(January 16, 2015)
I had
two thoughts as I read through these chapters. The first was on the common-sense reality that
sometimes deceit makes people rich. Jeremiah
recognizes this, and the Lord almost acknowledges it. But wealth and riches don’t bring happiness –
we might like to pretend that they do, but they do not. So why do we envy the rich for their wealth
(even when ill-gotten) if our choices to live after the manner of happiness
bring us more happiness than their wealth brings them?
The second thought was on those who seem to blame the
Lord for punishing the wicked or when bad things happen to people (even when
bad things happen to the righteous). We
live in a fallen world, where misery and death are at the end of each and every
road. It is not so much a situation where
the Lord brings evil upon us, but often it is a matter of the Lord ceasing to
protect us from the evil we bring upon ourselves. By so doing, He helps us to be more aware of
the consequences of our own behavior and gives us additional strength to
recognize (if we will) that we must follow Him or face destruction – not because
He will destroy us, but rather that we will destroy ourselves.
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