The LORD within her is righteous; he does no wrong. Morning by morning he dispenses his justice, and every new day he does not fail, yet the unrighteous know no shame. – Zephaniah 3:5

Today's Scripture Reading (May 6, 2023): Zephaniah 3

Many years ago, long before my time at the church, the church board had what would end up being a fateful discussion. The discussion concerned providing a parking lot for the church. The church had long since outgrown the available parking that had been provided by those who had planned and constructed the church building. The church's congregation had long been using the empty lot for parking, even though the church didn't own the property. But now, the vacant lot across the street was up for sale. And so, the question that was brought up at this board meeting was, "Should we buy the lot?" As I said, this was long before my time, but I became friends with some of the people who were sitting around the table at that meeting. And apparently, one man with enough money and influence that a neighborhood in the city is named after him made a point that the rest of the board considered valid. "We are using the lot for free; why would we want to pay for it?" And then he made this unfortunate observation. "If you are getting free milk, why buy the cow?"

The board listened to him, and the church decided not to purchase the empty lot. Unfortunately for this church, the lot was sold, along with a few others, and today that piece of land is a very expensive parking space for a Care Center that occupies the adjoining lots where once church people parked for free. If you want to park there now, it will cost you if you can even find a spot. And the church itself is handicapped by its lack of parking.

God had provided a solution for the future church that would occupy this part of the city. But the then-current church refused to move. The proposition was too expensive, so they decided it wasn't that important. Looking around at other churches, I wish I could say this was an isolated problem. But it isn't. From my standpoint, people are still making that mistake, deciding that providing parking is too expensive and deciding to do without while watching their churches get smaller and smaller.

And it isn't just churches. I avoid local plazas and outdoor malls for the same reason. They have sold parking spots for new businesses, but as these places grow in popularity, the first limit on further growth becomes parking. And as a result, I go somewhere else.

Amid Jerusalem's sin, God continues to be faithful. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob continues to give the people the necessary solutions they need. He delivers his justice, but the people ignore him and continue to choose to act as if he doesn't exist. It is an action that is to their shame, and in this case, it is with things that are much more important than just parking. I wish I could say that we have learned our lessons, but I am afraid that that is just not true.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 1