MERVA’S VERSE4MONDAY
Psalm 40:17 (MSG)
July 23, 2018
“I’m a mess. I’m nothing and have nothing; make something of me.
You [God] can do it; you’ve got what it takes”
— but God, don’t put it off.
(Psalm 40:17 The Message).
It has been almost a year since I have written “Merva’s Verse4Monday” because of a fall that I had which my right elbow was shattered/destroyed, and since the surgery, my right hand doesn’t have much feeling in it, so it is difficult to type. I’ve had the elbow replaced, but the recuperation has been the pits!! Only by the grace of God, will it ever be healed completely!
Anyway, I think that I’ll be writing my “Merva’s Verse4Monday” just once a month for a while til my right hand types better, OK?
I was reading an article and wanted to discuss it with you.
In this article, it said that people are basically good and unselfish…and that it’s their environments that turn people’s hearts toward evil. I personally don’t really agree with that cuz it just doesn’t square with what we see in human nature. What do you think??
If you have been around small children, you probably get this. That, they’re born with a selfish nature! There are phrases like, “Feed me! Care for me! I’m the center of attention”, and are the rule rather than the exception.
Human injustice throughout the world, and in our communities, also shatters any misconception we have that we humans are all basically good. Left to our own devices, we oppress other people, hoard our food, and generally think about ourselves much more than anyone else.
It’s as if God looks at the humanity He created and says, “OK, you think you’re basically good. You think human nature is basically unselfish? I’ll step back and let human nature take its course in the world. We’ll show you what happens when I AM isn’t in the picture.”
Want to know what THAT looks like?? Just pick up a newspaper. What’s true in children and society in general, is also true in our lives today. We are treated unfairly all the time. But, here’s a secret you may not have considered. YOU treat people unfairly from time to time as well.
Our tendency to treat one another unfairly doesn’t surprise God. In fact, it shows why we need Jesus. In Ecclesiastes 3:18 (TLB) it says,
“God is letting the world go on its sinful way so that He can test mankind, and so that men themselves will see that they are NO BETTER than BEASTS.”
You know something?? Without God in the situation, people are very inhumane to each other. That’s the heart of all the injustice and unfairness in our world. One day, God will judge every person on the planet for the injustices they commit against others. There MUST be consequences for how we treat others, because God is just.
That means we need mercy. All of us have been unfair with others from time to time. We aren’t just the victims of injustice…we’re perpetrators, too.
THIS UNFAIRNESS SHOWS US WE NEED JESUS!
God wouldn’t have needed to send His SON to die on the cross if people were generally good, would He?!?! NO!
Now, the vast injustices in our world make it clear that humans can’t live moral lives on their own.
NEXT TIME you’re treated unfairly, let it be a reminder.
EVERY PERSON ON THIS PLANET, INCLUDING YOU,
NEEDS JESUS!!!
WHAT do you think?
Merva Hand