Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Thus says the Lord: What wrong did your ancestors find in me that they went far from me, and went after worthless things, and became worthless themselves?”
NL Daily Devotion for Thursday, December 7, 2023
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
God is clearly hurt. “What did I ever do to the people that they rejected me?” I hate to say it, but a little, petty part of me wants to say, “Um…and how many times have you visited your wrathful punishment on them?” But that petty part just wants to be snarky and argumentative. God’s complaint is valid in that God recognizes that the people’s rejection of God only leads to their own misery. In our modern context, so many people live as if there is no God, even if they say they believe. We chase after material things or people or reputation—worthless things—as if they can satisfy our deepest needs. They can’t. Only a vital relationship with God can fill our wells and keep them full. Such pursuit doesn’t make people “worthless” as Jeremiah says. But it sure as heck can make us feel worthless. Ask even the wealthiest or most famous people and you’ll hear again and again that they are tortured by feelings of “not-enough-ness.” They will never have enough or be enough no matter how much they accumulate.
God knows the solution. God wants so much to have that vital relationship with us, wants so much for us to set aside our pursuit of those worthless things and pursue simplicity and beauty and love for God and our neighbor. This advent season, consider how you can set aside pursuit of material things and spend more time cultivating your relationship with God.
What “worthless things” do I sometimes find myself pursuing? Do they satisfy?
