20 ‘LORD, see how sorely distressed I am.
The Revised English Bible (Cambridge; New York; Melbourne; Madrid; Cape Town; Singapore; São Paulo; Delhi; Dubai; Tokyo: Cambridge University Press, 1996), La 1:20.
My bowels writhe in anguish
and my heart within me turns over,
because I wantonly rebelled.
In the street the sword brings bereavement,
like the plague within the house.
I find it hard to blame the author of Lamentations, because he is speaking for Judah as they stand devasted by God’s actions. “Lord,” they ask, “Do you really know how terrible this all is?”
Their situation is real, and their question is justified. In fact, I suspect this book is in the Bible precisely because that is such an excellent question.
But I’ve told you that I do these verse by verse meditations not to do biblical exegesis, as interesting as that is, but to meditate on the words and see what may come to mind. In this case, I started asking the question: “What if this question is either not justified or not well motivated?
Let’s look first at “not justified.” I don’t know about you, but I can work myself into a serious problem by not paying attention or by compounding one error with another as I try to fix things. As decisions pile up and then cascade into a landslide of consequences, I have the urge to ask, “Lord, why are you letting this happen to me?”
There’s a simple answer. “Whatever a man sows, that will he reap.” God made the universe in such a way that actions have consequences. When consequences come, it’s possible you may not realize what caused them. It’s a good time to ask, “Lord, do you see what’s happening? Why?” But be ready for an unpleasant answer to that “why” question.
On the other hand, you may be able to see the path clearly. In that case, the why isn’t the right question. You know why. If you were running wildly along the edge of a cliff and suddenly find yourself in a heap at the bottom, the why is obvious. It’s just not very helpful. “How do I get out?” is a much more helpful question.
After that, you can remember the obvious “why” and don’t do that again!
But the question can sometimes come with bad motivation. It’s possible to become so caught up in troubles that trouble becomes your identity. You may not feel precisely proud of it, but it’s you. If you didn’t have your troubles, who would you be? Being a victim becomes a way of life.
Among Christians, there’s a particularly dangerous form of this in which people find affirmation of the “rightness” based on people attacking them or “persecuting” them. Want to feel sure you’re right? Just wait until someone attacks you for your beliefs. “Blessed are the persecuted!” (Matthew 5:10).
But offending someone or making them angry enough to take action against you is not necessarily an indication that you are right. People do get annoyed at others doing right when they know they are not. This can result in persecution in school, at work, or in life. But as soon as you take that as the indication that you’re right, you’re on a dangerous path. The persecution doesn’t indicate you’re right.
You’re blessed if you’re doing right and “doing right the right way” and are persecuted for it. You aren’t blessed if you’re being offensive in order to feel important or find affirmation.
So when things go wrong, ask yourself why first. Often, you’ll find that you know the answer, and the problem is you. Good news: You can do something about that!
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