It's because of Wickedness
I stumbled across Deuteronomy 9:4-5 this morning during my scripture reading.
“ 4 “After the Lord your God has done this for you, don’t say in your hearts, `The Lord has given us this land because we are such good people!’ No, it is because of the wickedness of the other nations that he is pushing them out of your way.5 It is not because you are so good or have such integrity that you are about to occupy their land. The Lord your God will drive these nations out ahead of you only because of their wickedness, and to fulfill the oath he swore to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.””
Just before Israel is to cross into the Promised Land God reminds them that they really did nothing to get this opportunity. In fact, they did a lot of stuff as a nation up to this point that really disqualified a vast number of people, including Moses, from actually getting this opportunity.
I find myself in the Israelites position often. I need reminded that the Promised Lands of my life are not there because of anything I have done. Much of the reason I am given these Promised Lands is because of the wickedness of people.
Look at our adoption process as one example. One child we are to adopt lost her father and is losing her mother to AIDS. I’m not sure how they transmitted the disease, but something tells me it was promiscuity. The other two lost their father, and their mother lives in a desperate situation. While I was in Uganda in 2007 there were headlines detailing how wealthy the cabinet of the government was becoming. I also saw how a little cash can go a long way with government officials. Yet the only option for this mother was to give her children away because the one responsible for protecting her and providing for the family was no longer alive. That all sounds pretty wicked, doesn’t it?
I need to keep in perspective that no matter how long it takes us to finally realize the dream of raising these children, that we are only getting this opportunity because of the wickedness of the world, and because God is entrusting us with the responsibility to redeem a little piece of that.
As a leader in the church I have to also keep in perspective that the only reason I get to preach, teach, etc. is because there is a wickedness that needs to be redeemed. It is far less because I am gifted to do either of those things. For if the world was without wickedness, then all we’d be doing is worship.
Comments are closed.