But when grace is shown to the wicked, they do not learn righteousness; even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil and do not regard the majesty of the LORD. (Isaiah 26:10, NIV)
I know the difference between good golfers and bad ones. Good golfers are those in my foursome; bad golfers are the four right in front of us!
OK, you’ve caught me jesting again. There’s more to bad golf than being given the tee time just ahead of mine. Let’s see: three full practice swings, a hitch at the top of the backswing, the rarely taught outside-in move at the ball, the leftward divot, and a step-back finish that would make James Harden proud.
That’s enough. We could comment on clothes and pace of play and cart-driving protocol and the steady cursing because you can’t reproduce the shot you’ve hit once in your life. Bad golf is in-your-face noticeable, and somebody has to do the dirty deed of calling it out.
Like a prophet.
You know the prophets. They’re the poor guys God chose for the blessed task of outshouting the crowd. Actually, we don’t know how often Isaiah or Jeremiah or any of the others lifted their voices, but the tenor of their words suggests it might have been an hourly thing. (The Bible includes a number of prophetesses, too, but they don’t seem to have been made to bear the load of oddity or confrontation in quite the same way. I’m sure they thanked God for this many times over.)
When evil stirs, that is our cue. We call on God to cut it down, so righteousness may rise in its place.In all their words, the harshness of the prophets was directed at those who were notably evil. These people weren’t good and they had no intention to be. Grace was wasted on them, and honor for the Lord was never their consideration. So Isaiah and his colleagues let them have it.
Maybe we’re too soft in our time. We’re slow to name evil because, you know, we’ve all sinned. Which is true. And which may be the proper tack, since God didn’t call us all to be prophets.
But we should all recognize the difference between wickedness and righteousness. We should see and grieve over acts that disregard God’s place in heaven and on earth. Headline ones, yes: church fires and hotel bombings and human trafficking and pornography in all its manifestations. But stealthy ones, too: turning our backs on the poor and boastful leadership (Isaiah 26:5-6).
When we see unrighteousness around us, we must remember the heart of God: “He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). You may be dismissed from prophecy today, but you are not dismissed from prayer. When evil stirs, that is our cue. We call on God to cut it down, so righteousness may rise in its place. We call on God to “smite” the sinner, that he or she may rise a saint, a creation made new in Christ.
—
Jeff Hopper
May 1, 2019
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The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
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