good and evil
it is hard for us in our society to wrap our heads around the idea of good and evil. and when evil resides in the heart of a person it is especially hard for us to call it as it is. we'd like to think that all in all every person is good who sometimes just make bad choices. but how do we respond when a person or a set of people are evil? how do wrap our heads around that reality even in the face of god's grace? dan allendar writes some good stuff on this topic and it was in seminary where i began trying to wrap my mind around this. dan works with sexually abused women and he is not afraid to call it or the perpetrator what it is: evil. i have a hard time with that especially in light of the fact that i'm a counselor. i'm trained to be patient and long suffering even when people refuse to change. don't get me wrong there is a fine line between being a person of depravity, who is scathed by the reality of the fall-- we all are that. but what about the person or persons who submit their heart to evil who choose time and time again that they will use others in degrading, dehumanizing ways to elevate their position and power? how do we reconcile that in our hearts and minds?
today at quest, eugene preached on exodus 10 (the plagues). as you know we are studying the bible together starting from genesis to revelations. if you didn't get a chance i recommend checking out the quest website (www.seattlequest.org) and listening to this particular sermon because if nothing else it really gets you to think-- it gets you to think about your own ideology's, your own question of god's benevolence and the state of our world. it's a difficult text to get your mind around because the question that inevetibly comes up is: is god compassionate? and if he is compassionate how can he allow such horrible things to happen and if his grace is for all why would he harden pharoah's heart? and i find myself time and again in this passage wrestling with those very questions. yet, somehow in the sermon for the first time i was able to see that even in god's predestined plan we all have a choice. we all have a decision to make. we can always, always turn away from evil and turn our face towards god. but then that begs the questions, 'why does god harden pharaoh's heart and how could pharaoh have any other choice in the situation with god's manipulation on his heart? how can predestination and freewill co-exist?' well first of all, i believe it does because i believe that god chooses all (predestination) but in that we have choice to refuse the invitation (freewill). he chooses all, thus sending his son to die brutally on a cross for all yet, allows us to freely accept his grace and relationship with him. i had a woman, who is the only christian in her family, say, 'sometimes i wonder why did god choose me? why do i have this burden? why not someone else in my family?' and i remember sharing i believe that god chose every single member of her family and it is them that will not choose him.
but as we see in exodus god hardened pharoah's heart and so today i had to go back and re-examine the text. i carefully read the passage of the plagues and i realized something. even from the very beginning with the nile turning into blood-- pharoah hardens his heart. with the frogs-- pharaoh's heart becomes unyielding. pharoah's magicians, his officials keep coming to him and saying this is the finger of god: give up your way. yet, pharoah continues to challenge god. it occured to me as i was reading this that if i was in pharoah's shoes and i was given this challenge to let god's people go... maybe i would rebel and harden, but after the power of god's work in the evidence of the water turning into blood i would fall prostrate not only out of the call to repent, but simply out of fear. can you imagine seeing what pharoah saw? can you imagine experiencing the sight of blood in the yakima river? can you imagine seeing frogs in your bed, in your slippers, in your ovens? can you imagine? can you imagine what you might be feeling? well, i know i would be feeling: freaked out... i would be completely and utterly aware that this power could break me. yet, pharoah is unrelenting. which makes me think: who is this pharoah? who does he think he's dealing with? and does he think he is truly going to win? his unyielding heart, his rebellion, his lack of fear and reverence to god's power is evil. a kingdom that functions under the system of genocide for 430 years is evil. a dictator that kills the first born of every son for 80 years is evil. was there any hope for pharoah? had is heart turned to stone years before this confrontation? i believe: yes. and the scary part is that reality is true today.
i just finished watching, 'invisible children'. it's a documentary on the children of northern uganda who travel every night from their homes to sleep in hospitals and buses out of fear that if they do not leave they will be abducted and killed. for 17 years a civil war has insued. the leader of the rebel army: The Lord's Resistence Army (LRA) employs children as young as 5 years old to fight on the front lines of this civil war. these children are brain washed, their trained to kill their familes, their neighbors, their friends. how will we deal with this evil? how will god intervene?
in burma where the dictatorship has been at several peace tables with u.n. diplomats, peace activists such as aung san su kyi and others when will they free the people? when will they cease fire? when will they stop killing and destroying other ethnic groups? when will they stop using children for slave labor? when will they stop raping the women in their plan to 'burmanize' the nation? when? and if they will not even after coming to the peace table, even after saying, 'yes, we'll submit to peace.' then when? and what should we do? how will god intervene?
that is what i pray for every day... god how will you intervene? how do you call us to intervene? when talks of peace are no longer working and people are being slaughtered and destroyed everyday-- then what should we do? how can we continue to sit aside waiting for evil to peacefully relent? what is our call?
you see we have modern day pharoah's among us in the joseph kone's (leader of the LRA in northern uganda), ne win's (lead general of the military regime in burma), hitlers and the list goes on... how does god deal with this evil?
and today we learned that god is waiting. he's waiting for every heart to come to him even those who have turned toward evil. but he will not wait forever. so what do we do in the in between? my pacifist friends would say, 'you peacefully protest and voice the human rights for all'. yet in that peaceful engagement people are in the middle of the streets being shot down and murdered, children are being sold into sex slavery, families are being pulled from their homes at night... can we afford to peacefully protest? human lives depend on change today, because with out it tomorrow they will die.
my final thought is this: even in all of this jumbled up mess i have faith that god is good. i don't understand. i can't comprehend. but i just know, because i know, because i know that god is gracious. i know that god is compassionate. i know that he loves all people. i cannot explain it. but i just know that god is god and he gives grace to all people.
praise be to god!
