More Thoughts On Jeremiah, Chapter 12
Hakuna Matata.
That little brain-worm stays with us, doesn't it? That problem-free philosophy, right? Means 'no worries' for the rest of our days, right? Kind of a Disney G-rating of Buffett's "Margaritaville" where your worst worry is finding that lost shaker of salt, right?
But I did some thinking about that. You know, about the "slippery slope" argument of the espoused philosophy of Timon & Pumbaa.
It'll lead to isolationism. If you mix with people, you'll inevitably run into conflict, no matter how minor. So, in order to make it work you have to avoid folks.
It'll lead to laziness. If you work, or have a hobby, or pursue any endeavor at all, you'll have problems, no matter how minor. So, in order to make it work you need to keep yourself bored.
It'll lead to selfishness. If you ever acquiesce to the desire of others, you'll be sacrificing your own wants, no matter how minor. So, in order to make it work you have to have more concern for yourself.
It'll lead to hedonism. If you deny yourself any desire, you'll be at conflict with yourself, no matter how minor. So, in order to make it work you have to go after your wants.
It'll lead to a negative impact on society as a whole. If you're eating grubs, well, Hakuna Matata didn't work out so well from the grub's perspective. In order to make it work, you have to trample on others, no matter how minor. So, since no man is an island, those that are Hakuna Matata-ing are going to slice away at the "rights" of others.
It'll implode on itself. It can't be truly lived-out. Even Timon took the time to file down Simba's claws just in case Simba decided his hunger outweighed Pumbaa's lack of problems. Even when it was just three of 'em out in the wilderness they took precautions just in case things went awry. Then they'd have problems. And, in the movie, the big conflict was when they undertook responsibility together for huge problems that technically, weren't their own.
Now, I realize it's a catchy song. I realize it's a no brainer Disney movie that follows a formulaic pattern into my wallet. But I think it makes an interesting point...
...that lots of people at least try to live this idea out in one form or another, and that trying to live that idea out will not fulfill us.
That Jeremiah's life, as full of problems and negatives as it was, was actually a deeper and more meaningful life than most people will ever live.
Let me explain.
In chapter 12, after Jeremiah is troubled because his life is threatened...and because he finds out that God's plan involves putting the nation of Israel out of business (at least the Southern Kingdom, anyway. The Northern Kingdom had fallen nearly 100 years previous) and dispersing them. So, Jeremiah raises a lot of questions that we tend to ask:
12:1 Lord, you have always been fair
whenever I have complained to you.
However, I would like to speak with you about the disposition of justice.
Why are wicked people successful?
Why do all dishonest people have such easy lives?
12:2 You plant them like trees and they put down their roots.
They grow prosperous and are very fruitful.
They always talk about you,
but they really care nothing about you.
12:3 But you, Lord, know all about me.
You watch me and test my devotion to you.
Drag these wicked men away like sheep to be slaughtered!
Appoint a time when they will be killed!
12:4 How long must the land be parched
and the grass in every field be withered?
How long must the animals and the birds die
because of the wickedness of the people who live in this land?
For these people boast,
“God will not see what happens to us.”
Jeremiah gets very human for all of us here. Why do the wicked get away with it? Why do folks who give lip-service to God and live differently seem to escape Your eye? Why do your people have to get disciplined? And for how long? He seems to be asking God why not just take the most expedient route to fixing things and just smite the folks who need to be smited and fix everything. It's causing Jeremiah pain to watch his family die (read the next verses), and the folks in his hometown have to suffer in a siege by wicked nations that don't follow God. So, Jeremiah, trying to make it as problem-free as possible, seems to suggest that God just do what He has to do quickly. Then we can move on, right?
God, in effect, tells him that He will not only NOT do it Jeremiah's way, but that it will get worse. Jeremiah, how do you expect to run with horses when you can't even run with the infantry? Jeremiah, when it's pleasant now in the open country, how do you expect to hold up when you get to rougher terrain?
Problem-free? Hardly.
