... the oracle of one who hears the words of God, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened: - Numbers 24:4

Today’s Scripture Reading (August 17, 2012): Numbers 24

I sometimes have to admit that I struggle with the idea of belief. We would define belief as intellectual assent in the direction of something. But intellectual assent is often meaningless. We believe that the Earth travels around the Sun. There are not many of us that have the ability to wade through the mathematical formulas that prove the premise, but that does not stop most of us from believing in the principle. I know that there are those who choose not to believe. Recently I had a conversation with someone who said that science had now proven that the earth was the center of the universe, and in fact everything revolves around the earth. I have never read any reports (let alone respectable scientific reports) that have made that assertion. So that is not something that I believe. But either way, it remains just belief.

But belief is not always a predictor of behavior. Whether or not the Earth circles the Sun really has no effect on what I do on a daily basis. In fact, even though I know that it is the earth that is in motion, I still talk about the Sun as it rises and sets – as if it is the Sun that is doing the moving. I believe in the need for the law. I do not want to live in a constant state of anarchy. And yet I have to admit that I took a trip outside of the city that I live in and I probably averaged 8 or 9 kilometers/hour over the posted speed limit (and was frustrated by the number of cars hat still passed me as I drove down the highway.) My belief in the law did not stop me from violating it. Belief had no effect on my behavior. There seemed to be something that was stronger than my belief (in the case of the Sun, what is stronger is what my senses report to me about the movement of the sun - and in the case of my driving it is the need to get from point A to point B in an allotted amount of time.)

Balaam believed in God. He believed in who he was, he understood his power; he even understood the purpose that he held for Israel. And as he looked at the nation of Israel and saw the plans that God had for them, he made a conscious decision to go against those plans. Belief was not enough to shape his behavior.

We are called to belief, but our spiritual goals do not stop there. We need to decide to go beyond belief and on to life lived by faith in what it is that we believe. We need to accept what it is that we believe about God and allow that belief to shape our actions. It was a step that Balaam refused to make – but one that we have to make.

Belief is never enough. James was right when he wrote that even demons believe – and shudder. They realize the implications of their belief combined with their lack of faithful action. And they know the example that Balaam had left for them of where that kind of belief will take them.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Numbers 25