“For the Lord will not reject forever. Although he causes grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love; for he does not willingly afflict or grieve anyone.”
Lamentations 3:31-33
Lamentations 3 is a challenging chapter. Tradition attributes authorship to Jeremiah though we are not certain. Its beginning is brutal. The author begins the chapter by declaring all the harm God has done to him culminating in verse seventeen where he declares “my soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is.”
Many of us have felt this way at one time or another.
The verses above, however, are part of a turning point in the chapter. After a long lament about the evil and pain that God has caused, the author remembers the character, goodness and justice of God.
There is hardship in this life. At the beginning of the chapter, the author attributes all the pain of life to the direct action of God. Then, he remembers God’s character and regains hope. At times, it seems as though God is rejecting us; as though God is sending us grief. But God has abundant unwavering love and does not choose to afflict anyone.
After the author regains hope in this chapter he realizes that grief comes from rebelling against God. The author calls for God to defend him and punish those who are causing him pain.
It is quite a turn around on the author’s part, from blaming God to calling for God to defend him.
The difference was simply in the author remembering the character and love of God.
I know too many people who see God as punitive. They see Him as a god who is distant and judgmental. It must be hard to have hope when one sees God in that way.
God is Love. God is Just. God is Good. God is True. We need to remember the character of God. We need to conform ourselves to that character. Walking with God is not about rules. It is not about the do’s and don’ts. It is about conforming our character to God’s. As Jesus said, all the do’s and don’ts boil down to loving God and loving our fellow humans.
Remembering “the abundance of his steadfast love” allows us to once again have hope.
A Quote to Consider:
“One of the great tragedies of the American culture is that we shower wealth on those who entertain us and cast disdain on those who enlighten us.”
–Scott Culpepper
Scott has been a friend of mine for almost twenty years. He is a historian who was previously a pastor. I don’t remember the context of this quote but I love it nonetheless.
I spend my life as an artist, writer, editor, speaker, and professor striving to bring some enlightenment toward truth. There is no expectation that I will become wealthy from it. In fact, if I were to gain some measure of material wealth from it, the cause would most likely be that I found a way to turn my content into entertainment on social media. That is unlikely.
Part of working to bring enlightenment means speaking against things that are not true. That is when the disdain happens. If I had to guess, the quote above came from a time in Scott’s life when he was working hard to correct false histories that were gaining traction within the Church. He found that most people preferred the false histories which made them feel good about themselves, despite them being untrue.
To be attacked for promoting truth is difficult, especially when one looks at the wealth heaped on those who entertain us with drivel. I’m not opposed to drivel. It can be a nice distraction. But entertainment at the cost of enlightenment comes at a huge price, a price American culture is willing to pay.
I’ve heard many pastors claim that if we showed them our bank accounts they could see our priorities based on how we are spending our money. There is some truth to that, though I would point out that it might be equally enlightening if we looked at a church’s financial records.
On several occasions I’ve seen lists of the top paid public officials in states. Often, the top paid official is either a football or basketball coach, rather than a governor, researcher, or anyone that promotes the type of enlightenment that improves our culture.
I have no idea how to change this trend, but I want to acknowledge the truth in Scott’s words. The fact that our culture prioritizes entertainment over enlightenment is, in fact, a tragedy.
Prayer:
God of mercy,
In our grief remind us of Your steadfast love. Shape our hearts to reflect Your truth, and give us courage to value enlightenment over the appeal of frivolity.
Amen
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