SCRIPTURE: Mic. 1-4; Heb. 6
Micah 3: 5-8
5-7Here is God’s Message to the prophets,
the preachers who lie to my people:
“For as long as they’re well paid and well fed,
the prophets preach, ‘Isn’t life wonderful! Peace to all!’
But if you don’t pay up and jump on their bandwagon,
their ‘God bless you’ turns into ‘God damn you.’
Therefore, you’re going blind. You’ll see nothing.
You’ll live in deep shadows and know nothing.
The sun has set on the prophets.
They’ve had their day; from now on it’s night.
Visionaries will be confused,
experts will be all mixed up.
They’ll hide behind their reputations and make lame excuses
to cover up their God-ignorance.”8But me—I’m filled with God’s power,
filled with God’s Spirit of justice and strength,
Ready to confront Jacob’s crime
and Israel’s sin.
OBSERVATIONS: This is a hard passage in the middle of a hard reading–but this is the one that jumped out at me. I think all preachers struggle at some point to find confidence in the work that they have done so far, so this passage is a natural spur for me to sit down and ask myself, “Any sugar coating, Joey?” I know I’ve hidden behind reputation and made lame excuses. I’ve been the confused visionary and I’ve been the mixed-up expert.
But I’ve endeavored to speak plainly about sin, both omission and commission. I’d like to think that I’ve spent more time as a ‘verse eight pastor’ than not.
APPLICATION: I will speak the truth in love. I will not offer platitudes either for the sake of my career or any other reason. With God’s help, I will stand against the crimes and sins of God’s people — and then against the sins of the nations.
PRAYER: God, your justice requires that we see our sins plainly and acknowledge them. Help me to find my own, then to speak against the sins of the Church, and only then speak to the sin of the nations. Start with me, O God. And, please Lord, end with justice and grace. In Christ, Amen.
YIELD: I give up my desire to be liked in favor of doing the job God has asked of me.
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