Fed up with it all

By David ReayMonday 28 Aug 2017LifeWords DevotionalsFaithReading Time: 0 minutes

Read Psalm 120

            1-2 I’m in trouble. I cry to God,
                 desperate for an answer:
            “Deliver me from the liars, God!
                 They smile so sweetly but lie through their teeth.”

            3-4 Do you know what’s next, can you see what’s coming,
                 all you barefaced liars?
            Pointed arrows and burning coals
                 will be your reward.

            5-7 I’m doomed to live in Meshech,
                 cursed with a home in Kedar,
            My whole life lived camping
                 among quarreling neighbors.
            I’m all for peace, but the minute
                 I tell them so, they go to war! (THE MESSAGE)

As long as we reckon that the next election or a fresh leader of our favourite political party will establish justice or safeguard morality, we will never truly pursue the way of faith. As long as we think that another scientific breakthrough will cure cancer or fix the environment, we are not ready to helplessly depend on the grace of God.

It is not as if we withdraw from the world and never speak our mind or work for change in our nation or our world. Rather we refuse to see such speech and work as fully expressive of the Christian way. We have to get really fed up with how things are in order to embrace a new way. A way that may include but goes beyond politics, science, and law.

Human estrangement from God is the problem. Not whoever has the majority in parliament; not the media; not the judiciary; not the bureaucracy. We can work for change in all these areas and some tinkering with them may do some good. But we can easily succumb to the idea that the resolution to our problems lies with such actions.

The psalmist is obviously fed up with life as it is, living amongst people who have little regard for peace or truth. Such an attitude can lead to ever increasing anger and frustration expressing itself in strident political activity including hostility to those perceived to be not on our side. Or can lead to sullen and cynical withdrawal.

Or perhaps lead to flinging ourselves helplessly on the grace of God to show us how to live creatively and boldly in a hostile environment. We will only utterly commit to going God’s way if we get utterly fed up with the other ways.

Blessings
David Reay