Ezekiel 13:10 “ ‘Because they lead my people astray, saying, “Peace,” when there is no peace, and because, when a flimsy wall is built, they cover it with whitewash,
We love to have things look good on the outside. Branding and marketing has overtaken us as a society. We spend so much time looking at the outside, that we often don’t even have the ability to look beyond the appearance.
My wife and I have purchased a number of homes over the years. We have the ability to look beyond the paint colors and ugly furnishings a see the hidden potential. We also have the ability to quickly assess a house for our needs and tastes. If my memory serves me correctly, we looked at 44 homes on one day, setting the realtor’s record.
I have an eye that can spot problems that have been covered up. I can see small things that others miss. Believe me, it is a curse. No matter where I go, I see the imperfections in construction.
Ezekiel had a message for his people. They loved it when the false prophets would tell them comforting messages. They wanted their fears to go away, and the false prophets peddled a message that smoothed over their fears. They made them feel better.
But the message of Truth wasn’t getting through to them. They were willing to have their problems covered over in order to feel good in the present moment.
This is what addiction is all about. The pain and uncomfortable feeling is so bad that people are willing to do just about anything to make it stop. They sacrifice their whole future in order to satisfy the drive to avoid the past and present.
In Ezekiel’s day, the Israelites were willing to seek out false prophets to sooth their consciences and their current troubles. They heard the words of these men and women and believed that the LORD would not allow Jerusalem to be conquered and destroyed. They wanted the ease of “peace”, but the LORD had not promised peace because of their unrepentant hearts.
So they didn’t prepare for the invasion. Instead they built flimsy walls around the city and made them look nice on the outside. Why put all the effort into building a wall that can withstand an invasion when you don’t believe an invasion is actually going to happen! And this is exactly what they did in all areas of their life.
Since the LORD had not brought punishment yet, they thought He wasn’t going to punish them. They were immune! Nothing could touch them.
Some of us just want the chaos to end in our country and we are willing to do just about anything to end the political and social turmoil. We want peace and are willing to compromise the Gospel in the process. We trade our silence in the hopes that they will honor their side of the bargain. But that won’t happen. Rebellion is never satisfying, so they won’t be satisfied with our compromise. They will continue to demand more and more from us.
So we could get out the buckets of paint and cover over the problem of sin in the world. We can be quiet about how deeply sin permeates our lives and the lives of those who oppose us. We can throw token decorations on the walls, and hope no one will notice the leaky roof and broken foundation.
Or we can repent ourselves and live the radically different life that the LORD calls us to live. Then the world would see the LORD’s kingdom coming right here on earth. They would see what surrender to the Creator changes in a person’s life, in a community’s life, and in the world. They would be drawn to the grace and mercy that we demonstrate.
So what stands in your way?
The Arnold Journey 