First Spam Comment!

Well I don't know if it's a sign of the massive popularity of this blog or not ;-) but I just received my first spam comment. Since it both complimented my blog AND had a link for some unsavory activities in Atlanta, I suspect the poster was somewhat insincere when writing "you have a great blog!" I suppose my other clue was that the comment came in for a post that only just went live. Then again, maybe I have misjudged the demographic of those people who may be reading the blog - perhaps the poster really did add me to his(?) bookmarks.

Anyway, I deleted the comment, but if this becomes an issue I will disallow anonymous posts. I allow them because it is the easiest way for someone to post, but it clearly has its downsides. Since I don't really have comments rolling in, anyway I don't think there will be any harm done. We'll see.

"Spam, spam, spam, spam..."

Psalm 44

Today I read Psalm 44 and found it to be a very curious psalm indeed. It starts out by recalling the past:

"We have heard with our ears, O God;
our fathers have told us
what you did in their days,
in days long ago."

The author proclaims that the nation's victories were not due to mighty weapons but the grace and power of God. Continuing on, the author says "In God we make our boast all day long, and we will praise your name forever. " This is a good boast and well worth claiming, but at this point in the psalm (verse 8) a complaint begins and I can't help but think of Job: "But now you have rejected and humbled us; you no longer go out with our armies....All this happened to us,
though we had not forgotten you or been false to your covenant. Our hearts had not turned back; our feet had not strayed from your path."

I can't judge the state of the nation's heart - we are not given any context for the psalm, but I am certain that the writer was stating what he thought to be true. Let's assume that "feet had not strayed" as this interpretation takes at face value the words of the author and we have no reason to think otherwise. Once again, Job's mistake is repeated. "We are righteous, therefore nothing bad should happen to me" OR "We haven't strayed, why are we being punished?"

The final line, however, is telling, "Rise up and help us; redeem us because of your unfailing love." The request for help and redemption is the cry of everyone's heart and the statement "because of your unfailing love" accurately describes the heart of God. The error that is exposed in this psalm is that the author tied physical reward and punishment to the spiritual state of the nation and its inhabitants. Job showed us that this formula is false. Bad things happen to good people and those things cannot be interpreted as punishment or even judgment. God is sovereign over all things as Job found out the hard way. "His ways are greater than my ways, His thoughts greater than my thoughts" (Isaiah)

I would argue that Paul makes a similar argument when he references this psalm in Romans 8. Let me quote the relevant passage:

If God is for us, who can be against us? ³²He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? ³³Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. ³⁴Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. ³⁵Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶As it is written:
"For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." ³⁷No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Nothing, whether good or baseparatestes us from the love of God. Our circumstances are not a reflection of how or whether He loves us. It's interesting to me to think that the psalmist gets it right in the first part of the psalm: "It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory; it was your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face, for you loved them." He recognized that it was not their might that granted victory but God; yet, in the same breath, the writer wants to claim that righteousness should grant them victory. God is not an entitlement program or a meritocracy. He does not grant material success or wellbeing simply because we follow Him. I think we can be thankful for this mercy, for how many of us would be destitute and downtrodden simply because our human weakness means "we all fall short of the glory of God"?

All this, I suppose, to come to the conclusion that it is heartening to know that even the writers of scripture struggle to know and understand God. Their inspired writings allow us to see and understand who God is and our relationship to Him. I am glad to join in this journey - perhaps Psalm 44 isn't so curious after all. It's just the cry of a desperate person to the Redeemer and attempt to reconcile circumstances with a just and loving God. Aren't we all doing that - even now?

Wednesday's Big Idea: Psalm 51

We continue praying through the psalms on Wednesdays and this one is certainly worth praying through. One of the more famous psalms, it is written after Nathan comes to David and confronts him with his adultery with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah (one of his mighty men, no less!)

David's reaction is telling - instead of defensiveness or denial, he goes right to the source: confession and catechism (Rick P's words.) First David confesses his sin, exposing the truth to those who already knew it, but no longer hiding from God or man. David then goes on to remind himself what is true of God - He is merciful, He is gracious, He is righteous. The beauty of this is that David comes to God knowing that by law he deserves to die or at the very least lose his office of king. As we know, God neither demands David's death or is resignation, but breaks the "rules" to forgive David. The king still reaped terrible consequences for his actions, but the act of forgiveness was a powerful one.

Forgiveness is powerful for two reasons: It restores relationships, mending what was broken and it restores (or reaffirms) calling, God's job placement is still in effect. Sin breaks our relationship with God and destroys our effectiveness in our calling. Forgiveness restores both, although some consequences cannot be undone and what gets put in motion can be difficult to stop. God does not shield us from consequences, but He is able to turn our greatest failures into His victories. Need an example? Jesus' lineage is traced back to David - through Bathsheba.

