Wicked.
I was just reading the Word, thinking about what I should write in here today.
I think it's important to find something to write about each time I earnestly seek the Word, because the things I write are the things that imprint themselves on my heart - the things that I truly learn. It's too easy to read the Word, and then close the Book and move on with my day. But each time I read, I want to walk away with something indelible, and by searching for something to write about, I'm looking for that long-term lesson.
I finished Hebrews today. Chapter 13. I enjoyed that reading of it. I'm not sure which New Testament book I should start tomorrow. I liked this verse: "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels" (13:2). It reminds me of the Newsboys song "Entertaining Angels," and that country song of a few years back "What If She's an Angel." Yeah.
But I didn't really want to write about that. I read two chapters of Jeremiah, and nothing particularly stuck out to me in that today. I read chapters 34 and 35, and it talked about this group of sons that were totally obedient to what their father had commanded them, and then God told them to drink wine, which went against their father's commands, so they wouldn't do it (this is turning into a run-on), but God asked them whose commandments were more important.
Finally, I read two more chapters of Psalms (6 and 7). When I came back to this verse (7:9-10), I knew it was what I should write about.
"Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, but establish the just; for the righteous God tests the hearts and minds. My defense is of God, who saves the upright in heart."
Everything I read about God's justness (or whatever word that should be) makes me think of D, of how unfair he's been and how maybe God will "get him back."
Today, I thought of D, like usual, but I really dwelled on the concept of wickedness. D certainly doesn't think of himself of wicked - and who really does? Does the child molester think, "Man, I'm evil"? Does the embezzler think, "Yipes, how crooked I'm being"? Does the woman who is cheating on her husband think, "This is really wicked of me"?
No.
They all have a rationale in mind. They feel that they are entitled to something, that they deserve it. They've worked it out in their mind. Likewise, D had a rationale for leaving me (remember? I was the terrible, horrible, inconsiderate, self-esteem-bashing wife.) the way that he did.
And so, they can all live with what they've done.
Part of the problem, I think, is that we're confused about what "wicked" is. I blame The Wizard of Oz. I'm very happy to do so, because I really despise that movie. That and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Double ugh. That's a different story, though.
We picture "wicked" now as this terrible, nasty witch who deliberately seeks to bring misery to others.
That's a pretty limited picture of wickedness, in my opinion.
I think wickedness happens each time that we put our desires before others, instead of balancing the two (which is another important concept, because we shouldn't just put others' desires before ourselves, either, but that's not really relevant to the point that I'm making). The child molester obviously puts his own sexual desires before the needs of the child. Wicked. The embezzler puts his own greed before anything else. Wicked. The adultering woman doesn't consider her husband or her family before seeking sexual (and - more likely - emotional) gratification. Wicked.
The point is that we all have the potential to be wicked. None of us want to think of ourselves in this way. We want to think, "Sheesh, well, I'm not a molester, and I don't embezzle, and I certainly wouldn't cheat on my spouse."
Fine.
I'll buy that.
But somewhere in the Word, it says that all sins are alike in God's eyes. In other words, there is no ranking system. Which means that the lie that you told last week, or the cheating that you did on your taxes, or the fact that you're probably not loving your spouse as unselfishly as maybe you should - that's all wicked too.
See? Your desires are before someone else's in each of those situations.
And don't lie. We all have them.
So how do we change? I certainly don't want to be wicked.
I think change happens when two things occur. First of all, it definitely happens when we're seeking God and desiring to live a life that's pleasing to Him. And it happens when we acknowledge that we aren't perfect, that we do things that are wrong, and that we genuinely desire to change.
I honestly think that's pretty easy to do, but think about the people we have no problem calling
"wicked" - the molester and whatnot. They don't think they're doing anything wrong. D didn't think he was doing or did anything wrong.
See the danger in that? When we don't keep ourselves in check, we open ourselves up to become more and more wicked.
Right now, the title for this blog couldn't be more apropos. We *all* need to seek refinement, whether you're a believer in Christianity or not. The more you tell yourself that you'll all right and that you're a good person, the more that you open yourself up to the potential for wickedness.
Because, really, who wants to say, "I'm not a good person?" Therein lies the conflict, and - I believe - therein lies the root of the majority of the problems in the world today.
I think it's important to find something to write about each time I earnestly seek the Word, because the things I write are the things that imprint themselves on my heart - the things that I truly learn. It's too easy to read the Word, and then close the Book and move on with my day. But each time I read, I want to walk away with something indelible, and by searching for something to write about, I'm looking for that long-term lesson.
