Tag: morality

Accountability Is Real, and It Matters (Ezekiel 14:12-23)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, if a country sins against me by being unfaithful and I stretch out my hand against it to cut off its food supply and send famine upon it and kill its people and their animals, even if these three men—Noah, Daniel and Job—were in it, they could save only themselves by their righteousness, declares the Sovereign Lord.

“Or if I send wild beasts through that country and they leave it childless and it becomes desolate so that no one can pass through it because of the beasts, as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, even if these three men were in it, they could not save their own sons or daughters. They alone would be saved, but the land would be desolate.

“Or if I bring a sword against that country and say, ‘Let the sword pass throughout the land,’ and I kill its people and their animals, as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, even if these three men were in it, they could not save their own sons or daughters. They alone would be saved.

“Or if I send a plague into that land and pour out my wrath on it through bloodshed, killing its people and their animals, as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, even if Noah, Daniel and Job were in it, they could save neither son nor daughter. They would save only themselves by their righteousness.

“For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: How much worse will it be when I send against Jerusalem my four dreadful judgments—sword and famine and wild beasts and plague—to kill its men and their animals! 

“Yet there will be some survivors—sons and daughters who will be brought out of it. They will come to you, and when you see their conduct and their actions, you will be consoled regarding the disaster I have brought on Jerusalem—every disaster I have brought on it. You will be consoled when you see their conduct and their actions, for you will know that I have done nothing in it without cause, declares the Sovereign Lord.” (New International Version)

Stained glass of the three righteous men: Daniel, Job, and Noah

No person, group, institution, or nation can act unjustly forever. The prophet Ezekiel made it clear that everyone will be held accountable for injustice and wickedness, for crimes against humanity and against God.

Furthermore, there is no nation or group which can rely on a few persons who do right, while the rest of the people swim in injustice and unrighteousness. Righteous persons save only themselves; they cannot make decisions and take over the life of another person.

Ezekiel wanted to make sure his listeners got the message of individuals only saving themselves, and not riding on the coattails of others. The prophet went out of his way to communicate that each individual person will be held responsible for their own actions; they will be judged on what they themselves have done, and not what another has or has not done.

Even the family of a righteous person will not be spared divine judgment because of that individual’s righteousness. One shall be held accountable for what that one has done, period.

Specifically, in the text, God was ready to execute judgment on Jerusalem. War, wild animals, famine, and disease would come upon them because of unfaithfulness, injustice, and unrighteousness.

Just because the city had the temple, this would not save them. Just because there are a few righteous persons in the city, they would not save it. Just because a close loved one is faithful and righteous, will not mean that God would spare the city.

A few good works of a few people, do not cancel out pervasive and consistent evil which is perpetrated by many people. Each person is responsible for their own behavior. No one gets a pass, simply because they know certain people and are well-connected.

Evil is evil, no matter whether it is perpetrated by believers or unbelievers. No nation, and no person, is off the hook; all persons will be held accountable for doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God.

Even if three of the most righteous persons show up – Noah, Daniel, and Job, who were famous for their moral integrity – their combined righteousness and faithfulness would not keep away divine judgment from happening in an immoral and unethical society. Only those three alone would be delivered.

There is no such thing as salvation by proxy. Each individual person must work on themselves, without blaming others, inordinately depending on others, nor ignoring God and wishing God did not see, or does not exist at all.

Evil persons do not get any preferential treatment from God, just because they have a prominent position or are famous. The Lord, as Sovereign of the universe, has every right to exact divine retribution. And God will do it without showing favoritism.

Just as God shows mercy without prejudice, so will God extend judgment without any prejudice.

The presence of great light means that there is also the presence of great darkness. If we want a great God of love and mercy, then we must also accept the God of wrath and judgment; and vice versa.

We are made in God’s image, and not the other way around. It is our task to submit to the high, holy, and sovereign Lord of all. It is not God’s job to be the divine Santa Claus who submits to us. The Lord is no divine genie who we can keep in a bottle, and summon whenever we so desire.

No matter one’s theology or spirituality, everyone discerns that they are to be responsible in this life, and are accountable to forces greater than themselves.