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
the day after... (a re-post)
the day after easter... here i am in my blue bathrobe with my daughter playing in the background and i am reflecting on the remnants of easter day. this weekend wasn't one of those hallmark easter moments for me or my family-- i found myself more awkward, more out of my skin then ever before. i found myself insensitive and moody and snappy and irritable and then i went to church at 9 am. i felt god's rebuke on my life, as i have quite a bit recently. his rebuke reminded me that there is hope, there is a way and either i can trust and believe it or i can reject it and wallow in my self-pity. because you know that is what it is in so many of our lives any more-- self pity. things don't go our way, things don't turn out as we expected them to, relationships take drastic shifts and what do we do-- we feel sorry for ourselves. maybe the pity doesn't start til after a healthy dose of grieving and offering our pain to god, but somewhere in the mix we feel bad for ourselves-- we feel like we deserve to have that space to ourselves which only perpetuates our desire to stay in that place. i think of christ and if anyone had the right to feel sorry for himself it was he. after all, the disappointments of humanity turning their back on god and himself lay on his shoulders. he constantly was rejected, misunderstood-- he was called a fraud, a sham. yet, he didn't languish in self pity-- he went to a cross to die a horrible, shame-filled death of ridicule & mockery so that you and i could be here today (me writing this entry, you reading it). yet, we still languish in our self pity, our self defeat.
i feel god's call to reject that idol. the idol of self defeat where we think that we are entitled to sit around until someone picks us up and puts us on our feet. enough is enough. easter is a reminder that evil has been dealt with-- three times over through the life, the death, the resurrection of christ. it is time to rejoice, to pick up our crosses and follow him.
the day after easter... here i am in my blue bathrobe with my daughter playing in the background and i am reflecting on the remnants of easter day. this weekend wasn't one of those hallmark easter moments for me or my family-- i found myself more awkward, more out of my skin then ever before. i found myself insensitive and moody and snappy and irritable and then i went to church at 9 am. i felt god's rebuke on my life, as i have quite a bit recently. his rebuke reminded me that there is hope, there is a way and either i can trust and believe it or i can reject it and wallow in my self-pity. because you know that is what it is in so many of our lives any more-- self pity. things don't go our way, things don't turn out as we expected them to, relationships take drastic shifts and what do we do-- we feel sorry for ourselves. maybe the pity doesn't start til after a healthy dose of grieving and offering our pain to god, but somewhere in the mix we feel bad for ourselves-- we feel like we deserve to have that space to ourselves which only perpetuates our desire to stay in that place. i think of christ and if anyone had the right to feel sorry for himself it was he. after all, the disappointments of humanity turning their back on god and himself lay on his shoulders. he constantly was rejected, misunderstood-- he was called a fraud, a sham. yet, he didn't languish in self pity-- he went to a cross to die a horrible, shame-filled death of ridicule & mockery so that you and i could be here today (me writing this entry, you reading it). yet, we still languish in our self pity, our self defeat.
i feel god's call to reject that idol. the idol of self defeat where we think that we are entitled to sit around until someone picks us up and puts us on our feet. enough is enough. easter is a reminder that evil has been dealt with-- three times over through the life, the death, the resurrection of christ. it is time to rejoice, to pick up our crosses and follow him.
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
just a fad?
