Devotional Messages

DEVOTIONAL MESSAGE

Psalm 85:12-13 – The Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase.  Righteousness will go before him, and will make a path for his steps. (NRSV)

All throughout the Hebrew scriptures, God’s promises of abundance are linked to the righteousness of the people.  But far too often, we simplify this relationship in ways that end up misrepresenting what scripture is actually showing us.  We take the short cut of assuming God operates the way we do, and it leads us astray.

There are places where a superficial reading could give us the impression that if we engage in righteous behavior, God will be pleased and want to bless us with many blessings.  But the overall witness of scripture is subtler than that.  The most basic message of the Bible is that God loves us and already wants to bless us with many blessings.

When the psalmists and the prophets start talking about how human lack of righteousness has resulted in less blessing, we can’t assume that our misbehavior has changed the nature of God.  We’re simply not that powerful.  God still loves us and wants to bless us with many blessings.  No matter what we do, that doesn’t change.  But there are ways in which humanity fails to live righteously that block the blessings of God from spreading freely in our lands.

When we fail to protect the most vulnerable in our communities, when we indulge in selfishness and greed, when we abuse the power we have over others, the blessings God wants for us get stuck and can’t reach those they are intended for.  Conversely, when we live in right alignment with God’s love, the blessings flow freely.  We have been shown over and over that there is abundant plenty for all of God’s creation, if we will distribute it justly and share generously with our neighbors.  That is when we can truly celebrate the presence of the Living God in our midst!