Trust in the LORD, and He will act.

 

Saturday, July 15, 2023


Psalm 37:1-17

1 Samuel 3:7-25

John 4:43-54


Observances: Swithun, bishop of Winchester (d. 862); Bonaventure, friar, bishop, teacher of the faith (d. 1274)


Trust in the LORD, and He will act.


I recently had the dubious pleasure of watching a news broadcast on a commercial television channel. The fog of memory hiding my high school English education was instantly cleared: the amount of emotional manipulation in each story was so apparent I almost felt embarrassed for the producers. Many stories followed this formula: a local crime had been committed; the victim was sympathetic while the criminal was the very embodiment of evil; this particular crime was only one part of a larger “crime wave”; we could all expect the justice system to be the instrument of vengeance.


It’s such an easy emotional state to fall into: to experience injustice, to feel the adrenaline start pumping and desire to get up and do something about it; and then feel satisfied when the criminal gets their just desserts. There’s something wrong about it; it’s almost voyeuristic.


That was just a cheesy commercial news broadcast, though. There are plenty of examples in our personal lives, where we are affected directly, and this comfy armchair view of the situation doesn’t help in the slightest. We need to see justice done. We need to see our humility vindicated.


When Jesus gave us the list of virtues in the Beatitudes (Matt 5:1-12), He didn’t teach that they were virtues in and of themselves. Rather, we are to follow in the way He is leading us because that is the way to the kingdom of heaven. God will vindicate us. God is the final and ultimate arbiter of justice. But we have been shown mercy, and are now being led to good land in which to settle, and our food is righteousness.


Being upset and envious towards those who do wrong distracts us. It takes up valuable space in our limited attention. God has given us Himself, to play in, to rejoice in, to love. Why bother the effort at being upset at evildoers? Trust in the Lord. He will act.

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