Discipline and Devotion-making sense of it
23. January 2008 by BruceSmith.
Does God speak in the hard things?
“Hear, you deaf, and look, you blind, that you may see!
Who is blind but my servant,
or deaf as my messenger whom I send?
Who is blind as me dedicated one,
or blind as the servant of the Lord?
He sees many things, but does not observe them;
his ears are open, but he does not hear.
The Lord was pleased, for his righteousness sake,
to magnify his law and make it glorious.
But this is a people plundered and looted;
they are all of them trapped in holes and hidden in prisons;
they have become plunder with none to rescue,
spoil with none to say, “Restore!”
Who among you will give ear to this,
will attend and listen for the time to come?
Who gave up Jacob to the looter, and Israel to the plunderers?
Was it not the Lord, against whom we have sinned,
in whose ways they would not walk, and whose law they would not obey?
So he poured on him the heat of his anger and the might of battle;
it set him on fire all around, but he did not understand;
it burned him up, but he did not take it to heart.” (Isaiah 42:18-25)
In the passage from Isaiah, we find a God who has immense love for His chosen people. The nation Israel, as history and scripture proclaim, was, in God’s plan for the world, the people through whom God chose to establish His plan for all of humanity. History is replete with the dialogue, controversy, and horror stemming from this proposition. In order to avoid going into a book length exposition of Israel’s place in the divine plan and in history, we must assume here, for the sake of argument that this nation does indeed fit into God’s redemptive plan as a crucial hinge-point. Assuming then that Israel is under the blessing and obligation of this reality, it is important to know what God expects of His people with regard to how they follow the plan. The passage from Isaiah clearly reveals that somewhere along the road God’s chosen nation had independently decided to take a detour. This nation, promised great blessing by a loving God, made the conscious decision to create a new map, one in direct conflict with the one given to them by their leader. Apparently, like the huge neon orange and white striped signs we see on the road at major road repair construction sites, God had sent warning after warning. At every turning point God had placed caution signs that were repeatedly ignored by His people. God’s call to His people was not being heard. His warnings were not registering with a people more concerned with the trappings around them. His people had grown confident in their own plans, desires, pursuits, and ideologies. God decided it was time to send a call loud and clear. By God’s design, the emergency horn would sound louder and louder until heard. God’s love, in discipline, would make an attempt to get His children back on the road to recovery. But, one might ask, “Is that truly loving”?
It would seem to make sense that just as any financial counselor who truly has a client’s interests in mind would lay out a clear game plan for success, so too would a caring parent who wants the best for a child, lay out a plan for healthy growth and development. Any good doctor, aware of an individual’s reckless behavior, would go to lengths to warn his patient of the risk involved in chemical abuse of any kind; drugs, alcohol, steroids, nicotine, and the like. Likewise, a good judge, probation officer or counselor would warn a paroled defendant of the future peril awaiting should one go back to a former way of life. Common sense would inform us that, if indeed, God loved His people He would want to present to them a plan for life that could be followed and which offered them the opportunity for blessing. Further, any good financial planner, coach, boss, or parent would want to point out the pitfalls along the way to prevent major disaster. We see just how committed we are to this idea in the stories we read about Enron, World-Com, and so many other business scams. No one would think it sensible or morally defensible for a person in leadership to intentionally lead those under their care astray. Why would we then expect anything less of God? Any good parent, we would contend, would discipline a child that was in danger of causing harm to themselves or others through willful disobedience. Unloving parents are those who abandon their children, leaving them without means for provision, care, love and direction. Worse, are those parents that would intentionally mislead their children, knowing full well, that destruction would be the result for following the path put in place. Moreover, any good parent or leader would provide a means to follow the plan, reinforce the plan with the promise of blessings that derive form following the blueprint, and provide warnings and discipline for deviation from the plan. The warnings and discipline, of course, are intended to “bring us to our senses” and get us back on track. Could God be speaking to America through difficult circumstances we encounter politically, financially, physically, and otherwise? Does He use “natural” disasters to reveal a sickness of soul to those He cares about? Is there something we are missing? Why do we fail to see God’s hand at work?
The problem we find ourselves in as citizens of the world’s one remaining super-power, is that we no longer want to embrace a common sense view of morality, let alone spiritual sense, unless it fits into our own pursuit of pleasure and comfort. Our view of spirituality, even within some churches, has grown so decidedly contrary to God’s plan that He has no choice but to raise the volume on His call to us. God’s own “church” in America has come so closely to resemble the culture at large that in many settings the church is not discernible from the culture in which it operates. That culture, given a rich heritage of blessing and providence by God, has for some time, been turning a deaf ear to the warnings of God.
