Destroying Ourselves???

“And now the LORD God of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, asks you: Why are you destroying yourselves? [Jeremiah 44.7a]

The context of this verse is that the Judean exiles in Egypt insisted on their idolatry and sinful ways and Jeremiah brought God's word to them.

The implications of this verse however are universal and timeless. Sin destroys us. Sin brings curses upon our lives. Sin removes God's protective covering and exposes us to devastation. When we sin (whether acts of wickedness or the lack of faith), we destroy ourselves.

Somehow, modern humanity believes things are different nowadays. Everything bad that happens has an explanation - natural, scientific, logical - but rarely are the bad things we experience today attributed to sin.

Christianity is largely to blame for this because Christianity failed to take the blood of Jesus seriously. Christians erroneously included everything 'under the blood of Jesus' (taking grace for granted) and counted themselves responsible for nothing. Consequently, Christianity had no choice  then but to allow skewed views of God and His character to infiltrate their doctrine in order to explain why bad things still happen.

Once upon a time, people (God's people and otherwise) believed bad things were resultant to the displeasure of whatever deity they embraced (again, God Almighty or other gods). The Bible is quite full of stories that support the fact that only God Almighty, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, really controls everything and should be worshiped as such. In the Bible, bad things are always attached to sin, direct or indirect. The sin might be gross immorality or spiritual pride, but the results were always the same - bad things, destruction, devastation.

But today, bad things all have their respective explanations. Unusual weather and geological events are attributed to man's abuse of the earth. Crime is attributed to lack of education. Diseases are attributed to the lack of research and scientific cures (and until such cures are available, diseases are "just the way things go"). Modern society has explanations for pretty much everything and therefore there remains no 'need' for God.

Well, I don't buy it. I believe all the bad things going on in and around us are our invitation to repent before our Holy God. Call me a 'cave man', uneducated, unrealistic, out of touch, or whatever, but we will see who is justified and who is not. I believe God is in control. I believe our troubles are the work of our sin (individual and/or corporate) and therefore are our own doing at destroying ourselves.

I furthermore believe my lack of faith does not negate the need for faith. If Jesus 'paid it all' and faith is required to enjoy the benefit of that, and if I still experience bad things, then the only conclusion is the humble admission of my lack of faith and need to grow spiritually. Yep, I said it.

Father, please forgive me for my lack of faith. Forgive me for my insistence upon considering every option in my life except sin as the cause for bad things. Forgive me for thinking random chance has anything to do with my life as a follower of You. Forgive me for lust in my flesh, lust in my eyes, and the pride of life. Forgive me for thinking I have anything figured out. Forgive me for 'owning' my life instead of surrendering all to You. I desperately need You and You alone.