Devotional Readings and Reflections for May 21

May 21, 2010
Today’s readings included: 1 Kings 7, 2 Chronicles 4, Psalm 98, Romans 2

Scripture: Romans 2:19ff “and if you are sure that you are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness…”

Observation: The writer of this letter, Paul, realizes that sometimes people just think too much of themselves.

Application: These days, as much as ever before, we realize the people are human. (Gotta love my gift for stating the obvious! ☺. Anyhow...) The public downfall of so many of our leaders, the extent of dysfunction in so many of our homes, and the unmet needs of the masses are realities that we simply can’t ignore. Humanity has made so much progress and yet, no matter how many self-help courses we’ve taken and how many books on positive thinking we’ve read, we all still have our limits and, if we try to pretend these limits don’t exist, they’ll often come back to haunt us in some really painful ways. The difference between the wise and the foolish is often that the wise person knows his or her own limits and the foolish person does not. Paul is speaking to some foolish people in the passage above. They are people who have overestimated their own value and underestimated the value of others. My mom used to call people that seemed this way ‘high faluten(sp?).’ But truth be told, most (if not all) of us has these tendencies. The good news, as Paul will later point out, is that those who think they are ‘a guide to the blind…” and those who are a guide to the blind… are all equally dependent on the mercy of God through Christ Jesus. And nothing can separate us from this kind of love (cf. Rom. 8:38-39).

Prayer: Lord, whenever I get a little ‘high faluten(sp?),’ always remind me that I am just as much in need of your mercy as anyone else. In Jesus’ name. Amen.