As no one is discharged in time of war, so wickedness will not release those who practice it.*
Okay, this is a metaphor.
You’re in the army and you’d like to get out,
but there’s a war and they won’t let you go . . .
so it is when wickedness takes over;
you won’t easily break free.
But “wickedness”? Is that word still around? Seems like it’s pretty much gone into disuse . . . like the overused theme of quicksand in early Hollywood movies. (Though the comparison works.)
Wickedness. No, no, no. We would rather use some euphemism like the dark side, and relegate the whole concept to non-reality, or to earlier times more naïve than our own.
It’s the stuff of stories, like when wickedness so pervaded the earth that heaven had no choice but to wipe it out and start again. Something about a world-wide flood with only a few spared in a boat.
Or sodomic cities consumed by a hail of brimstone due directly to wild and willful wickedness within.
Stories. Folklore of another world when righteousness mattered and its evil twin was punished. (Righteousness, another anachronism.)
It is curious how there is archeological evidence for both of these stories. But no matter; what do they have to do with me?
Except that I am a microcosm of the whole. Principles of nature that held then still hold now. Cause and effect is more than an interesting notion.
Jesus said it: He who sins is a slave to sin.** And there’s another word we don’t much use. Though the concept of slave we understand.
We understand it best when we’re subject to it.
Wickedness, a willful act, tentative at first and then, with the sky not falling, continued . . . exerting my God-given right to do whatever I want whenever I want. And that’s often, even if (or especially since) it’s not as fun as it was at first! Because I’m FREE! I’m not drowning (per world deluge); I’m not burned up (per fire and brimstone). Well, I may be a little singed emotionally, or socially, or physically . . . or all three. But, GD it, I’m free to do whatever I want,
and WHENEVER IT MAKES ME DO IT!
I’m free, I tell you. Free! Free!! Freeeeeeeeeeee . . . .
(The last word fades away, the quicksand slowly covers over and all is tranquil again.)
Cut!
_____________________
* Ecclesiastes 8:8b
**John 8:34
Next: Termites of Good. Coming Monday.
Our Lives Together
Its About Life
9:47 am
Yikes, Hyatt! My shallowness is now broken for the day. On the topic of the w-word… News media and culture is always the first to “blame” God for some wicked ruler or natural disaster or infectuous virus. But do we ever go to Him in gratitude for the seasons of peace, the days of plenty, or years of prolonged good health? When you think of the self-absorbed and, if I may use the word, evil intents of the human heart (that neighbor of mine, why won’t he trim his ash tree? I think I’ll burn it down!), it’s a wonder we didn’t self-destruct long ago. Could it be possible that God actually restrains 99.9% of the potential wickedness and suffering that could have happened upon us even this last month? This week? Already today? A loving God would, in fact, do just that. He might allow sufficient pain, for he values our sense of neediness and trust when we go to him for his grace but, left on our own, as past civilizations attest, we’d go down fast. “Lord, deliver us from evil” and, at the same time, “Search me and know me, to see if there be any wicked way in me…” You’ve made us aware of the battle once again, Hyatt. We need this.
10:42 am
Thanks Norm. Well put. And you’ve hit exactly the thoughts on the next blog on “termites” (and grace).
10:13 am
Indeed, we live lives of quiet despiration. Addiction is so subtle and so lasting. The grip is tight and powerfully distructive.
Thanks for the insight in this dark world of life.
10:44 am
Thanks, Alan. As a PhD in these things, with a counseling practice, I’m sure you’re faced with all this on a regular basis. More power to you as you extend the stick to the quick sand sinking.
10:42 am
As painful as it may seem at the time, I believe light (the Light) is the only rope that can save us from this quicksand. Sure, asking for a rope when in quicksand is an admission of sinking – but it’s a good place to start.
12:08 pm
Hyatt, you’re a wise son. And not just because of your own soon coming PhD.
11:43 am
Oh my friend….sometimes you would think that you have lived on the streets……
Wise as you are. Everything you write touches me…..thank you thank you.
And I know you were not a street person.
12:09 pm
Thanks, JoAnn. I may have been closer to what you hint at than you think . . .but for grace.
7:23 am
Dare I send this to an addictive person I know? Would he grab hold of the stick or clobber me with it? Or, think it’s for someone else??
8:18 am
Sue, That’s up to you. But I would suppose he would at least recognize the description, and maybe take some comfort that he’s not alone. Addictions are pervasive among us, and not just in the extreme categories that first come to mind. The “stick” is something all are hoping for, one that will really hold.