"Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease."
Proverbs 22:10
Sometimes the Old Testament can seem overly harsh. Not just the commandments, but the lives that people led, the things that happened to them, the things that they faced. And, of course, not all of those things are in the past, but in modern society I think that we have distanced ourselves from a lot of it. We don't confront things in the same way. For instance, we no longer personally kill animals for our meals, the majority of us don't grow our own food or make our own clothing, and in many cases we have police and laws to adjudicate our interpersonal conflicts for us rather than having to make that determination ourselves.
It is also hard sometimes to read about the God of the Old Testament, even though he is exactly the same person as he is today, because things happened that we might not understand, with a ton of what seems like favoritism, wiping groups of people out completely, floods and fire from the sky to sweep people from the earth, etc. I think we want to always focus on the merciful side of God, on his love, patience, and forgiveness.
Maybe it is important to read the Old Testament for exactly that reason though, because it is uncomfortable. Because it reminds us that there is another side to life, and to God, and to the whole idea of Justice. That side doesn't make God less of a God, or less perfect, or less... anything. In fact, it shows his perfection because no perfect being would deal with his children and have no limits. No ideal parent would let his children go completely unpunished for bad behavior after habitually breaking the rules. Exactly *because* he loved his children, he would correct them, and teach them how to change and be better, and set a personal example of having boundaries and limits and not allowing abuse to continue.
God teaches us consequences. He teaches us that there need to be limits to our behavior, and that we harm ourselves if we don't control ourselves. He teaches us also that things don't always fit into the little mental boxes that we like to use to categorize the world. God values human life, but sometimes he sacrifices it to accomplish larger goals. In Star Trek parlance, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. :)
This is a tiny verse to go with all of these big ideas, but sometimes if scorners don't repent, you have to cast them out, so that contention, strife, and reproach cease. Even if the scorners are ourselves. And the same goes for other unrepented sins. When God says that his spirit won't always strive with us, he's telling us that there is a limit. He'll be patient, and give us plenty of chances, but it doesn't last forever, and if we keep sinning, we're going to eventually take it too far. We wonder sometimes why it took so long for Nephi and his brothers to get the plates, and why it had to end the way it did... but maybe those three chances weren't just to test Nephi's faith, but also Laban's. God gave him chances to do the right thing and to listen, but he wouldn't.
Let's make sure that in our lives we are on God's side, always. Let's listen and have faith and repent and change and do everything in our power to help others to do the same... because this life *isn't* a video game with unlimited lives that we can just restore at a previous save point. There is a game over screen, and if we don't repent, that is the point at which we go too far, and become hardened and past feeling. Let's make sure when that end point comes that we're not playing the part of the scorner, or Laban, or the ten foolish virgins. Let's change while we can. It isn't too late, and it's never too early.
Proverbs 22:10
Sometimes the Old Testament can seem overly harsh. Not just the commandments, but the lives that people led, the things that happened to them, the things that they faced. And, of course, not all of those things are in the past, but in modern society I think that we have distanced ourselves from a lot of it. We don't confront things in the same way. For instance, we no longer personally kill animals for our meals, the majority of us don't grow our own food or make our own clothing, and in many cases we have police and laws to adjudicate our interpersonal conflicts for us rather than having to make that determination ourselves.
It is also hard sometimes to read about the God of the Old Testament, even though he is exactly the same person as he is today, because things happened that we might not understand, with a ton of what seems like favoritism, wiping groups of people out completely, floods and fire from the sky to sweep people from the earth, etc. I think we want to always focus on the merciful side of God, on his love, patience, and forgiveness.
Maybe it is important to read the Old Testament for exactly that reason though, because it is uncomfortable. Because it reminds us that there is another side to life, and to God, and to the whole idea of Justice. That side doesn't make God less of a God, or less perfect, or less... anything. In fact, it shows his perfection because no perfect being would deal with his children and have no limits. No ideal parent would let his children go completely unpunished for bad behavior after habitually breaking the rules. Exactly *because* he loved his children, he would correct them, and teach them how to change and be better, and set a personal example of having boundaries and limits and not allowing abuse to continue.
God teaches us consequences. He teaches us that there need to be limits to our behavior, and that we harm ourselves if we don't control ourselves. He teaches us also that things don't always fit into the little mental boxes that we like to use to categorize the world. God values human life, but sometimes he sacrifices it to accomplish larger goals. In Star Trek parlance, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. :)
This is a tiny verse to go with all of these big ideas, but sometimes if scorners don't repent, you have to cast them out, so that contention, strife, and reproach cease. Even if the scorners are ourselves. And the same goes for other unrepented sins. When God says that his spirit won't always strive with us, he's telling us that there is a limit. He'll be patient, and give us plenty of chances, but it doesn't last forever, and if we keep sinning, we're going to eventually take it too far. We wonder sometimes why it took so long for Nephi and his brothers to get the plates, and why it had to end the way it did... but maybe those three chances weren't just to test Nephi's faith, but also Laban's. God gave him chances to do the right thing and to listen, but he wouldn't.
Let's make sure that in our lives we are on God's side, always. Let's listen and have faith and repent and change and do everything in our power to help others to do the same... because this life *isn't* a video game with unlimited lives that we can just restore at a previous save point. There is a game over screen, and if we don't repent, that is the point at which we go too far, and become hardened and past feeling. Let's make sure when that end point comes that we're not playing the part of the scorner, or Laban, or the ten foolish virgins. Let's change while we can. It isn't too late, and it's never too early.
No comments:
Post a Comment