May
20
Written by:
Henrik
5/20/2010 7:00 AM
by Steve Pelton
The passionate Absalom, as we could have guessed, eventually lets power go to his head. The line from Galatians 6:7, “A man reaps what he sows,” acts as a fine—but tragic—description of what we see happening to Absalom in today’s reading. His power increases, his influence spreads, and as people fall for his charm, generosity, and charisma, Absalom begins to dream big for himself. It’s easy for us to read Absalom’s story, and stand in judgment, knowing how separated we are by time and culture. But such temptations certainly have crossed many of our minds before. And again, we see how Absalom’s story may help inform us of our own sinful state. While we are not royalty, and while we may not command men or make people swoon through our acts of kindness, we do act selfishly, we plot and scheme, and we desire power and prestige. We are, in a word, human, as human as Absalom.
But we have the benefit of history, and a complete set of Scriptures before us from which to learn how to and how not to live. So we read “A man reaps what he sows,” we look at Absalom, and we see in real life how that particular verse plays itself out. But I still wonder about God in this passage. Is he merely watching as Absalom promises to destroy the family that God had healed? God must have known what was going to happen, yet he allowed it to happen. Suffering, fracture, and heartache followed. In fact, Absalom actually uses worship of God as a ruse to throw his father off of his rebellious track. And still, nothing, or at least nothing obvious. But I suppose this is why the first part of the passage in Galatians 6:7 is important: “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked.” Whether we see him or not, God is still there. We think we can pull a fast one, and hide our intentions from him, but we’re deluded. This is the great tragedy of this passage. Absalom is intent on fulfilling his own wishes; he doesn’t seem to think about God watching, nor does he care about what God would think.
So, left with Absalom’s model, acting in a very un-Absalom way would be appropriate. But it doesn’t mean that seeking godliness and forsaking selfishness is an easy proposition. So all the more reason to know that God is watching, and that he desperately wants to be a part of those choices that we’re making on a daily basis.
A fellow traveler,
Steve
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