Really Who Are We Fooling?
Good Morning Friends,
If the motto “In God we trust,” was proposed today, having never been on our money, it might receive a very different reception than it did when it was first adopted. I kind of like the idea of mottos on money. I also like the idea of legislative prayer too. Both in a way are witness that God does not compartmentalize our lives into the sacred and secular. When we render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s and unto God that which is God’s, we realize that God owns it all. Still there is, I think, what people can perceive as both a secular and religious purpose at play here. But what is needed is more a search for the sacred. Public prayer could very well help leaders to be better leaders. And perhaps every time we make a transaction, that motto helps us to focus on a more peaceful purchase and sale. Who knows, maybe we need “In God We Trust” on our Credit Cards too. But all this makes me wonder how much God can trust us. We have to know that God sees behind appearances. Still we elect politicians that make vows they do not ever plan on keeping. People get married and divorced. We want superheroes that have promised to protect us but know they are really only people dressed up in tights. Really Who Are We Fooling?
Scripture:
Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.’ But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one.
Matthew 5:33-37 (NRSV)
It is a snare for one to say rashly, “It is holy,” and begin to reflect only after making a vow.
Proverbs 20:25 (NRSV)
Once Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute and went in to her. The Gazites were told, “Samson has come here.” So they circled around and lay in wait for him all night at the city gate. They kept quiet all night, thinking, “Let us wait until the light of the morning; then we will kill him.” But Samson lay only until midnight. Then at midnight he rose up, took hold of the doors of the city gate and the two posts, pulled them up, bar and all, put them on his shoulders, and carried them to the top of the hill that is in front of Hebron.
After this he fell in love with a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. The lords of the Philistines came to her and said to her, “Coax him, and find out what makes his strength so great, and how we may overpower him, so that we may bind him in order to subdue him; and we will each give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.” So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me what makes your strength so great, and how you could be bound, so that one could subdue you.” Samson said to her, “If they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings that are not dried out, then I shall become weak, and be like anyone else.” Then the lords of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings that had not dried out, and she bound him with them. While men were lying in wait in an inner chamber, she said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he snapped the bowstrings, as a strand of fiber snaps when it touches the fire. So the secret of his strength was not known. Then Delilah said to Samson, “You have mocked me and told me lies; please tell me how you could be bound.” He said to her, “If they bind me with new ropes that have not been used, then I shall become weak, and be like anyone else. “So Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them, and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” (The men lying in wait were in an inner chamber.) But he snapped the ropes off his arms like a thread. Then Delilah said to Samson, “Until now you have mocked me and told me lies; tell me how you could be bound.” He said to her, “If you weave the seven locks of my head with the web and make it tight with the pin, then I shall become weak, and be like anyone else.” So while he slept, Delilah took the seven locks of his head and wove them into the web, and made them tight with the pin. Then she said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he awoke from his sleep, and pulled away the pin, the loom, and the web. Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me three times now and have not told me what makes your strength so great.” Finally, after she had nagged him with her words day after day, and pestered him, he was tired to death. So he told her his whole secret, and said to her, “A razor has never come upon my head; for I have been a nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If my head were shaved, then my strength would leave me; I would become weak, and be like anyone else.”
When Delilah realized that he had told her his whole secret, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, and “This time come up, for he has told his whole secret to me.” Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her, and brought the money in their hands. She let him fall asleep on her lap; and she called a man, and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. He began to weaken, and his strength left him. Then she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” When he awoke from his sleep, he thought, “I will go out as at other times, and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him. So the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes. They brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles; and he ground at the mill in the prison.
Judges 16:1-21 (NRSV)
Message: The Establishment Clause says, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” Still that does not keep God out of anything. And it does not keep politicians from making campaign promises that they cannot keep. Still politicians do ask us to trust them. The problem is that the promises offered on the campaign trail are too often designed to position the nominee for selection rather than to make good policy. During the time of Christ, oaths were often used to bolster a story being told or to seal a bargain or an agreement between two parties. Someone might say: by my life I tell you the truth, or may it be on my head if this thing does not come true. Today, when we hear people telling stories and we question whether they are telling us the truth or pulling our legs, they might add to their tale–I swear to God, or on my mother’s grave, or I swear on a stack of Bibles. But as we well know, words vowed do not mean a great deal if they cannot be backed up by integrity and moral character and ethical behavior. So today we explore this idea of vows and the consequence of breaking them. Today we look at the story of Samson who is a real superhero in the Bible and had taken the vow of the nazirite. Still he had his Kryptonite. And yes it involved women but deeper than that was the sin of pride. That 90% of Americans like “In God We Trust “on our money maybe is a reflection understanding that we cannot really trust our politicians. Still do not be fooled, the opposite of sectarian isn’t “nonsectarian,” it’s secular and God owns that too. The real superhero is Jesus because He offers redemption.
Pray for people who are down to their last pocket of change, that they be reminded to have faith in God. Pray for those with big bank accounts that they might be reminded that there is greater strength in many joined together. Pray we be cautious in saying God is on our side. Pray we are honest when we confess we are His publicly. Pray we not separate what God has joined together. Pray we trust in the Lord. Pray we see ourselves as God sees us. Pray we keep our vows. Pray we really dedicate ourselves to God. Pray we pray for our leaders for they are in need of much prayer.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 