Devotion
All is Vanity
Frances Taylor
Today we have one of my favorite books in the Old Testament – Ecclesiastes! It is second only to Psalms. What are riches? What is so important about having things? Now, I'm not talking about necessities, or even the luxuries that most of us enjoy, but having things, just to have them. Greed is a very dangerous vice that we often don't even recognize in ourselves. Just watch what happens when someone dies and the relatives fight over what they leave, or complain that one person got more than another! This happens in the best of families but it doesn't usually make the papers or the media in the way it does when the person is rich or famous. In Ecclesiastes, this is pointed out rather starkly – no matter what you accumulate on earth, someone else is going to enjoy or waste it in the end. Jesus tells the parable of the rich man who hoards his goods only to die that night. I don't believe that Jesus is telling us not to prepare for the future, but not to the extent that we think only of ourselves. How many times when a hurricane or blizzard is predicted have we seen people rushing out to the grocery store to buy enough water and milk or food to last a month or more without a thought of others who might want enough to last a couple of days! In times of extreme emergencies, we often see the generosity of others, but why does it take a catastrophe to open our eyes to another's needs? Jesus asks us to be aware of the needs of others all the time, to share what we have, to refrain from envy and jealousy. Our society doesn't make it easy to do this, as we are constantly bombarded with ads that encourage us to buy more, think only of ourselves and to live for the pleasure of the moment. What is it that we possess that we would find it hard to do without? This reading makes me think, what about you?
Prayer
Lord, help us to see what is important in life. Greed does not lead to happiness. Looking out for oneself and overlooking the pain of others only leads to fear and unhappiness. We are told in the Old and New Testament alike that the way to happiness is love of God and love of neighbor. Let us choose the right path. Amen.
Devotion
Misrepresenting God
Frances Taylor
This passage is one I try very hard to take to heart. For over forty years, I have worked to bring the gospel message to children and adults alike. That is what I'm doing as I write this. It is so important that we don't misrepresent God to others. When someone tells me they don't believe in God, I wonder whose image of God they have been taught. When I was a child, it was common to hear that God was some policeman in the sky that was going to punish me for everything I did wrong. The idea of a loving, forgiving God was not taught as the norm. Ministers and other teachers of religion often spoke more of hellfire and damnation. It's no wonder that there are those who claim that God doesn't exist. On the other hand, there are those who taught that God was like Santa Claus, keeping track of our good deeds and rewarding us accordingly, or tracking our misdeeds and punishing us accordingly. Neither of these images of God are accurate. God is loving ...
Morning Prayer
Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed; To turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless!
Inspiration
Those in ancient Israel, as today and in all lands, who prey upon the poor and vulnerable, who pervert justice against them and deny them their rights, sin against God. His eyes see, his eyelids try the children of men, and nothing is done in secret where he does not know.
Prayer
Give me a heart of compassion, O Lord, for the weak and helpless, for the poverty stricken, for widows and orphans. And give me a righteous indignation against those who oppress them, pervert their justice, or deny their rights. Amen.
