September 22nd - Reflection

James 4:11-16 (NRSV)
We do not know what tomorrow will bring
Do not speak evil against one another, brothers and sisters. Whoever speaks evil against another or judges another, speaks evil against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save and to destroy. So who, then, are you to judge your neighbor?

Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town and spend a year there, doing business and making money." Yet you do not even know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wishes, we will live and do this or that." As it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.

Reflection
A couple of items come to mind in this passage. The first is a hard one for me when you place it across the board of all people everywhere. I tend to judge another person. Look them over, see how they act and place a judgment. A judgment based on my value system. A value system that is fed by the Word of God but tainted by my own sin. A flawed value system.

If I were to raise my sights a little and view all people including me from a heavenly point of view; I would realize that I fall victim to my own judgment. And this may be where I need to be to see this. With this view it's so much easier to see that I fail too. I am in the same boat with the worst of sinners. I am completely dependent on Jesus to save me from my sin. My punishment, just as my friend or another is death.

Also from this view, it becomes clear that God intends for us to love one another, not to judge one another with some pious judgments. We are to emulate the love Jesus has shown for me to all people I meet. Why not just leave it like that? It's hard to not fall into the trap of judging another, but I'm going to try to change with God's help.

The second point seems to be about planning. Do we ever include God in our plans? Do we ever plan for God to step in and make the wonderful unexpected changes? Sure, we need to plan. We need to have a logical approach, but if God chooses to change those plans, we also need to stop and listen and not fight the change. Adapt God's plan and become part of that plan of God and rejoice in it rather than fight it.

Two tough thing for me to look at and to permit the change to take place. All in the trust of God that I too can change to be more like Jesus day by day. Thanks be to God!

Prayer
Lord, lead me, guide me, show me how and when to love, change my plans and help me change into what you want me to be... today... tomorrow... and forever. --- Amen