Scripture: Jeremiah 9:4-6
Beware of your neighbors, and put no trust in any of your kin; for all your kind are supplanters, and every neighbor goes around like a slanderer. They all deceive their neighbors, and no one speaks the truth; they have taught their tongues to speak lies; they commit iniquity and are too weary to repent. Oppression upon oppression, deceit upon deceit! They refuse to know me, says the Lord.
Thought for the Day: Yikes! I am definitely not feeling the love in these words. Is this a call for all of us to distrust our families and show cynicism toward our friends? To be honest, I don’t want to live my life that way. There are too many amazing and trustworthy people in my life to write them off with a broad stroke. We must understand the prophet Jeremiah within his context. The prophet was looking at a time in which idol worship and mistreatment of the weak was commonplace, and it appears that the traditional structures that upheld faithfulness were crumbling. Jeremiah’s harsh words were a plea to his people to be aware of the harmful thoughts creeping into everyday life. It was Mark Twain who wrote, “The most outrageous lies that can be invented will find believers if a person only tells them with all his might.” Just because someone is passionate, charismatic or charming does not necessarily mean s/he is a mediator of God’s grace and goodness. I’m not suggesting a general distrust of everyone, but Jeremiah expects people to be responsible in their own faith. Listen, ask questions, evaluate, critique and pray – doing so within the context of community, we are more likely keep ourselves and those around us on a path that more likely resembles the rightness of God.
Prayer: Keep me on the path of grace, Good God, through the disciplines of prayer, community worship, study and self-giving service. In doing so, I will continue to grow in my knowledge of you and the way of faithfulness. Amen.
Join us this Sunday,
as Pastor Bruce
begins a 3-week series on:
The Prophet Elijah
