Tag: choices

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Some things you just never forget.

Reading Time: 2 minutes

“Teach me your ways, O Lord, that I may live according to your truth! Grant me purity of heart, so that I may honor you. With all my heart I will praise you, O Lord my God. I will give glory to your name forever, for your love for me is very great. You have rescued me from the depths of death.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭86‬:‭11‬-‭13‬ ‭NLT‬‬

King David, former shepherd, former Saul’s melody-muse, former man-on-the-run, reflects on his past as much as he does his future. From humble fields to giant-killer fame, to promised heir-apparent, David lived the full gamut of a colorful life. But in those bold snapshots of highs and lows there is a common theme – he always loved God and wanted to please him.

From his confident bravado on the battlefield, and awkward patience waiting for Saul to die a natural death. His rise to power, and then colossal failure as a man, a husband and leader. He always held onto his relationship with God. It’s admirable to understand that God wanted us to know so much about this man. It feels so authentic to see the circuitous paths it took to get David to be a “man after God’s heart,” and be able to judge his behaviors thousands of years later.

This psalm, in the book of Psalms, was inserted towards the end of David’s life. It reminds me of this struggle to be a faulty human AND be good. Not just momentarily human or situationally good, but to be both over a lifetime. Who really can judge us properly? Who can see the totality of earnest desire to be pure, to be good, yet consistently fail at it. What small slice would be observed in my life, or yours? The good slice of a worthy moment, where I served, loved and chose well? Or the humiliating one, where I selfishly or angrily lost my sense of perspective and choose poorly? Which moment would I chose to be remembered by, judged by? The good of course!

David’s prayer encourages me to keep choosing to believe, to pray like this psalm, “teach me, grant me purity of heart… so that I may honor God.” I too must hold on to the moments God rescued me, saved me. But I must also hold on to the moments where I made good choices, not bad. Moments where I pursued God, not failed him. So that I can also praise God will ALL my heart.

Prayer

Dad,
To be human means that I carry both memories of wretched failure and soaring sainthood. Through all the moments of highs and lows, you were always there. Whether proud or patient, you saw it all. In fact you see the beginning, the present and tomorrow all in an eternal moment of now! You see my choices tomorrow and how my life here eventually comes to an end. After all that is sorted, I hope you know that I do love you and I am so very grateful for everything you’ve done in my life. Your mercy and kindness to me has been overwhelming and unending. Thank you.

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Similar biases about the poor and rich.

Reading Time: 3 minutes 
“Then I said, “But what can we expect from the poor? They are ignorant. They don’t know the ways of the Lord. They don’t understand God’s laws. So I will go and speak to their leaders. Surely they know the ways of the Lord and understand God’s laws.” But the leaders, too, as one man, had thrown off God’s yoke and broken his chains.” Jeremiah‬ ‭5:4-5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I read Jeremiah’s words spoken to himself and I agree with him – we both have these strange stereotypes and biases about the poor (followers) and the rich (leaders).

Fair warning, there are some big assumptions coming up next.

I struggle with a belief that the poor, and disenfranchised do NOT have sin. I don’t quite think they are perfect, but I have a weird framework that puts them in a far more angelic posture than the rich. They’re poor! How can they possibly do any wrong or get into trouble – they are broke!

I dismiss so many behaviors for them. They lie, well it’s because they’re poor. They cheat, they steal because they’re poor. They are angry, violent at times, aimless, weak and frail – all because they are poor. How can they possibly be wrong? How can they sin, they’ve been sinned against so many times?

I live in a “below poverty level” neighborhood. And for the majority of my neighbors I just feel sorry for them. They work so hard to make money, mostly with side hustles. They walk or bicycle everywhere. They drive slow and cautious. They do so many things together as families. Many of my neighbors still WALK with grandparents, parents and children to a local church!

But It’s not just poorer families, we’ve got more homeless wandering the streets than anywhere else in our County. They are not just poor, they are mentally unstable, like a scene out of the walking dead. They walk across traffic without looking. They wander about ranting and raving, cussing at the air while standing on the corners. They walk our sidewalks completely naked, except for shoes. They huddle against the walls and front doors of our local businesses and stores, shaking from drug use and frightening anyone who just wants to be a customer.

Other than constant annoyance and pure pity, I still can’t judge, blame or otherwise see them as sinners. I agree with Jeremiah – they seem ignorant of God!

Oh, but the rich, the wealthy, the powerful – oooh baby, they are the sinners. They know better, they have more! They live a better life. Yeah, they should be judged, blamed and held accountable for their behaviors. Like Jeremiah insinuates, they are NOT ignorant! Earlier in this text, God tells Jeremiah something we all know to be true, “Run up and down every street in Jerusalem,” says the Lord. “Look high and low; search throughout the city! If you can find even one just and honest person, I will not destroy the city.”

It is ridiculous for me or Jeremiah to believe that the poor are angelic and the rich (leaders) are just evil monsters. It’s not right for me to excuse, my behavior, the poor’s behavior or the rich’s behavior based on these equitable qualities of money or influence. All of us have sin! All of us do sin well in our own ways! All of us find ways to be creative in our sin to get what we want, when we want it. Sadly, none of us are innocent and should be given a “pass” or excuses to make wrong choices.

I’m neither poor nor rich, but I could easily blame my past or my parents for my bad choices today. And it would just be the same smokescreen justification as the rest of humanity. It’s not my fault! Well, it’s a hard reality – it is my fault, and yours too.

Prayer

Dad,
Wherever I go, whatever I do, I cannot get away from who I am. I am still just a regular old sinner saved by grace. And, as I look at the world around me, rich and poor, I have to remember that we are all at fault for own decisions. We are all responsible for those choices. As much as I do not want judge nor pity, I have to give every person their own dignity of being human, created in your image. And still keep in mind that we are all broken and in need of rescue and redemption.