Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Surely God is mighty and does not despise any; he is mighty in strength of understanding. He does not keep the wicked alive, but gives the afflicted their right.”
NL Daily Devotion for Wednesday, July 8, 2020
by R. Fergus Moir, Clergy Stuff
Elihu doesn’t quite get what makes God good. Elihu just sees that he’s a pretty good guy on the whole, and his life doesn’t suck, so God must be good. Ladies and gentlemen, that’s called “privilege.” Observing the oppression and misfortune of others and saying, “Well, I don’t experience that, so those people have obviously created their own misery,” and worse, claiming that God agrees with you, is the worst kind of blasphemy.
What makes God good isn’t that God destroys the wicked. Because—newsflash!—God doesn’t do that. What makes God good is that God doesn’t destroy anyone (and the wicked can breathe a huge sigh of relief). What makes God good is that God shares our place, is with us in the midst of our suffering and takes our suffering on. What makes God good is that God loves us exactly where we are. What makes God good is that God knows we can do better and calls us to that.
The Elihus of the world need to be schooled. ‘Nuff said.
God, open my eyes to where I am being like Elihu in my life, and lead me to do better. Amen.
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