Therefore

Jeremiah 44:10-11 To this day they have not humbled themselves or shown reverence, nor have they followed my law and the decrees I set before you and your ancestors. 11 “Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I am determined to bring disaster on you and to destroy all Judah.

Most good parents set limits on their children’s behavior, just like parents have limits on their own behavior. We are free to make a fool of ourselves with lampshades on our heads, dancing on a table. We can do that. But there are consequences to that type of behavior.

One of the great battles that we all face is controlling our behavior. Some have a greater challenge than others. Some tweet to their hearts content, and some read the tweets with the same intensity and passion. Some click to the next story and some flick their finger.

Some “have to exercise” everyday or they don’t feel normal. Some of us prefer pulling the lever on the recliner.

My point is that we all have behaviors that aren’t necessarily health for us. But all the behaviors have consequences, both intended and unintended. There are results from our actions.

This is the lesson we try to teach our children to one extent or another. The engage in certain behaviors, like hitting their sibling, and their Gameboy is put in the box for a week. We connect behaviors to outcomes. That is the means to reach the goal of raising responsible adults.

But even the best parents can’t control the choices of their children.

Take the LORD for example. He calls His people, rescues them again and again, warns them repeatedly of the consequences of their abandoning the Covenant, but they continue to choose wrong rather than right. They choose their way of living rather than living in a way we were designed to live.

And that is exactly where Jeremiah the prophet stands. He is the spokesperson for the LORD to His people. He, along with the other prophets, has warned them of the impending captivity, but with no effect on the people. He has clearly laid out the negative consequences of their rebellion, and they have continued to choose the wrong path.

So it comes to the point when the discipline gets imposed. Judah goes into exile. They continued to rebel and the LORD does what He promised. He is consistent. He follows through on what He says.

We might look back at that group of people and say something like, “What were they thinking?” Or we might ask, “How could they not see it coming?” But on some level they knew what was coming. They knew the character of the LORD, His faithfulness to His people and His faithfulness to His promises, and they were pulled in both directions.

They knew the LORD had turned aside from bringing judgment when His people truly repented, and yet they didn’t feel the need to repent for themselves. They were so comfortable in their sin that they choose the temporary pleasures over the permanent joy. And we look back and can see what they lost.

But the same is true for us. We read and hear the call of the LORD to obedience, and we continue to live comfortably in our routine. We can’t imagine the life of total obedience, so we don’t step out and obey, radically obey His will for our lives. We do ‘enough’ to have the appearance of godliness without the full benefits of radical obedience.

No finger pointing here. Just observing my own internal and external struggle, and putting it out there. That is why community is so important. Together we can push each other to achieve more that we could do individually. We are better when we are living in community, each of us rising a bit higher than we would do if we were isolated.

So join with others in radical obedience to sacrifice and humility. Give up your life, and pick up His.