Newsweek: Spirituality in America

If you haven't already checked out the Sept. 5th Newsweek, I recommend doing so. It's an interesting read (in the main-stream-pop-media sense) with some enlightening surveys and surprising numbers. The online version is here: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9024914/site/newsweek/

I have more to write about it, but don't have time now. The already known, but always interesting fact that stood out to me: of all the states in the country, only Oregon, Washington and Idaho have a majority who list "none" as their religious affiliation.

The Beginning of the End?

Surprisingly, I'm not talking eschatology, which never held much interest to me. THE end will come, the day and hour unknown, but I am not one to speculate about things not meant to be fully understood. No, the end I'm speaking of is much more earthly and local. I suspect that it will likely be the beginning of the ends, though some of those beginnings began long before August 29th. I have been thinking about this post for a while now and I'm still not sure it is fully baked, but perhaps it will never be until I type it out.

By this time, you must realize that I am speaking of Katrina, the destruction of New Orleans and much of the Gulf Coast. The cost in human life and property is enormous. These immediate losses are impossible to even contemplate. The emotional toll is overwhelming and I sit at home far away wanting to help, but helpless to do so. To that end, of course, we can donate money - Northwest Medical Teams is at work there as is Mercy Corps and I am proud to have such fine organizations in my home town. The Red Cross is also a great place to contribute.

Prayer, while less visceral, is very much in need and while I don't claim to understand it, I do know there is power in our intercession and petitions. I don't think that is all we should do, but I think it is the first thing. If all we do starts with prayer, we at least know we are pointed in the right direction when we begin even if we deviate after that (which is why it must be a constant thing.)

What concerns me more than all the immediate needs and loss, however, is what comes after. The economic repercussions of this storm are only beginning to be felt, but I suspect the ripples will intensify as various confluences come together to cause a rapid metamorphosis in what we know as modern America.

New Orleans and the Gulf Coast were not only responsible for upwards of 25% of our energy production, they were also a major shipping port. It will be well over a year before the oil rigs, pipelines, administration and human power will be able to reach its former capacity (if it ever does.) It will take at least a couple of months before New Orleans is habitable and then, who will return? Even when the job of sorting out all the oil infrastructure can begin, will there be anyone to do the work? There may be, but this tragedy strikes me as one that is much more cataclysmic then is being reported. I haven't even figured in the refinery losses.

Oil aside - and oil is big - there is also the concern about the ports. Things coming in to New Orleans now aren't. They can certainly be rerouted, but the expense will be big. This means those things will become more expensive. I could joke about coffee, but this is a major industry and the price of coffee just got higher. Worse than imports, perhaps, is exports. Most Midwest grain was shipped out of New Orleans. That grain is now staying in the country which means oversupply and a rapid price drop. Perhaps this is good for consumers, but the growers are now faced with a severe drop in expected income. Grain and coffee weren't the only things traveling through these ports (did I mention oil), but they are representative.

Another aspect of this event is human migration. Houston just grew by tens of thousands of people. Hundreds of thousands have left New Orleans. I don't know what the numbers are for Biloxi, Mobile and all the other towns hardest hit by the storm. Property in Baton Rouge is being snatched up by those who can afford it at inflated prices. I don't know what this kind of migration does to places, but it seems that such a sudden shock is more likely to cause difficulties than ease (labor markets? Social services? Housing?)

I'm not writing a doomsday scenario. I don't think we will descend into apocalypse - although some of the reports from New Orleans do make me wonder. What I am hopeful for is that this will push us to look deeper, examine ourselves, our country, our communities. It took Job great calamity before he could proclaim of God, "My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you." Perhaps in the coming months we will grow less comfortable, we will be forced to confront what is truly important, perhaps we will have a moment of enlightenment.

We had a previous opportunity recently. The September 11 terrorist attacks certainly gave us pause, but I think that opportunity was squandered. Momentary unity gave way to extreme divisiveness, justice was overwhelmed by revenge, hope succumbed to fear. This time could be different, although the early signs are less than promising. Already there is finger-pointing, blame shifting and political opportunism. I don't want someone to blame, I want someone to help. I don't want to hear accusation, I want to see action. The voices of this country need to speak faith, hope and love because if they don't the problems will only be exacerbated.

The words of Isaiah in the 1st and 2nd chapters seem even more prescient, and the call never clearer - "learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow." Micah, too, has words of wisdom for us: "What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." In the end, we will not be judged by how powerful our military is or how strong our economy, but whether we were just, righteous and humble. Finally, Christ has reminds us of where provision comes, "[S]eek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."