Life lesson #1: Our pasts are prologue. The events we've been through, the places we've been, the people we've met, the people we were back then...well, they all are preparing us for "something else." When God says that stuff is coming, the things we are going through now have suddenly become a time of preparation. You'll see all this stuff again, folks, in some way, shape or form.
Life lesson #2: God hurts and feels. Read the rest of the chapter (try the online Net Bible. I'm a big fan.) to see that God tells Jeremiah that the personal pain he's going through is something God can relate to. He has pain because His "beloved" has turned their back on Him. The people He set apart He has to "break up" with...what kind of parent would He be if He didn't discipline and correct them? Ever seen kids raised by Hakuna Matata parents? This comforts me in strange ways...but I like the idea that God isn't making the puppets dance on this big blue marble, and that He does hurt for all the right reasons. Jesus wept coming to Jerusalem, didn't He?
Life lesson #3: God has a plan. He tells Jeremiah at the end that He will bring them back to the land when the time of correction is finished. And that, in the end, the wicked will get what they have coming to them. That, in the end, even the most wicked will have a chance to accept Him. God is ultimately loving, gracious and caring in the execution of His plan...and will walk through the muck with us.
And this gives us hope.
And hope is what separates the follower of God from the "wicked" when it comes to practical living. I mean, the same good and bad stuff happens to everybody on the big blue marble, right? But "hope" gives a proper perspective on both. That it isn't about me on my own living out Hakuna Matata...it's more of the Haitian proverb that involves living patiently and hopeful in a hard world (and let's be honest, Haitians have it tough and need proverbs like this) that reads simply, "Dye mon, gen mon."
Behind every mountain, is another mountain. When times are good, you have a good view...but there will be more to climb and conquer and cause problems.
They have another that says, "Bondye Bon." God is good...which has a balance of optimism amidst the pessimism. Even if you don't see the plan or understand it or it looks ridiculous or whatever. God is in control, and He is good.
Maybe either of those would make a more accurate Disney song...even if they aren't as catchy.
Hakuna Matata.
That little brain-worm stays with us, doesn't it? That problem-free philosophy, right? Means 'no worries' for the rest of our days, right? Kind of a Disney G-rating of Buffett's "Margaritaville" where your worst worry is finding that lost shaker of salt, right?
But I did some thinking about that. You know, about the "slippery slope" argument of the espoused philosophy of Timon & Pumbaa.
It'll lead to isolationism. If you mix with people, you'll inevitably run into conflict, no matter how minor. So, in order to make it work you have to avoid folks.
It'll lead to laziness. If you work, or have a hobby, or pursue any endeavor at all, you'll have problems, no matter how minor. So, in order to make it work you need to keep yourself bored.
It'll lead to selfishness. If you ever acquiesce to the desire of others, you'll be sacrificing your own wants, no matter how minor. So, in order to make it work you have to have more concern for yourself.
It'll lead to hedonism. If you deny yourself any desire, you'll be at conflict with yourself, no matter how minor. So, in order to make it work you have to go after your wants.
It'll lead to a negative impact on society as a whole. If you're eating grubs, well, Hakuna Matata didn't work out so well from the grub's perspective. In order to make it work, you have to trample on others, no matter how minor. So, since no man is an island, those that are Hakuna Matata-ing are going to slice away at the "rights" of others.
It'll implode on itself. It can't be truly lived-out. Even Timon took the time to file down Simba's claws just in case Simba decided his hunger outweighed Pumbaa's lack of problems. Even when it was just three of 'em out in the wilderness they took precautions just in case things went awry. Then they'd have problems. And, in the movie, the big conflict was when they undertook responsibility together for huge problems that technically, weren't their own.
Now, I realize it's a catchy song. I realize it's a no brainer Disney movie that follows a formulaic pattern into my wallet. But I think it makes an interesting point...
...that lots of people at least try to live this idea out in one form or another, and that trying to live that idea out will not fulfill us.
