OUR HUMAN CONDITION
We think we can sidestep the consequences of our actions, but we cannot. We deceive ourselves. We think religious practices will save us. We think wealth or prestige will protect us. But we are held accountable. We usually respond to punishment with denial, blame on others, anger, depression, and despair.
Disciple
Turn to me and have mercy,
for I am alone and in deep distress.
My problems go from bad to worse.
Oh, save me from them all!
Feel my pain and see my trouble.
Forgive all my sins.
Psalm 25:16-18 (NLT)
This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and Jerusalem:
“Plow up the hard ground of your hearts!
Do not waste your good seed among thorns.
O people of Judah and Jerusalem,
surrender your pride and power.
Change your hearts before the Lord,
or my anger will burn like an unquenchable fire
because of all your sins.”
Jeremiah 4:3-4
“Why has Israel become a slave?
Why has he been carried away as plunder?
Strong lions have roared against him,
and the land has been destroyed.
The towns are now in ruins,
and no one lives in them anymore.
Egyptians, marching from their cities of Memphis and Tahpanhes,
have destroyed Israel’s glory and power.
And you have brought this upon yourselves
by rebelling against the Lord your God,
even though he was leading you on the way!”
Jeremiah 2:14-17
Repentance means reorienting your lifestyle, placing the Lord first in all your ways.
Disciple
God’s purpose is not to destroy but to chastise, not to annihilate but to purify and redeem. Do not read the prophets as proclaiming unqualified, unrelieved doom. Even when the punishment is fulfilled, there is a glimmer of hope. For God is not the same as the Temple. Though the Temple is destroyed, God is not dead. Though the Promised Land is ravaged, the God of promise lives and rules. Though most of the people are dispersed or dead, a remnant will survive.
Disciple
Reflection
Something human in us all makes us believe we never will be punished. We won’t get caught. We’ll be let off easy. We’ll be given another chance.
Sometimes that is true. List some times when you were not held strictly accountable, when you were given a second chance.
Second chances run out, even for the disciple. The disciple accepts the consequences, asks for forgiveness, and looks for healing and new opportunities for faithfulness. List some times when you were held strictly accountable and received the consequences of your actions.
How might an organization suffer the consequences of its actions? How could a business experience judgment?
From your observations, can you describe times when you think nations have been “weighed on the scales and found wanting”?
Food for Thought 