Choosing Not To “Weary”
By Susan Klein
“You have wearied the Lord with your words. ‘How
have we wearied him?’ you ask.
By
saying, ‘All who do evil are good in the eyes of the Lord, and he is pleased
with them.”’
Malachi 2:17 (NIV)
Little is known about the prophet
Malachi. Though considered to be one of the “lesser” or “minor” prophets, he
packs a pretty powerful punch in his description of what was happening in the
end of the Old Testament period. Here, God speaks through Malachi to admonish
His people. Malachi informs them that they are “wearying” the Lord with their
dismissive tolerance of sin and their own wrongful words and practices. He
exhorts them to return to God so He can return to them. Hmm…almost sounds like
this could have been written yesterday.
History seems to have a way of
repeating itself. As in Malachi’s time, tolerance of sinful behavior and the
“anything goes” attitude are still the norm. With such diversity in our
culture, everyone seems to decide for themselves what is or isn’t acceptable
behavior. One man’s sin becomes another man’s standard. As Christ-followers, we
must hold every action to Scripture to discern what is right and what is wrong.
God does not look favorably on evil deeds, nor should we.
Unlike the people in Malachi’s time,
we are not awaiting a Messiah. Jesus has come and has blessed us with His
finishing work on the cross. We’ve been set free from the bondage of sin,
mistakes, and historically repetitious failures, if we choose to follow Him. We also have the gift of God’s written
Word to know for sure what is truth and what is not, and to learn from the
consequences suffered by those who chose wrongly before us. Romans 15:4 reminds us, “For everything that
was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and
the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (NIV). Our hope is in
Christ, not in the ever-changing ways of the world.
As Christ-followers, let us not
become entangled in wrong thinking. Let us be pleasing to God, as Malachi was,
by having His Word “dwell in us richly as
we teach and admonish one another with all wisdom” (from Colossians 3:16, NIV). Let us choose this day,
not to weary our Creator.
GOING
DEEPER:
1.
Pray for wisdom, guidance of the Holy Spirit, and discernment of truth
and lies.
2. How might you show love to someone without being “tolerant” of
their sin?
FURTHER
READING:
Susan
is married to Mark, and has two adult children. She enjoys teaching Bible
studies, writing, and tutoring with the Literacy Council. She is a member of
the Peace Team at Oakwood and also co-leads an on-site small group.
