The Beneficiary

Scheduled Reading
Job 33:31-37:24; Psalm 106:9-15; Proverbs 22:16-18; 1 Corinthians 7:25-8:6

Selected Passage:
Job 35:6

Elihu may not have had everything right in his counsel to Job in the middle of his suffering, but I believe he had this right.  When we sin, how can that possibly affect God almighty? Or if we do what is right, how do we think that could benefit Him in the least?

I believe we often forget that that reason we are to avoid sin, and the reason we are to pursue righteousness is not for God's benefit, but for our own.

God loves us unimaginably. His law has been established for our well-being. When we break the law, when we sin against Him, we only hurt ourselves. Then, as sin goes unchecked, we collectively hurt our society, our culture, our nation. Eventually, like Sodom & Gomorrah, the momentum toward decay is too much and the gangrene must be cut off.

When an infected limb on a person turns to gangrene, would we consider a doctor cruel, vindictive and unreasonable if he amputated such a limb? Absolutely not! We would understand that such a drastic measure must be taken to save the life of the individual. Better to lose the limb than to lose the life. Rather, to sit by and do NOTHING would indeed be cruel.

Similarly, in an act of mercy and compassion the Creator destroys the sin-infected nation. In such a move the Creator is merciful and compassionate. Otherwise the sin-infection would spread to other nations. Left to their own devices, the human race would utterly destroy itself.

The question is... where does the USA fit in this model. Or rather, more importantly- where do YOU fit? How's your sin-infection? You will be the beneficiary of your own repentance.