Today’s Scripture Reading (October
24, 2012): Joshua 20
As a kid I
loved to watch comedian Flip Wilson perform. One of the sayings that used to
come out of him in various situations – and one that is stuck in my memory – is
his classic “the devil made me do it.” It is probably a classic because it kind
of sums up how it is that we feel. Nothing is ever our fault. We do not feel
like we have to take responsibility for anything in our lives. When bad
happens, it always seems to be someone else’s fault. Whether it is the devil,
or one of his minions, or just the circumstances that we have to face, there is
always a reason to answer the question of why we fail – or sin.
But the
devil cannot make me do anything. And the truth that we sometimes do not want
to acknowledge is that those who are successful have often had to face the same
kind of struggles that we face. The difference between success and failure is
often simply how well we deal with the challenges.
God’s
instructs Joshua to remember to build the cities of refuge. It is the only
concession that seems to be made to the circumstances of life. If someone dies
accidentally, there would be a place where they could go and plead their case. I think
often we think about the cities of refuge as a get out of jail free card. But that
really was not it. The person who killed someone - and if it was confirmed by
the priest that the death was as a result of an accident – then there was a
place to go and live, rather than having the death avenged by the family (an
eye for an eye and a life for a life.) But it would still be a life of
imprisonment. His life might be safe, but until the priest died, he could not
leave the city.
Maybe one of
the key lessons that we have to learn is that there are always challenges to
what we are trying to do – and there are always consequences to our actions,
even if our actions are as a result of an accident.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Joshua
21
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