Take Ownership For Your Behavior

Jeremiah 4:18: "Your own conduct and actions have brought this upon you. This is your punishment. How bitter it is! How it pierces to the heart!"

One thing that we find in the early chapters of Jeremiah is God's pleading with His people to own up to their wrongdoing, confess it, and turn from it. God promised that if His people would return to Him and put away their detestable idols, then He would be blessed by Him.

Tragically, these people were "fools . . . . skilled at doing evil" (4:22). Even though they perpetrated the most debased forms of wickedness, they believed themselves to be innocent and had no remorse for their wicked ways (2:35, 3:3b).

We can see noticeable similarities between the Judeans of Jeremiah's day and our own nation. How many times have we seen people perpetrating the most heinous sins, only to discredit any notion of its wrongdoing or deflecting any negative consequence upon some other person or thing. Our nation is one that loves to call good, evil and evil, good. Its determination of what is appropriate has more to do with personal benefit rather than conformity to the commands of the Lord. And akin to the Israelites of Jeremiah's day, our culture seems to erupt in vehement anger when anyone attempts to define their behavior as utterly wicked. Tell these sinners that their ways are contrary to the will of God, and they will march in the streets, protesting the "fundamental fanaticism" of the righteous. This responsive behavior is not unlike what Jeremiah the prophet would experience in his day, and he found himself subjected to imprisonment and persecution for telling the people to recant of their sinfulness.

Of course in the end, it is the LORD ALMIGHTY who calls all men to account. In the passage cited above, the Lord judged the Israelites with rebellion and blamed His consequent judgment upon their own conduct and actions. Whereas they would have deflected any culpability by attempting to redefine good and evil, God's holiness would not be mocked! His standards of right and wrong would be vindicated, no matter what sinful man would do to change their validity. God would bring the Babylonians into Palestine to bring death and destruction to His covenant community for their defiant wickedness.

This is such a good word for us today! Whereas we believe ourselves to dwell in the greatest nation in the world, completely impervious to destruction, we must remember that God alone is Sovereign and is to be worshipped and obeyed. If we continue to chart a path similar to the one of the people of Judah 2700 years ago, we should expect that His wrath will be executed with the same fury that He displayed with the Babylonians. Even now, we are experiencing the birth pains of His judgment through the recent economic meltdown; and this is but a foretaste of a grander display of wrath that is destined to come unless we are willing to surrender ourselves to Him as Lord. Let us not find ourselves at this point of reckoning! Let us submit ourselves to the Lord while is forbearance is with us. He desires to redeem us and heal us; but we must receive this gift by owning up to our sinful ways, turning from them, and following the Lord.