Just as God had warned Israel of the folly in turning away from Him to the worship of false Gods, so we in America have turned to the idols of sensuality, the false security of riches, addiction to pleasure, and the astonishing craving for the renouncement of absolute truth. As Americans we want desperately, against all common sense, to suggest that all truths are equal even when they contradict one another. This kind of moral, intellectual, and spiritual suicide, like the doctrine of assisted suicide, is beginning to show its consequences. The outcome of such thinking, indeed belief, is a society in moral and civil decay before our very eyes. “In God we trust”, a now debated doctrine in our halls of justice, is on the verge of becoming extinct. We cry out for God’s help amidst disaster, yet, we have systematically removed Him from our schools and public forums. The “right” of women to choose has trumped the doing of the “right”. We should be aware that the worship of the right to choose will reap, perhaps, a morbid consequence down the line when those who choose the termination of the unborn early in life are eventually called upon to choose whether or not to care for the elderly when they are frail, economic, and emotional burdens. A trampling of the sanctity of life now very well may end in the trampling of an entire generation of people. When created beings hold their “right” to be supreme, all sensible moral restraint is at risk. The whim of individuals to choose and the retreat from absolute truth is a war raged against reason. The struggle to live rightly has been replaced by a battle against the “right” side of the political spectrum.
When is it ever right to choose wrong, I must ask? What happens if my desire for choosing contradicts all rational and moral judgment? What if rational and moral judgment itself is defined a thousand or a million different ways? Who is right when no one wants to say that right exists? The proliferation of the “truth” that no absolute truth exists is, literally, non-sense. One cannot absolutely pronounce that no truth exists. The very suggestion is contradictory and without logical basis. Yet, here we are in America, a “Christian” nation, and we find, even in the finest of our academic institutions, this whole hearted embrace of intellectual, moral, and spiritual bankruptcy. This kind of “free” thinking is the very curriculum for our developing leaders and has been for far too long. Is it any wonder we see, in moments of great pain and desolation, looters abandoning all moral restraint, while their city lies in waste? Rather than looking for a way to help those drowning in the rising waters of Katrina, the “Americans” were taking all they could get at an opportune moment. But it was their choice, was it not? Who is to say it was right or wrong? Who draws the lines? Where are the boundaries?
That brings us back to Isaiah. The message from this spokesman of God was simple and direct. According to God, His people had moved beyond the boundaries of the Kingdom. In doing so, God’s people opened themselves up to a world of difficulty and decay. This decay showed up in the nation Israel in the form of war, murder, adultery, idolatry, sexual immorality, harlotry, homosexuality, neglect of the poor and spiritual distortion. These among other less than desirable qualities came to define those chosen by God to live lives of blessing, goodness and peace. Could it be, that God in His love for us as a people, a city, and a nation, has allowed, sent, or is intending to use national and or personal disaster/setbacks, to call us, a people similar in too many ways to the nation Israel represented in this passage from Isaiah, to a life more in line with His calling for us? Not only is it possible, but it is exactly how He has worked throughout biblical history. When people He is calling to Himself act in ways not in keeping with family life in His Kingdom, the Father extends His loving hand of discipline to bring the kids back in line and protect them from greater danger. God knows what life beyond the boundaries looks like.
The farther from home we get the worse life becomes. At times the Father will increase the pressure, and sharpen the discipline to get our attention. When His children turn a deaf ear to His wisdom, He finds a way to be heard. Rather than this being a sign of His prudish inclination, it is a sign of His marvelous love and hunger for our good. Just as He assured the nation Israel that they were the “apple of His eye” so he assures us, as His people today, He is for us and not against us. He uses all things, we are told in the book of Romans, to work out His good plan for us. All things-even disaster! He will use, send, allow, mold, and make all things turn out for the good of His children!
Life beyond the boundary, as the Prodigal Son found out, is no life worth pursuing. The quest for pleasure at every hand, as Solomon found out, is not enough to quench the soul. The thirst for sexuality outside of the plan of God ends in confusion, disease, psychological disarray, and broken families. In His plan, as is revealed in scripture, our sexuality finds its most exhilarating and soul inspiring fulfillment. Life on the other side of the fence, God knows, only provides different grass. Inside the boundaries of God’s playground, life and life abundantly unfolds bigger and better than any fantasy displayed on the grandest of silver screens. Inside the boundaries of God’s intentions for us are found the boundless heights of love, joy, peace, and life everlasting!
Find the life you were meant to live,
Bruce Smith
optimuslife.org
The essay above, edited for the blog, was originally from Bruce’s book, Soul Storm: finding God amidst disaster