Daily Devotion for Lent 2025, Day 34

Today's Reading: Job, Chapter 35

Elihu moves into a philosophical question that has to do with our motivations for being good and following God's laws.

It reminds me of an old joke: "My older son has to be bribed to be good, so we pay him $5 a day.  My younger son is a different story.  He's good for nothing."

The question Job asks through Elihu today is "Why be righteous at all?  Why not just be wicked if the result is the same?"

We must remember that this question is being asked through the frustration of so much loss and grief.

Yet, for us it comes down to integrity.

If a person is only doing the right thing to get into heaven, our faith becomes transactional.  So the real question would be, if you found out that heaven didn't exist and you only went to Sheol where everyone goes regardless of behavior, would you still be good?

Elihu reminds us all that being good affects those around you.  It can raise the spirits of a community and make a real difference.  The opposite is equally true.  Bad behavior also affects the people with which you interact.  It can really bring down the lives of others.

So, the idea that we exist in community is why most of these laws were written in the first place.  They help us get along with one another.  They are important for the fabric of society.

As we consider our own call to do the right thing, we might have lots of reasons for following through.  It might be that we are setting an example for children, friends or other family members.  Doing the right thing can positively impact them as well.  But in the end, the more we do the right thing, the more it becomes ingrained in us.  So, this becomes our identity.  We don't want to let ourselves down because we have decided that we are going to be fundamentally good people, even in the face of hardship.

Of course, this is the very subject which opens the Book of Job.  Will he only praise God when things are going his way?

He's not done a lot of praising but at least he hasn't turned to cursing so there is something there.  Who among us could say that we would do any better with all he's faced?

Prayer for the day:

Enlighten our understandings with knowledge of right, and govern our wills by your laws, that no deceit may mislead us, no temptation corrupt us; that we may always endeavor to do good and hinder evil.  Amidst all the hopes and fears of this world, take not your Holy Spirit from us; for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Prayer by Samuel Johnson, England, 18th Century

Photo by Randy Watson via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.

Daily Devotion for Lent 2024, Day 18

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before others in order to be seen by them, for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.  So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you."

                                                                Matthew 6:1-4 (NRSVue)

This passage really gets to the philosophical question of altruism.  Can a person be really selfless in their giving or actions?  We do receive something from giving or doing for others.  It can give us a sense of pride or satisfaction when we help with someone's need.

Jesus wants us to be aware that his disciples should not be doing something solely for self-promotion.  

This may go along with the idea of padding your resume' with philanthropic activities for college or another job.

When we do these kinds of things or when we are involved or give for the accolades we receive, we are not living up to a very high standard with regard to ethics or morality.  If you look at Lawrence Kohlberg's stages of morality, giving for praise is fairly low as far as the stages.  I would say it is either stage 2 (Self-interest) or stage 3 (Conformity).  In using the imagery of not letting your left hand know what your right hand is doing, Jesus seems to be urging us on to higher moral behavior.  In other words, we don't do something for accolades but rather because it becomes inherent in us to do the right thing.

Jesus seemed to think that giving to others should absolutely be done.  But if we are able to do this in secret, it may also allow the receiver of the gifts to retain their dignity.  If we make a public showing, this could also further delineate social standings between individuals.  This may keep a person from rising past the limitations society has blatantly or inadvertently placed upon them.

During Lent, we can do a healthy self-examination of our intentions when we give.  It may be that there are multiple reasons when we are honest with ourselves.  But as we seek to find our primary rationale, Jesus is asking us to give more out of being the hands and feet of God.  We love (give) because God loves (gives).

Prayer for the day: Bountiful God, we are thankful for all that we have received in life.  Within our gratitude, we also confess that we may often believe that we have earned most of it.  We may choose not to pay attention to the little things that have gone our way because we like to think that we are worthy of the resources under our sway.  Help us to understand that grace in our lives goes very far indeed.  May we look for ways that we can be the little thing in someone's life that could make a difference.  And may we do it because it is what you have already done for us.  We pray this in Jesus' name.  Amen.

 

Photo by *Hajee via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons License.

New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Daily Devotion for Lent 2024, Day 15

“Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.’  But I say to you: Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.  And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.  Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one."

                                                    Matthew 5:33-37 (NRSVue)

In an age where truth seems relative to who's doing the telling, how does today's passage inform us?

In the ancient world, one might swear by the names of certain supernatural beings to validate one's promise.  If the promise was broken, said deity would presumably exert some type of punishment on the oath-breaker.  In my 20th century childhood, with the absence of a vast pantheon, this had evolved to "cross my heart and hope to die - stick a needle in my eye."

In the Bible, there is a tragic story regarding a vow made to God.  Judges 11 tells the story of Jephthah from Gilead.  He was a judge and led God's people in battle.  Unfortunately, Jephthah makes a vow to God to offer as a burnt offering, anything (or anyone) that came out of the doors of his house to meet him should he vanquish the Ammonites.  Well, he is successful in battle, and his only child, a daughter, came through the doors of his house dancing to celebrate his victory.  Because he made an oath to God, he felt compelled to carry out his promise.

The book of Sirach which comes from the apocrypha (the books not considered canon but between the Old and New Testaments), has a passage from 23:9-11 of which Jesus would have been versed:

"Do not accustom your mouth to oaths nor habitually utter the name of the Holy One, for as a slave who is constantly under scrutiny will not lack bruises, so also the person who always swears and utters the Name will never be cleansed from sin.  The one who swears many oaths is full of iniquity, and the scourge will not leave his house.  If he swears in error, his sin remains on him, and if he disregards it, he sins doubly; if he swears a false oath, he will not be justified, for his house will be filled with calamities."

The Epistle of James 5:12 almost mimics the Sermon on the Mount in stating, "Above all, brothers and sisters, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “Yes” be yes and your “No” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation."

Does this practice go against the Sermon on the Mount?

In essence, Jesus seems to be saying that this may in fact be breaking one of the 10 Commandments - that of taking God's name in vain.  I believe that Jesus is indicating to us that if we live out of integrity, people will not need assurances of any additional oaths sworn by God.  We also don't want to make any vain promises that we don't intend to keep - or would bring harm to the people we love!

During this season of Lent, as we examine our own habits of speech, do we often say any common phrases that we perhaps should avoid?  Do we make statements that would cause others to question our integrity?

Prayer for the day: Understanding God, you surely recognize that our need for assurance may cause us to go to extremes.  Help us to retain integrity in all the things we say and do.  And may our words affirm to others who we are in you.  We pray these things in the name of Jesus, not out of a sense of binding you but to remind us whose we are.  Amen.

Photo by Maryland GovPics via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.

New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.