This is one of those universal realities that all of us need to sync our lives with – or suffer the consequences.

Almighty God and Sovereign Lord of all, I embrace my accountability to you. Forgive me for when I live as though I need not give an account of what I said and did. I affirm that I am accountable for how I treat others; and I realize that what I do to others, positive or negative, I am doing to you, their Creator. Sustain me in faith and patience, I pray. Amen.

Keep Hold of Wisdom (Proverbs 4:10-27)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment

Hear, my child, and accept my words,
    that the years of your life may be many.
I have taught you the way of wisdom;
    I have led you in the paths of uprightness.
When you walk, your step will not be hampered,
    and if you run, you will not stumble.
Keep hold of instruction; do not let go;
    guard her, for she is your life.
Do not enter the path of the wicked,
    and do not walk in the way of evildoers.
Avoid it; do not go on it;
    turn away from it and pass on.
For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong;
    they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble.
For they eat the bread of wickedness
    and drink the wine of violence.
But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,
    which shines brighter and brighter until full day.
The way of the wicked is like deep darkness;
    they do not know what they stumble over.
My child, be attentive to my words;
    incline your ear to my sayings.
Do not let them escape from your sight;
    keep them within your heart.
For they are life to those who find them
    and healing to all their flesh.
Keep your heart with all vigilance,
    for from it flow the springs of life.
Put away from you crooked speech,
    and put devious talk far from you.
Let your eyes look directly forward
    and your gaze be straight before you.
Keep straight the path of your feet,
    and all your ways will be sure.
Do not swerve to the right or to the left;
    turn your foot away from evil. (New Revised Standard Version)

Life is not a sprint; it is a marathon. Only those who persevere, and have patience over the course of their lives, will know what wisdom is, and how to live a good life.

We never get to a point in life in which we can simply rest on our laurels and slide effortlessly into end of life, and beyond to eternal life. The wisdom of endurance and humility is needed all the time, because decision-making is continually required.

The Book of Proverbs brings up some constant themes for us to keep in mind with our choices in life: There is always a choice of contrasting ways between wisdom and foolishness. That choice typically involves either a quick solution, or waiting for a good outcome.

In some ways, wisdom is the teacher who keeps giving us remedial instruction. The sage advice of the biblical proverbs continues to remind us of the connection between righteousness, justice, and the good life. Over and over we are instructed to remember the consequences to foolish decisions.

Four times in today’s lesson is the repeated exhortation to “keep:” keep hold of instruction; keep it close to your heart; keep your heart; and keep straight the path of your feet. This has the idea of valuing and treasuring the wise sayings given. To have a hold of the heart is to have hold of the life. For we do what we love.

But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:20-21, NIV)

The orientation of one’s heart happens from the bottom up, through the formation of habits of desire. Learning to love God takes practice. Walking in the way of wisdom takes time.

The best way to avoid the path of evil, and not throw in your lot with the wicked, is to love righteousness, goodness, and justice. Our love for what is right, good, and just shall win out in the competing voices around us and within us. Peer pressure is no pressure at all, whenever our love is oriented toward wisdom.

You will see evil for the sheer foolishness it is, and will steer clear of it, at all costs. Love brings meaning and connection to life. Love, in the path of wisdom, clarifies one’s own spiritual sense, that there is a moral order to this universe; such a person is determined to not violate that good order.

To reach anyone, the heart must be moved to right thinking and right action. Fear of punishment is a poor means of swaying any person. A parent who threatens a child is being foolish. But a parent who gives wise instruction, along with why it’s important, with a heavy dose of love, is building a relationship which will strengthen the child’s resolve to live justly.

Rules without relationship leads to rebellion. However, the time and attention given to a loving relationship with a child helps them understand the rules, so that they have no intention of stoking a rebellious spirit.

When parents, teachers, faith leaders, mentors, and even corporate bosses aptly communicate a real love and concern, with humility and gentleness, then they are learning the way of wisdom. And this sort of leadership is needed medicine to a sick soul. It makes life good; and work, family, and church a blessing, not a burden.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7, NRSV)

The wise person guards their heart and protects it as the precious possession that it is. They keep to a right and good path of life. Wisdom is their food and drink, their eyes and ears, their thoughts and intentions.

