acting in an unacceptable way.^[2]

God’s instructions to Israel about the way they were to treat each other is just the opposite – there is to be genuine care for each other, particularly in business dealings.  It was explicit in the Levitical mandates, written as the law of Jubilee, where fair prices were to be central in transferring property.  As such, there could be no lying, no truthful hyperbole to promote one Hebrew over another.  But some people will find a loophole in any law.  That is why “the law” is something God designed for the heart, as opposed to the courts.

Someone who breaks the law of compassion, withholding fairness and restraint of personal gain, is being sociopathic, taking every advantage over his neighbor, rather than loving his neighbor, and thus, not loving, (let alone fearing) God. 

That being said, sociopaths need to be loved also.  In fact, a key diagnostic in recognizing a sociopath identifies lack of love as a factor of abusive parents in the early stages of a sociopath’s early years.[iii]

This law of love is something tied to the quality of life we lead, whether you consider an individual or the entirety of humanity.  In Leviticus God describes the impact that integrity and fairness will have on a culture in terms of whether we will have enough to eat.  Loving your neighbor means everyone has enough; taking advantage of anyone is what a snake in the grass does, and it makes sure some will go hungry.

For You Today

In every aspect of living there are opportunities to exert power over others; Godly people do not slither!

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

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[i] Title Image:   Pixabay.com

[ii] Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are from The New Living Translation©

[iii] How to Spot a Sociopath