THIS matters

thanks for the link....miss you!

God is angry. Deep down, we know this. But it's much easier to pretend God's anger is all about someone else's behavior (whether it's John Edwards, James Dobson, our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters, or whoever) than to acknowledge that it's about us. I'm guilty of this too.

Lord, have mercy.

For whatever reason, what "this" was did not come through on my internet connection (one of the prices of living in the desert, I'm afraid). But the subjects did - Compassion International, food, Haiti - and they fit well with everyone's comments. Which is enough to tell me that whatever exactly you said, David, you are right that those are much more important subjects than John Edwards.

Does God get angry? Oh, yes. He does - because he loves his children. And when anyone - including us - hurts those children, or doesn't help them when they are hurt, yes, he gets angry. Just as we would, and do, when a school bully picks on our own kids.

Somewhere, lots of us have gotten the idea that the reason God was angry enough with Sodom to destroy it was homosexuality. But was that why? Without defending homosexuality, several Old Testament books disagree. Ezekiel told Jerusalem's residents "your sister Sodom's sins were pride, laziness, and too much food, while the poor and needy suffered outside her door. She insolently worshiped many idols as I watched. Therefore I crushed her." (Ezekiel 16: 48-50.)

Isaiah warned that Judah had become "men of Sodom and Gomorrah." Because of homosexuality? No - because they "take bribes and won't defend the widows and orphans." The cure? Repent and "help the poor, fatherless and widows."

Amos told Israel God had destroyed some of their cities "as I did Sodom and Gomorrah." For homosexuality? No, it was that they "robbed the poor and crushed the needy." (Amos 4: 1-2, 11.) Amos also warned Jerusalem and Samaria's rich that they "will be the first to be taken as slaves" because, in their wealth and luxury, they were "caring nothing at all that your brothers need your help." (6: 1-7).

So, yeah, all that agrees with what David apparently said - that topics like helping orphaned children and providing food are a lot more important that many of the things we get hung up on. Keep at it, David!