Worst Case Scenario

Scripture References: Amos 8:1-12; Psalm 52; Colossians 1:15-28; Luke 10:38-42

A few years ago a book called The Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbook was a popular gift item. The book contained advice on how to survive all kinds of worst case scenarios. The book was written as a kind of joke, but all the advice is quite sound. If you’ve ever wondered how to land a plane if the pilot loses consciousness, land in a dumpster after you’ve jumped off a tall building without breaking your back, or survive an attack of killer bees, this is the book for you.

There is one worst case scenario that isn’t covered in the book, however. It’s the silence of God. Amos 8:1-12 speaks of how low a people can sink when they forget about their Creator. God characterizes the people of Israel as folks who view Him and His commands as a nuisance which prevents them from making all the money and getting all the things they want. The prophet delivers a message from God that paints a picture of a people who have lost all sense of decency and justice. They can’t wait for the religious festivals to end so they can get back to their business. Instead of making the religious observances a time to focus on their relationship with God, they saw them as an impediment to their making money. They couldn’t wait for the Sabbath to end so that they could go back to buying and and selling (and often cheating people).

According to the proclamation of Amos, God has little patience for those who are supposed to be His children who persist in practicing injustice, especially if they do so in blatant disregard to His commands. As a result, God says, “If you have no regard for Me, you won’t hear from Me any more.” “‘The time is surely coming,’ says the Lord God, ‘when I will send a famine on the land; nor a famine of bread, or a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord, but they shall not find it.’” If we think injustice like the kind mentioned in Amos 8 or in Psalm 52 is bad, imagine how much worse it would be if God were totally silent? The litany of moral and social ills Paul lists in Romans 1 comes as the result of God taking His hand away from the people.

Fortunately, Psalm 52 also paints the picture of an opposite scenario. The psalmist says that the righteous are able to stand firm in the midst of injustice because of their relationship with God. In the midst of his own personal worst case scenario, the psalmist says, “I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever.”

I can’t think of anything worse than coming to a time when I knew that God had ceased speaking. Imagine not being able to discern truth from the Scriptures. Think of what life would be like if no one experienced the prompting of the Holy Spirit to move us in the direction we should go. Life would be unimaginably horrible. I am thankful we don’t have to worry about such a thing. As long as we seek God, He will speak to us. Paul reminds us in Colossians 1 that even though God’s message had been shrouded in mystery for ages, He has made it clear to us through Jesus Christ. It would do us well, then, to make sure that we are not too busy (like Martha in Luke 10:38-42) so that we can take the best path, the path of communion with God as we grown in His truth (like Mary).

"Measuring Up" in the Walk of Faith

Scripture references: Amos 7:7-17; Psalm 82; Colossians 1:1-14; Luke 10:25-37

When a mason is building a wall, he uses a plumb line to make sure that the structure is true. If the wall follows the plumb line, he knows that it is standing straight and is able to hold the weight that will soon rest upon it. If the wall leans to the left or to the right...if it skews away from the plumb line or runs into it, the mason must tear the wall down and start again because it will be too weak to accomplish its purpose.

In the 7th chapter of Amos, God shows His prophet the plumb line He has set up against the wall of the nation Israel. As He checks to see whether or not Israel "measures up" to the purpose for which He has called them, the failures of the nation are obvious. The Lord sounds an ominous note...since the wall cannot fulfill its purpose, it will be torn down.

One interesting thing to note about the 7th chapter of Amos is that this is the third visionary "sign" that the Lord has shown to His prophet. Each one of the signs points to the destruction of the nation. After Amos sees the two previous visions, he pleads for the well-being of the people. The Lord hears Amos' plea and withdraws His hand of destruction. This time, when the Lord shows Amos that the nation fails to measure up to the purpose for which they were created, Amos says nothing. When it is clear that the people have abandoned their purpose, there is nothing left to say.

Hopefully we all take the time to ponder how we "measure up" in the Lord's eyes. Too often, I fear, when we take the time to measure our spiritual lives we think more in terms of how we "think" or how we "feel" than we do about how we work...how we behave. Throughout the book of Amos God tells the people through His prophet that their lack of an obedient relationship with Him has led them to the point of callous attitudes and actions toward others. The injustice with which they treat the poor, the sick, the lonely (the ones Jesus called "the least of these") shows that they have lost focus on God and His purpose in their lives. The Lord's pronouncement of judgment on Israel clearly illustrates the fact that God expects us to demonstrate our love for Him in the way we treat others.

I fear that too often we fall into the trap of separating what we consider to be the "spiritual" aspect of our relationship with God (our thoughts and feelings) from the "practical" aspects of that relationship (our obedience). The message of this text is that they are inseparable. As children of God, we need to evaluate our lives daily to see how we "measure up" to God's standard. In Colossians 1 Paul expresses his gratitude for Colossians and he reminds them that he is praying that they will "live in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God." In Luke 10 Jesus reminds us of the same truth, that faithful living involves not only loving God with our heart, mind and soul, but also with our strength...our actions. This means loving our neighbor to the point where we invest our lives in caring for him or her. Psalm 82 admonishes us to "Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked."

Our Christan behavior will make it possible for others to hear our Christian message because they see it in our Christian lives. As we fulfill the purpose for which God called us, we come closer to "measuring up" to our high calling.

The Weakness of the Flesh and the Power of God

Scripture References: 2 Kings 5:1-14; Psalm 30; Galatians 6:1-16; Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

2 Kings 5 contains one of the most telling references to the weakness of the flesh. "Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man...but he was a leper." Even though Naaman was a mighty man in battle, wealthy in goods, respected and powerful, he could not escape the weakness of the flesh. The Scriptures give constant witness to the fact that we are frail, whether that frailty is demonstrated in the realization that our flesh falls prey to illness and decay or we see that we have the tendency (even the mightiest of us) to succumb to spiritual or moral failures. The truth is that we do not possess the strength sufficient to achieve victory on our own.

In Psalm 30 David says that when he trusted in his own strength and prosperity, thinking he was self-sufficient, he learned (as soon as God's hand of blessing was removed) that even his resources were limited. He says that when the Lord removed His hand, he was dismayed. Once he acknowledged his lack of self-sufficiency and sought the help of the Lord, he was restored. Because of this experience, he speaks with total confidence about God's provision for us.

Paul assumes human weakness in Galatians 6. He reminds those who are part of the faith family that we are responsible for one another. When someone fails, those who have the spiritual wherewithal are supposed to work to restore him or her. Because we human beings are frail, however, he also warns those who try to help others that they need to be careful, lest they fall to the same temptations. This is why we should work to restore the fallen in the spirit of humility. None of us should ever think that we are beyond the reach of temptation.

How do we respond to the reality of our human weakness? The story of the commissioning of the 72 evangelists in Luke 10 gives us a clue. Jesus sends His chosen witnesses out into the world, telling them that they should rely 100% on God's provision for them. They aren't supposed to take anything with them that will guarantee their security. God, through His Spirit and through His people will care for their needs. So it is with us. Even though we are not self-sufficient, God reminds us that His grace is more than sufficient.