Wise persons refuse to let bitterness and grudge-bearing enter their hearts. Instead, they pay attention to what wisdom teaches them:

Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.

Psalm 90:12, NLT

I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. (Psalm 119:11, NIV)

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. (Colossians 3:1, NIV)

In a sense, we are all curators of our own hearts. That is, we decide what goes into it, and what goes out. We choose what others will experience of us, and what they won’t. Through curating our hearts, we display what is truly valuable and important to us.

It’s up to you and me to decide whether we will keep on the sure, yet narrow, road of wisdom. Or whether we will take an exit onto another road that leads to the graveyard of souls.

Choose wisely, my friends. Choose wisely.

All-wise and good God: I will trust You for generous wisdom straight paths, and a peaceful heart. I praise you for being a great decision-making God. For it is Your right choices which make all the difference. And I will trust You to order my steps according to the way of justice and righteousness. Amen.

Consider Wisdom (Proverbs 1:1-19)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
By Peter Max, 2008

The proverbs of Solomon, son of David and king of Israel.

Here are proverbs that will help you recognize wisdom and good advice, and understand sayings with deep meaning. They can teach you how to live intelligently and how to be honest, just, and fair. They can make an inexperienced person clever and teach young people how to be resourceful. These proverbs can even add to the knowledge of the wise and give guidance to the educated, so that they can understand the hidden meanings of proverbs and the problems that the wise raise.

To have knowledge, you must first have reverence for the Lord. Stupid people have no respect for wisdom and refuse to learn.

My child, pay attention to what your father and mother tell you. Their teaching will improve your character as a handsome turban or a necklace improves your appearance.

My child, when sinners tempt you, don’t give in. Suppose they say, “Come on; let’s find someone to kill! Let’s attack some innocent people for the fun of it! They may be alive and well when we find them, but they’ll be dead when we’re through with them! We’ll find all kinds of riches and fill our houses with loot! Come and join us, and we’ll all share what we steal.”

My child, don’t go with people like that. Stay away from them. They can’t wait to do something bad. They’re always ready to kill. It does no good to spread a net when the bird you want to catch is watching, but people like that are setting a trap for themselves, a trap in which they will die. Robbery always claims the life of the robber—this is what happens to anyone who lives by violence. (Good News Translation)

“To educate a man in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society.”

Theodore Roosevelt

A proverb is a short pithy statement of experiential truth. Proverbs are meant to teach one how to live a good life. This sort of education requires a lifetime of learning. There is always wisdom to be gained.

In order to have true understanding and wisdom, there needs to be a balance of intellectual knowledge, affective feeling, and intuitive knowledge. Only possessing some of these elements makes one nothing more than a half-wit.

A commitment to virtue, morality, and ethics is a must in the acquisition of wisdom, and thus, a good life. Physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual maturity all take time. Marinading over a long period of time in the wisdom of biblical proverbs will prove to be a life saver. At the end of one’s life, they can look back with gratefulness and satisfaction, instead of sorrow and regret.

So, from the very outset of approaching the Book of Proverbs, the mindset and heart stance must not be one of popping a few proverbial pills in order to achieve a self-centered goal or gain an immediate solution.

Rather, proverbial wisdom demands daily immersion in its wise sayings. It requires implementation and experimentation every single day. There needs to be decisive action, coupled with contemplative reflection. Anything short of this truncates and stunts one’s growth.

There is yet one more necessary prerequisite toward the sagacious and good life. Without this, nothing is possible. But with this, all things are possible: Acknowledgment, awareness, and adoration of the Lord.

A fool is one who stubbornly refuses to take in the full range of epistemic knowledge. Being only book smart is to actually be stupid. To be only a walking heart of emotional intelligence is foolish. And to live only by gut instinct alone is to cut off yourself from wisdom’s teaching.

A wise life includes the head, the heart, and the gut – and to have them all aligned together as an integral whole. To live other than this is to live as a fool who believes they already have the answers and the key to knowledge and understanding.

