The Problem With Me and Moses

How to deal when we see evil in people? ...when our brothers fail us, when our babies act like the devil, when humans deny their humanity by resembling demons... What shall we do?

thought one:

Anger is an emotion... a near automatic response to given stimuli. After emotions come decisions. Decisions lead to actions. It's the last two that we're most responsible for.

The way i see it, we have 3 options when faced with our anger- whether it be provoked by our darlings or by Darfur:

apathy,

bitterness, or

hope.

I think the Christian obligation is obvious.

thought two: of Moses and i

Remember Moses? It´s not my job or my role to be angry. I am here to advocate for them, not to judge them. They have a judge; I´m not needed. It´s not right for me to have an opinion, only compassion. Do i recognize evil? Obviously. Do i have permission to park there? Never.

Regarding the ones we love:

Unconditional love does not dry up in disgust when it sees wickedness in the object of its affections... it prays harder. Because its #1 objective is to have that person be and receive what is good... and wickedness is the opposite of that. U.L. will not leave the loved alone in iniquity to protect its own aesthetic sensibilities... it will jump in and fight the evil that would destroy the beloved. And how do wee mortals like us fight something like evil?

"God! Maker of the universe! Jump in!"

thought three:

Praying without ceasing need not be a hyperbole. We start prayers all the time: every time we see and think about and especially emote over an evil or something not right... we just forget to finish our prayers. The problem with complaining is not that it's wrong to recognize something's messed up... it that we stop with the obvious.

"EVIL! EVIL! EVIL!"

"STUPIDITY! INJUSTICE! IGNORANCE!"

"IDIOTS!"

"CRUELTY! HATEFULNESS! BONDAGE!"

ok. now finish your sentence. this time, remembering that God exists.

"Stop evil, O God!"

"Teach these idiots!"

"Bring justice!"

"Educate the ignorant!"

"Convince the cruel to repent!"

"Change the heart of the hateful!"

"Free these enslaved!"

Don't forget: all a sentence needs is a subject and a predicate to be communicating. ("You" is the implied subject...) Remember your verbs.

"Help!"

"Save!"

"Free!"

"Convict!"

"Have mercy!"

"Forgive!"

"Grant me patience!"

(direct objects and prepositions only provide details to the essential, and God knows who we're talking about.)

finally...

if our Lord didn't even come to condemn [leave people to wallow in their sin and its consequences] but to save, how do we think we are different?

Our job is not merely to identify sin, wrong doing, and idiocy. Our job is to fight it. We cannot be content to leave people to themselves. We must seek Jesus for them, just like we need Jesus for ourselves and our own homemade evil.

Being a Christian involves caring. Here, i don't mean "being kind"... i mean, "giving importance." It's in our job description to hope. Even the most dire of the Prophets always offered a possible way out... and prayed and wept for it as well.

Our last word to this sin-sick world cannot be a sarcastic one. Our last thought cannot be a disgusted one. Christ is too efficacious for us to be cynical. Just as we want the bad to turn to good, the sin to turn to righteousness, so also we must be turned from anger to intercession. It is our calling.

Even as Christ forgave you, so also you must do...
Freely you have received, freely then give...
Prayers and supplications... for all men...

Así que, lejos de mí pecar contra Jehová dejando de rogar por vosotros...