Well, well, well...if it isn't the consequences of my choices

Well, well, well...if it isn't the consequences of my choices.

I've seen that on t-shirts and memes and it's often an overlooked thing.  Our choices do have consequences.  Benefits too!  But consequences for sure.  And other people's choices have both benefits and consequences for us.

It all rolls together over time to great where we are and what we're experiencing.  We all play a part or a role in what's going on.

Oddly enough, the most recent sighting of the meme made me think of the time that Israel was sent off into exile - taken over by other countries and made to be subservient and no longer independent.

When you read through the prophets who were warning Israel about the behaviors and the potential (or coming) consequences, it's often spoke of as "God's judgment" and that's probably fair.

God told them, way back in the day, that they had a code to live by, some laws to follow, and that there would be benefits for following them and serious consequences for not.

When you see the things they were doing - the laws they broke, the things they were told NOT to do, the code they didn't live by, etc - it makes sense that the choosing to do what they wanted instead of what he guided them and told them to do would naturally have those consequences.

The judgment wasn't necessarily that God tapped foreign kings on the shoulder and said "Go get'm", but that the result of them doing their own things make them weak, vulnerable, and ripe for take over.

Parts of the Old Testament were written in such a way to frame how hearers or readers "heard" or saw the story being given to them, with a great deal of emphasis being placed on certain features or people with intention.

While there was certainly blame to be put on the different kings who "messed up" and put out idols and allowed the influence of other "gods", they didn't do so in a vacuum.  

None of them said, "You know what would make the country great?  Some idols.  And maybe some of the other gods from other people around us."

That didn't happen.  What usually was the case was citizens of Israel were already interacting with idols and the gods and culture of other countries or groups around them.

Usually the king in charge would make decisions in light of what was already going on, who already had influence, and how the citizens were already living.

The big question was usually, "Do I want to push back against what the people are doing?  Or do I want to capitalize on what they're doing, make my power more firm, and maybe make some good associations or connections with these other cultures around us?"

It's convenient to blame a king for making choices as if they did it all, but they didn't.  Could they have pushed back and draw a line in the sand and say, "This is how we're going to live as a people!"? Sure they could have done that.  And that's how a lot of the ancient "history" literature is written in the Old Testament.

But when you read the prophets who spoke to the kings AND the people, you 100% see that it was the people.  Could the king have intervened?  Sure.  But the people ultimately made the bed they had to sleep in.

What kinds of things did they do?  Lying, stealing, murder, adultery, treating people badly who were poor or without a country - all kinds of evil and injustice.  

They rotted from the inside and, because they had no social cohesion that held them to any standards, they were easily influenced and then taken over.

It was the consequences of their collective behaviors that opened the gates to being ruined.




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

When you get to heaven...

Image
  Some thoughts on what's after this life. First , when you die, you do not become an angel. From scripture, we will be like Jesus. Our bodies will be like his after he was raised from the dead. 1 Cor. 15 describes it pretty well. Paul, one of the Bible writers, says we'll actually judge angels! So, while I understand the sentiment, becoming an angel might actually be a demotion from what he says we're gonna be like. Second , you'll know people and they'll know you. A lot of people fear "getting there" and finding out that someone they love didn't make it and so they say, "Well the Bible says there'll be no tears in heaven" so we probably will be in some kind of trance state so we can't know who is or isn't there so as to prevent tears and sadness. Actually Revelation says that God will wipe away all tears.  An old song we sang in church said, "No tears in heaven", not scripture.  These are different things.  Does that ...
Read more

Two years since the big shift

Image
I created the logo above after a staff member that preceded me in leaving had been “released”.  He was the third person before me to be “released” in those few years before I chose to leave. Those last few years among the almost 35 that I “was there” were among the most challenging. Challenging for those among the leaders who remained to make some strong decisions about where things were going.  Challenging for me as I was wondering less about the direction of that particular congregation and more about what was real and worth investing into. If you’re not drinking the Kool-aid of a particular part of a church group or if you don’t match up to the favored persons or personality slants of certain collections of individuals, you’re usually set up with a “performance improvement plan” and/or slated to be given the option to “step down” in exchange for some kind of sweet deal/severance package. Knowing that was where I was headed, I decided to snuff out my own torch after 34 years...
Read more

How much grace you get

Image
We used to get tiny glasses of orange juice, IF we got any at all.  Remember the frozen can of juice you'd add to water in a larger pitcher?   And that was for the whole family.  It seemed as if we tried to dole it out to as to make it last for a few days, so you would get what seemed to be a shot glass full of juice and that was it.   It was like a scurvy prevention level serving of OJ. That is how I grew up thinking about God's patience, grace, and forgiveness with us.  You get a little and that's it!  And you better not waste it or not be really appreciative of it!   It's limited in supply and so very costly that you can only have a little so you better make it last. Much later, as an adult, I ordered a glass of orange juice at a restaurant, thinking I'd get the familiar shot glass of juice and, to my surprise, they brought a full sized glass full of OJ - and for a moment, I was like, "Is this for the whole table to share...?" __________ In Ephesian...
Read more