April 11, 2022

Micah 3: 11 (NIV)

Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets tell fortunes for money. Yet they lean upon the Lord and say, “Is not the Lord among us? No disaster will come upon us.”

God does not respond to the occasional seeker.*

I have friends who “sort of” believe in God. Some call him The Man Upstairs. Most don’t think about him until something bad happens – then they want me to pray for them. I guess it’s good that my faith is so obvious to them, but I often feel like the middle-man in some shady deal: “Hey, could you put in a good word for me?”

The situation that Micah describes is even worse. The religious elite have sold out for financial gain while they regard God as some sort of good luck charm. If the leaders are judging for a bribe, there is no hope for justice. If priests teach for a price, no one will be taught the truth. If prophets tell fortunes for money, who can know what the future holds? Can they really believe that God is among them and that he will protect them from disaster? What kind of religion is it if they proclaim reliance on God just in case?

How far removed are you from a real relationship with God? Is he like a celebrity that you read about in People? Sure he’s real; sure you’ve read a lot about him; yes, you know someone who knows someone who saw him in a crowd once; but you don’t know him and you don’t know what you’re missing. He promises that if we seek him we will find him. Crack open his diary (the Bible) and get to know him. He wants to be your friend – not your rabbit’s foot.

Some who have ridiculed faith all their lives will express a faint hope that there is something beyond the grave. What they may sneer at in the routine of everyday life, they long for when the life of someone close to them ends. It’s as though they just can’t resist having a hint of hope to soothe their sadness.*