this last saturday quest hosted a prayer for burma service. every year the world acknowledges this global day of prayer... at least the part of the world that knows about burma, the struggle, the suffering and the oppressed. anyway, the service was really amazing. good line up of speakers, video and best of all an opportunity to share in burmese, karen and chin music and song. what a rich, beautiful picture of culture and connection to story & creativity through dance and song. and each year the burmese army is using their power to destroy these people through slavery, torture, murder and rape. yeah, seems like just another one of those countries facing oppression... in the long line of oppressive practices. you know it's happening all over. but i feel especially burdened for burma because what is happening there is so secret. the oppression and tension has literally been there for so long. burma colonized in the 1800's by the british. in the 1940's a man named aung san (with other leaders) sought the help of the japanese to push the brits out and gain independence only to become a pawn to the japanese. but through aung san and other leaders efforts the japanese were pushed out and burma gained independence. this independence short lived, as thereafter the regime (currently still in power) assasinated aung san and all the leaders while they were seated in their meeting room. then in the 1990's the people in burma were growing restless with the economic situation and began organizing demonstrations on one fateful day their demonstrations were met with gunfire. thousands of men, women and children were killed in the streets, others were chased to the near by river where they were beaten and drowned to death. the regime even opened fire in hospitals that were helping the wounded... political leaders, students, professors and anyone else in opposition to the regime were taken captive: tortured and murdered. the dictator governent turned on their own people the burmese. the other side of the story is that their have been a variety of racial and ethnic tensions in the country, as other tribes and groups have sought to have a voice in the process. these ethnic groups are a target for the regime to be used in slave labor, child labor, sexual exploitation... and many are forced from their homes and killed. The Karen people are a people who has faced much oppression. In fact, 40,000 refugees live on the Thailand/Burma border and many more are IDP's (internally displaced people). They are stuck in the jungle unable to cross the border and unable to return home. do some research... check out humanrightswatch.org they have extensive documentation on the history of burma.
my point in writing all this is to say, is it just a fad to talk about justice and compassion or does this really mean something to us (christians). on saturday, fellow pastor david leong spoke on this issue that the church has a lot to give up to really live out justice and that all the talk is good, but where are our actions? have we just learned the justice and compassion lingo or are we willing to really make a difference and fight for the voiceless in this world? even at quest what is our call?
i don't want to be a j&c (justice & compassion) pastor who just brings these issues to the table to make sure were covering our bases on the realm of morality and ethics. but hopefully we mobilize the church to be more than just rhetoric. even in our dorm rooms, our apartments, our cush jobs can we make a difference? i think we can!
i love sharing the story of burma. not so that i can boast about all that i know, but to see the expressions on people's faces who can't believe this happens in our world. i shared the story with my grandfather and he was like, 'what?' 'how did you find this out?'. most people just don't take advantage of the information that is right at our fingertips. burma is a country of oppression like many other countries in our world. how is it that we as a society are completely unaware? is reality tv really that good?
this last saturday quest hosted a prayer for burma service. every year the world acknowledges this global day of prayer... at least the part of the world that knows about burma, the struggle, the suffering and the oppressed. anyway, the service was really amazing. good line up of speakers, video and best of all an opportunity to share in burmese, karen and chin music and song. what a rich, beautiful picture of culture and connection to story & creativity through dance and song. and each year the burmese army is using their power to destroy these people through slavery, torture, murder and rape. yeah, seems like just another one of those countries facing oppression... in the long line of oppressive practices. you know it's happening all over. but i feel especially burdened for burma because what is happening there is so secret. the oppression and tension has literally been there for so long. burma colonized in the 1800's by the british. in the 1940's a man named aung san (with other leaders) sought the help of the japanese to push the brits out and gain independence only to become a pawn to the japanese. but through aung san and other leaders efforts the japanese were pushed out and burma gained independence. this independence short lived, as thereafter the regime (currently still in power) assasinated aung san and all the leaders while they were seated in their meeting room. then in the 1990's the people in burma were growing restless with the economic situation and began organizing demonstrations on one fateful day their demonstrations were met with gunfire. thousands of men, women and children were killed in the streets, others were chased to the near by river where they were beaten and drowned to death. the regime even opened fire in hospitals that were helping the wounded... political leaders, students, professors and anyone else in opposition to the regime were taken captive: tortured and murdered. the dictator governent turned on their own people the burmese. the other side of the story is that their have been a variety of racial and ethnic tensions in the country, as other tribes and groups have sought to have a voice in the process. these ethnic groups are a target for the regime to be used in slave labor, child labor, sexual exploitation... and many are forced from their homes and killed. The Karen people are a people who has faced much oppression. In fact, 40,000 refugees live on the Thailand/Burma border and many more are IDP's (internally displaced people). They are stuck in the jungle unable to cross the border and unable to return home. do some research... check out humanrightswatch.org they have extensive documentation on the history of burma.
my point in writing all this is to say, is it just a fad to talk about justice and compassion or does this really mean something to us (christians). on saturday, fellow pastor david leong spoke on this issue that the church has a lot to give up to really live out justice and that all the talk is good, but where are our actions? have we just learned the justice and compassion lingo or are we willing to really make a difference and fight for the voiceless in this world? even at quest what is our call?
i don't want to be a j&c (justice & compassion) pastor who just brings these issues to the table to make sure were covering our bases on the realm of morality and ethics. but hopefully we mobilize the church to be more than just rhetoric. even in our dorm rooms, our apartments, our cush jobs can we make a difference? i think we can!
i love sharing the story of burma. not so that i can boast about all that i know, but to see the expressions on people's faces who can't believe this happens in our world. i shared the story with my grandfather and he was like, 'what?' 'how did you find this out?'. most people just don't take advantage of the information that is right at our fingertips. burma is a country of oppression like many other countries in our world. how is it that we as a society are completely unaware? is reality tv really that good?
Monday, March 06, 2006
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