Contemplative Bible Reading

Jeremiah 22:3 (New International Version)

This is what the LORD says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of his oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place.

The prophet Jeremiah is delivering a message from the Lord to His people.The message is incredibly simple:

Do what is just and right.

There are many such admonitions from the Lord to His people in the Old Testament. He wanted His people to be just, to live justly. I think God wants to same from Christians today.

Let’s consider how many people live today:

Buyer Beware: You buy a used car from an enthusiastic salesman. The mechanic at the dealership assures you that all is well with the car. Three months later you need to pay for major repairs as the engine falls out of the car. This happens all the time. This is the way things are.

Bait and Switch: An item is on sale at a store. There is a big, big, big reduction in price. You arrive at the store, and the item on sale is all sold out, but there are similar items there. The price of the similar items hasn’t been reduced as much. This happens all the time. It is marketing, and that is the way things are.

Fudge the Numbers: You are doing a spreadsheet of accounting for a business trip. You want the numbers to show that you are owed $5 instead of you owing $5. You add a little here, subtract a little there, and the numbers come out the way you want. This happens all the time. This is the way things are.

I believe that these little examples of everyday occurrences infuriate God. This behavior is not right. This is not just. Someone is cheating someone else of a little bit here and there. I could list a dozen more examples, but what’s the big deal? The big deal is:

The Lord has a different standard for His people.

God isn’t interested in what happens all the time. God isn’t interested in the way things are. God wants much better for us and from us. God wants to restore the perfect relationships that He created. That is why He sent His Son to die on the cross. To restore those perfect relationships.

If I do my expense report to reflect exactly what happened – no fudging the numbers – I won’t restore the perfect relationships that God intended. I will, however, be doing my little part in my little life. That will be more pleasing to God; that will improve my life on this all-too-unjust world.