But then they would flatter him with their mouths, lying to him with their tongues; their hearts were not loyal to him, they were not faithful to his covenant. (Psalm 78:36-37, NIV)
Perhaps our many accountability groups have not been asking the right question.
You know what I am talking about. A group of men or women pledge to meet regularly and question each other’s adherence to the demands of Scripture, particularly when it comes to personal and moral obligations: Are you looking at things you should not? Are you letting drink control you? Are you spending too much time at the office? Are you encouraging your kids as you should? Are you making your spouse feel special?
The idea, of course, is for us to “grow up” to the point where we can answer rightly to all of these kinds of questions. “Yes, I am keeping my eyes on my bride.” “Yes, I am praying with the children each night.” “Yes, I am giving my boss an honest day’s work.”
But I wonder, when reading Psalm 78, whether the next question should always be this: For how long? This psalm, you’ll find when you read it entirely, has much to do with the faithfulness of God and the unfaithfulness of his people.
We must repent of our ever-changing unfaithful trust in him.God’s people were willing to turn their eyes to him when disaster struck: “Whenever he slew them, they began to seek him; they eagerly turned to him again” (v. 34). The extent of their faithfulness was unlike Job’s; it went only so far as their skin. When they were suffering, they came to him.
But when all was well, when their “morality” produced the fruit of “clean living,” they became amnesiacs, forgetting the Source of their gain. They spoke well of God at times, but their words were empty; in reality they lived as though they were their own providers, their own God. Soon their false words gave way to unfaithful acts. They turned from their only Salvation.
Yet God did no such turning: “Time after time he restrained his anger” (v. 38).
God is good forever. If we are to meet him on his own holy ground, we must stop our turning. We must repent of our ever-changing unfaithful trust in him. We must be good for so much longer than just a while.
—
Jeff Hopper
Originally published on August 20, 2010
Copyright 2010 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
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