August 24, 2017 – Devotions – Your G-d Is Too Small — So What Is Really Wrong With the World?

“Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach…But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, false witness and slander.” Matthew 15:17-19

“He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.” Luke 18:9-11

Wow, we could not have a more pertinent question than this right now — What is really wrong with the world? In the previous devotion, we spoke about what the answer to the question “What is the purpose of life?” – that answer was to love G-d and to love our neighbor. When we consider why Christ would feel the need to take 613 Jewish commandments (or Mitzvot) and reduce them to just 2, perhaps he was answering the question “What is really wrong with the world?” If we address the answer to this question in this manner, we can see that what is wrong with the world is the fact that we are not living by these two commandments. Instead of loving G-d with all their heart mind and soul, and loving their neighbor as themselves, humanity has turned in on itself. And in turning in on themselves, what is coming out is what is defiling humanity and the world. Jesus says “Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach…But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, false witness and slander.” Matthew 15:17-19

If we see that Christ has called us to step out of ourselves and to live for the others in our lives, especially those who are not like us, and to love them – then sin is not necessarily the “misdirection” of that love – sin is the deliberate refusal to allow love to flow at all – toward G-d or toward humanity. The times in the bible when we might see Christ as most angry were the times he witnessed the inability of humanity to love each other within their most innate human-ness – pushing the sick and lame out of community – forcing people to beg for their lives. And “self-love”, like what he described in the parable of the publican and Pharisee, was the enemy. What seems to be wrong with the world today is too many people are saying things like “Thank G-d I am not like those people, those sinners, and rogues and thieves, those people who are not worthy of my love, attention or devotion. And certainly G-d hates them too.” (Themes come from the book “Your God Is Too Small” by J. B. Phillips)

When we hate the other, and only love ourselves and those who look like us, it is not too hard to see what might be wrong with the world.

Pastor Dave