Furthermore, this means that to take God and transcendent things off of the table, to begin with, is the most foolish decision a person can make. Conversely, to forsake the intellectual life and believe that all one needs is the spiritual, is to betray a woefully foolish approach to the good life.

There are also those who distance themselves from family, especially parents. On some level, this makes sense, if one had a childhood full of traumatic memories and difficult relationships.

However, learning to honor even these parents is to place oneself on the path of wisdom, and to learn what the good life truly entails. And this approach allows the person to see the good, and strain out the bad.

In other words, we discover that good and bad, wise and foolish, smart and stupid, exists within everyone and in every place. Wholesale jettisoning of persons and/or institutions gains us little to nothing.

This distancing from family and/or God is an attempt to assert some control, to effect one’s willpower upon life. But this will lead us away from the true path of wisdom.

That’s because wisdom is not something to be mastered. Wise sayings don’t exist to be collected, and their sagacity harnessed for one’s personal goals.

Yes, we are to avail ourselves of wisdom, yet perhaps not as we may believe or think. We do not capture wisdom, but are captured by it.

The importance of this mental, emotional, and spiritual stance must not be undervalued. We only learn wisdom by means of humility and reverence before powers greater than ourselves. Any vestige of pride in us shall cause wisdom to disappear and slip from our grasp.

Only until we both intellectually and experientially recognize that the essential operations of the universe are beyond us, shall anyone begin to trust and risk in a wisdom greater than our own.

“Without humility, all shall be lost.”

St. Teresa of Avila

Put another way, if we refuse to learn from God and from our parents, then we won’t.

Only by accepting this can anyone discern what to do and don’t do, say and don’t say, when faced with competing voices.

For there is continually a voice of foolishness, of wickedness, enticing us to get what we want quickly, selfishly, without any thought to the consequences or the effect upon others. A group of such voices becomes a gang who tries outdoing each other in competitive evil.

There is also a voice of wisdom, which admonishes us to avoid the fast, fun, and friendly gang of evil speech and behavior. The wise person discerns that what the wicked person does to another, comes back upon them.

The patient and powerful voice of wisdom communicates prudence in all things, that is, to do today what will lead to a better tomorrow.

So then, my friend, what is the thing – the decision, the action, the words – that you can and will do today which will help you accomplish a good, right, and just life for yourself (and others) for tomorrow?

Great God of all wisdom, help me to trust You and follow Your precepts in every twist and turn of my life. Grant me good understanding and guide my steps, so that Your will is done on earth, as it is always done in Your heaven. Amen.

How To Live When Things Are Bad (Isaiah 33:10-16)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Mural depicting the wars of Israel and Judah with the surrounding nations, Wilshire Boulevard Temple, Los Angles

But the Lord says: “Now I will stand up.
    Now I will show my power and might.
You Assyrians produce nothing but dry grass and stubble.
    Your own breath will turn to fire and consume you.
Your people will be burned up completely,
    like thornbushes cut down and tossed in a fire.
Listen to what I have done, you nations far away!
    And you that are near, acknowledge my might!”

The sinners in Jerusalem shake with fear.
    Terror seizes the godless.
“Who can live with this devouring fire?” they cry.
    “Who can survive this all-consuming fire?”
Those who are honest and fair,
    who refuse to profit by fraud,
    who stay far away from bribes,
who refuse to listen to those who plot murder,
    who shut their eyes to all enticement to do wrong—
these are the ones who will dwell on high.
    The rocks of the mountains will be their fortress.
Food will be supplied to them,
    and they will have water in abundance. (New Living Translation)

The Assyrians were a nasty bunch. So were the people of Jerusalem, at the time of Isaiah’s prophecy. Maybe the folks in Judah played the comparison game and thought they were better than their foe. After all, the Assyrians were experts in war and torture.

Jerusalem was understandably terrified of the Assyrian army. And they trusted God, that is, to a degree. There’s a difference between looking to the Lord because you’re between a rock and a hard place, and placing faith in God because that is the default response of your life.

Easy for me to say. I’ve never stood on a city wall watching a powerful army surrounding me like a bunch of bullies on the playground.