That Jeremiah's life, as full of problems and negatives as it was, was actually a deeper and more meaningful life than most people will ever live.
Let me explain.
In chapter 12, after Jeremiah is troubled because his life is threatened...and because he finds out that God's plan involves putting the nation of Israel out of business (at least the Southern Kingdom, anyway. The Northern Kingdom had fallen nearly 100 years previous) and dispersing them. So, Jeremiah raises a lot of questions that we tend to ask:
12:1 Lord, you have always been fair
whenever I have complained to you.
However, I would like to speak with you about the disposition of justice.
Why are wicked people successful?
Why do all dishonest people have such easy lives?
12:2 You plant them like trees and they put down their roots.
They grow prosperous and are very fruitful.
They always talk about you,
but they really care nothing about you.
12:3 But you, Lord, know all about me.
You watch me and test my devotion to you.
Drag these wicked men away like sheep to be slaughtered!
Appoint a time when they will be killed!
12:4 How long must the land be parched
and the grass in every field be withered?
How long must the animals and the birds die
because of the wickedness of the people who live in this land?
For these people boast,
“God will not see what happens to us.”
Jeremiah gets very human for all of us here. Why do the wicked get away with it? Why do folks who give lip-service to God and live differently seem to escape Your eye? Why do your people have to get disciplined? And for how long? He seems to be asking God why not just take the most expedient route to fixing things and just smite the folks who need to be smited and fix everything. It's causing Jeremiah pain to watch his family die (read the next verses), and the folks in his hometown have to suffer in a siege by wicked nations that don't follow God. So, Jeremiah, trying to make it as problem-free as possible, seems to suggest that God just do what He has to do quickly. Then we can move on, right?
God, in effect, tells him that He will not only NOT do it Jeremiah's way, but that it will get worse. Jeremiah, how do you expect to run with horses when you can't even run with the infantry? Jeremiah, when it's pleasant now in the open country, how do you expect to hold up when you get to rougher terrain?
Problem-free? Hardly.
Life lesson #1: Our pasts are prologue. The events we've been through, the places we've been, the people we've met, the people we were back then...well, they all are preparing us for "something else." When God says that stuff is coming, the things we are going through now have suddenly become a time of preparation. You'll see all this stuff again, folks, in some way, shape or form.
Life lesson #2: God hurts and feels. Read the rest of the chapter (try the online Net Bible. I'm a big fan.) to see that God tells Jeremiah that the personal pain he's going through is something God can relate to. He has pain because His "beloved" has turned their back on Him. The people He set apart He has to "break up" with...what kind of parent would He be if He didn't discipline and correct them? Ever seen kids raised by Hakuna Matata parents? This comforts me in strange ways...but I like the idea that God isn't making the puppets dance on this big blue marble, and that He does hurt for all the right reasons. Jesus wept coming to Jerusalem, didn't He?
Life lesson #3: God has a plan. He tells Jeremiah at the end that He will bring them back to the land when the time of correction is finished. And that, in the end, the wicked will get what they have coming to them. That, in the end, even the most wicked will have a chance to accept Him. God is ultimately loving, gracious and caring in the execution of His plan...and will walk through the muck with us.
And this gives us hope.
And hope is what separates the follower of God from the "wicked" when it comes to practical living. I mean, the same good and bad stuff happens to everybody on the big blue marble, right? But "hope" gives a proper perspective on both. That it isn't about me on my own living out Hakuna Matata...it's more of the Haitian proverb that involves living patiently and hopeful in a hard world (and let's be honest, Haitians have it tough and need proverbs like this) that reads simply, "Dye mon, gen mon."
Behind every mountain, is another mountain. When times are good, you have a good view...but there will be more to climb and conquer and cause problems.
They have another that says, "Bondye Bon." God is good...which has a balance of optimism amidst the pessimism. Even if you don't see the plan or understand it or it looks ridiculous or whatever. God is in control, and He is good.
Maybe either of those would make a more accurate Disney song...even if they aren't as catchy.
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