Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“‘How often is the lamp of the wicked put out?
How often does calamity come upon them?
How often does God distribute pains in his anger?”
NL Daily Devotion for Monday, June 21, 2020
by Dr. Kimberly Leetch, Clergy Stuff
Job calls attention to a reality even we don’t want to face – that the scales of justice do not balance themselves in this world. Bad things happen to “good” people and good things happen to “bad” people. (It’s worth mentioning here a reminder that I don’t believe there are “good” or “bad” people – just people who make some good choices and some bad. Some people choose well more often, and some people choose poorly more often. But in God’s eyes the difference between people is miniscule.)
It’s hard for us to face the reality that the people we perceive as wicked sometimes live out lives that appear to be blessed. We want to believe the wicked are punished and the good are blessed. And we want to believe we are the good that should be blessed. On one hand, do we really want bad to be punishable? I certainly wouldn’t want to be punished for all the bad choices I’ve made! On the other hand, it is so difficult to watch people we think are worse than us be blessed with riches, love, and good health!
My husband and I had to face this harsh reality very young. When my first baby was 16 months old he was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. No one will ever convince me he had made enough bad choices by the age of 16 months to warrant a punishment of lifelong blood tests, shots, and hospital stays. No way. At the same time as his diagnosis, I was also on my internship to become a pastor. I will never forget one of the first women I consoled on the death of her husband. They had spent a lifetime together and I assumed her grief was for the loss of her dear husband. The couple seemed to have everything – a great marriage, plenty of money to live comfortably, a high status in the community. But in a raw, honest moment she revealed to me that he had cheated on her repeatedly and she was unable to leave because he was abusive. Her grief was over her own life that she lost because of his poor choices and behavior. It was an abrasive lesson I never forgot – the scales of justice will never be balanced in this world. The sooner I learned to let go of my expectations that justice will balance itself, the sooner I was able to adjust to the reality of the imbalance. I have found a strange peace in the knowledge that the imbalance exists. My expectations of other people and of God have shifted and I am more at peace expecting less and enjoying the surprises that come when justice does prevail.
God, shift my expectations to gravitate toward you alone. Amen.
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