Jerusalem was intimidated to the point of letting the Assyrian ruffians take their gold and silver. Well, actually, it wasn’t their gold; it was God’s. And when the army left, the city was still intact. But for how long?

It was humiliating. Being the victim of a bully always is. And because they’re bullies, it’s never enough. Like feeding the neighbor’s cat, the Assyrians end up going nowhere. They want more. In fact, they never really intended on leaving anyway. It was all a double-cross.

Judah, out of their fear and anxiety, made a bargain with the devil. A bully is a bully because they can be. Give in to them, and it only enables them to keep bullying. The Assyrians were ready for battle. It’s what they always did: fight and conquer.

It was at this point that Jerusalem finally got the clue that they’d been living with God in the background, not the foreground. They did their own thing, much like the hated and dreaded Assyrians.

So, the only recourse the people of Judah had was the mercy of their God. Yet, even though they ought to have petitioned the Lord from the get-go, at least they noticed the Lord is still there.

Assyrian king, British Museum

Unfortunately, most of our repentant overtures are way overdue. And yet, because of divine grace, the crazy mess we make of our lives is the very same place where a merciful God meets us.

Any sort of help is surely undeserved. It always is. The Lord, however, avoids making us grovel in our own vomit. God accepts us where we are, and not where we ought to be.

In truth, we all need to make a change, and not just the bullies. The sheer reality of God demands that we pay attention to what is right, just, and good. And the prophet Isaiah informed the people exactly how we must live in a world full of bullies and busted dreams.

We are to have an awareness of ethics and morality, a concern for humanity, and an orientation to help everyone thrive and flourish in this life.

The answer to life’s question of how to exist in this world and do more than just survive comes down to human morality:

  • Live right
  • Speak the truth
  • Despise exploitation
  • Refuse bribes
  • Reject violence
  • Avoid evil pleasures

The safe and stable way to live is to participate in the rhythms of mercy and justice that are woven into the fabric of the universe. The path to a contented and satisfying life is through goodness, not hatred.

Security and satisfaction don’t come through control of all circumstances; it comes by discerning that God has ultimate control, and that this God is good, not evil; just, not unjust; and righteous, not capricious.

According to the prophet, God will determine when the suitable time for assistance will come for us. And the Lord will deal with the ungodly according to the divine timetable, and not when we believe judgments should be rendered.

None of this is in our purview. Sometimes, talking about this sort of theology is a way of taking the focus off of our own need for an ethical and moral life. Sometimes, it is a helpful way of coming to grips with what is happening. Discernment is needed with oneself in these matters.

Trusting God means to exercise patience and perseverance, to focus on faith, to discipline ourselves in prayer, and to express confidence in hope.

We are not necessarily ruined whenever our circumstances are dire. The worse things become, the greater the display of divine power that can come.

By orienting ourselves around God and God’s strength and will, we grow in courage and develop in faith. We learn to trust in the worst of situations. We discover that the Lord knows the score of things, that God understands what’s going on.

And God laughs at the ungodly who believe they can bully the godly around. The most brilliant of military commanders is like a little toddler before the sovereign Lord of the universe. The fiery words they blow will blow back on them and consume their arrogance.

So, let us not harden our own hearts, but exercise a change of heart to let God be God, and to want for nothing but the courts of the Lord.

Let us not be like the bullies of Assyria who lived without a thought to the divine reality in front of them. Let us not become tormented, as if a fire were devouring us with inward anguish of soul, but instead:

  • Walk in right relations with others and with the Lord
  • Maintain truth and integrity in everything
  • Be free from corruption and offending others and God
  • Act with love toward your neighbor and your God
  • Refuse to accept a bribe
  • Restrain evil impulses
  • Open wide the spigot of goodness and justice

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Safety and abundance of good things is provided by the Lord. God protects. And God supplies. Rely upon God’s promises, and not the empty bellowing of others.

Be safe. Be strong. Be spiritual. We are all in this life together.

O God, my refuge and strength: In this place of unrelenting light and noise, enfold me in your holy darkness and silence, so that I may rest secure under the shadow of your wings. Amen.