May the mumbling commence!
Why do good things happen to evil people? Why do false prophets prosper? Jeremiah complained and lamented about these kinds of things in chapter twelve. Read verses 1-4 below:
You are always righteous, O Lord,
when I bring a case before you.
Yet I would speak with you about your justice:
Why does the way of the wicked prosper?
Why do all the faithless live at ease?
You have planted them, and they have taken root;
they grow and bear fruit.
You are always on their lips
but far from their hearts.
Yet you know me, O Lord;
you see me and test my thoughts about you.
Drag them off like sheep to be butchered!
Set them apart for the day of slaughter!
How long will the land lie parched
and the grass in every field be withered?
Because those who live in it are wicked,
the animals and birds have perished.
Moreover, the people are saying,
"He will not see what happens to us."
Yes, sometimes, we see hypocrites among us and wonder why God does not judge them. We wonder why they prosper. To our eyes, it seems that God has firmly rooted and planted them so that they are bearing fruit. Even as we rail against these perceived injustices, we must realize – like Jeremiah – that we cannot hide our thoughts from the Lord. Let us embrace our self righteous attitudes and thoughts before the Lord so that they may be purged. Purge them so that we may see and understand our own parts in hypocrisy.
When we can see and understand our own parts in hypocrisy, then we can begin to understand the effects of our sins on everything around us. Our sins not only affect us and all the people around us but they also affect the natural world. The land lies parched and the fields are withered. Even the animals struggle to maintain their life in such an arid time. Here in the Great Plains, we need only to keep our eyes open as we move about our settings; and we will see these effects that we are having on our environment.
Is it all due to our sins? That thought is unlikely. Nevertheless, it would be folly to believe that we have no guilt in the equation – with the massive size of our global carbon footprint, all to sustain our ease of living.
Help us, O Lord, to be content so that we may share with others and transform them to our sisters and brothers. Help us, O Lord, to care for this beautiful creation that You have made. Give us the wisdom to know how we can help sustain our planet so that it will be as beautiful for our children and grandchildren. May we remember that all healing comes from You. Help us be attentive and humble to Your call in our lives.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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