I finished Hebrews today. Chapter 13. I enjoyed that reading of it. I'm not sure which New Testament book I should start tomorrow. I liked this verse: "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels" (13:2). It reminds me of the Newsboys song "Entertaining Angels," and that country song of a few years back "What If She's an Angel." Yeah.
But I didn't really want to write about that. I read two chapters of Jeremiah, and nothing particularly stuck out to me in that today. I read chapters 34 and 35, and it talked about this group of sons that were totally obedient to what their father had commanded them, and then God told them to drink wine, which went against their father's commands, so they wouldn't do it (this is turning into a run-on), but God asked them whose commandments were more important.
Finally, I read two more chapters of Psalms (6 and 7). When I came back to this verse (7:9-10), I knew it was what I should write about.
"Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, but establish the just; for the righteous God tests the hearts and minds. My defense is of God, who saves the upright in heart."
Everything I read about God's justness (or whatever word that should be) makes me think of D, of how unfair he's been and how maybe God will "get him back."
Today, I thought of D, like usual, but I really dwelled on the concept of wickedness. D certainly doesn't think of himself of wicked - and who really does? Does the child molester think, "Man, I'm evil"? Does the embezzler think, "Yipes, how crooked I'm being"? Does the woman who is cheating on her husband think, "This is really wicked of me"?
No.
They all have a rationale in mind. They feel that they are entitled to something, that they deserve it. They've worked it out in their mind. Likewise, D had a rationale for leaving me (remember? I was the terrible, horrible, inconsiderate, self-esteem-bashing wife.) the way that he did.
And so, they can all live with what they've done.
Part of the problem, I think, is that we're confused about what "wicked" is. I blame The Wizard of Oz. I'm very happy to do so, because I really despise that movie. That and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Double ugh. That's a different story, though.
We picture "wicked" now as this terrible, nasty witch who deliberately seeks to bring misery to others.
That's a pretty limited picture of wickedness, in my opinion.
I think wickedness happens each time that we put our desires before others, instead of balancing the two (which is another important concept, because we shouldn't just put others' desires before ourselves, either, but that's not really relevant to the point that I'm making). The child molester obviously puts his own sexual desires before the needs of the child. Wicked. The embezzler puts his own greed before anything else. Wicked. The adultering woman doesn't consider her husband or her family before seeking sexual (and - more likely - emotional) gratification. Wicked.
The point is that we all have the potential to be wicked. None of us want to think of ourselves in this way. We want to think, "Sheesh, well, I'm not a molester, and I don't embezzle, and I certainly wouldn't cheat on my spouse."
Fine.
I'll buy that.
But somewhere in the Word, it says that all sins are alike in God's eyes. In other words, there is no ranking system. Which means that the lie that you told last week, or the cheating that you did on your taxes, or the fact that you're probably not loving your spouse as unselfishly as maybe you should - that's all wicked too.
See? Your desires are before someone else's in each of those situations.
And don't lie. We all have them.
So how do we change? I certainly don't want to be wicked.
I think change happens when two things occur. First of all, it definitely happens when we're seeking God and desiring to live a life that's pleasing to Him. And it happens when we acknowledge that we aren't perfect, that we do things that are wrong, and that we genuinely desire to change.
I honestly think that's pretty easy to do, but think about the people we have no problem calling
"wicked" - the molester and whatnot. They don't think they're doing anything wrong. D didn't think he was doing or did anything wrong.
See the danger in that? When we don't keep ourselves in check, we open ourselves up to become more and more wicked.
Right now, the title for this blog couldn't be more apropos. We *all* need to seek refinement, whether you're a believer in Christianity or not. The more you tell yourself that you'll all right and that you're a good person, the more that you open yourself up to the potential for wickedness.
Because, really, who wants to say, "I'm not a good person?" Therein lies the conflict, and - I believe - therein lies the root of the majority of the problems in the world today.
posted by Heather at 8:46 AM
3 Comments:
Yes, we do all do *wicked* things - things that we don't really think of as wicked, but that are. Sometimes we just think them, sometimes we act on them. But then we rationalize it by thinking about how many other people are doing the same thing or worse, which makes us feel better, at least for awhile.
Thank God there is also forgiveness.
This may sound stupid but... "But somewhere in the Word, it says that all sins are alike in God's eyes.".... Really??
So God sees my Gluttony (That's a big sin right?) as "bad" as all the 'worst' ones in my mind, like killing people ?
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