IGNORE IT, IT’LL GO AWAY!

DAILY WORD

1/27/23

30. “Therefore, the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I promised that your branch of the tribe of Levi would always be my priests. But I will honor those who honor me, and I will despise those who think lightly of me.

1 Samuel 2: 30 NLT

Today’s Passage is a short, single Verse selected because it is the bridge between God’s initial Indictment to, and His Pronouncement against, Eli and his family over his son’s immoral and injurious conduct. I wanted to focus on this Passage to emphasize the reasoning behind God’s Decision and not simply spotlight the result.

In Verses 27–29, The Lord States His case against Eli. He cites past benefits lauded upon the descendants of Levi when He established him as the spiritual leader of the Jews upon their Exodus from Egypt. He then affirms the responsibilities of the office while offering insight into the honor and importance of its obligations.

Finally, God levels His accusation. Through the proxy of the unnamed prophet, he asks Eli why he was profaning the Temple Sacrifices. But He is not at all vague. God describes Eli’s error in a manner he could not deny, pointing out that his unwillingness to sanction or even effectively discipline his sons honored them but dishonored God.

Eli’s transgression was not immorality; it was tolerating it. He gave his sons more esteem and devotion than he did God. Today’s Passage explains God’s reasoning and provides us with an invaluable Lesson. To begin His Pronouncement against Eli and his sons, God restated His Promise.

God reminded Eli that He Vowed to keep the Levites in the office of the Priest forever, reestablishing the declared dynamic. But then He gives the rationale behind his Judgment, the catalyst for His Anger. In doing so, God conveys Today’s Lesson; “I will honor those who honor me, and I will despise those who think lightly of me.”

It doesn’t sound like a monumental revelation, right? You honor God; He returns the esteem. But if you spurn or deride Him, well, I think you can guess how that might go. God is offering us a priceless deterrent example through Today’s Passage in the form of Eli’s penance. Applying this principle, we can see what it looks like when we ignore evil in our families or the organizations we serve, whether Church-related or not.

Today’s Lesson is that there are consequences to dishonoring God and parallel outcomes for disregarding the indulgence and corruption we encounter daily. Not every situation we confront is one we can affect, but there is plenty we can, and to do otherwise can create a schism between God and us.

God does not ignore the sin He sees and won’t absolve us for doing it, either. Eli knew his son’s wrongdoing and addressed it but did nothing to halt it. Especially in the department of spiritual leadership, that will not fly because we all have a responsibility to act when we see evil. Failing to do so may result in unintended outcomes for those who just want to get through life without conflict.

Here’s the thing, we are not called to overlook immorality, enjoying an easy life while everything around us burns. We are the water ordained to quench the annihilating fire of unconstrained depravity. But if we let it burn, our own house may end up in ashes! We all have an obligation to apply our Faith to the world’s uncertainty, and failure is not an option!

Have a Fantastic Friday And Remember, If You Ignore It, It Doesn’t Necessarily Just Go Away. It May Stick Around And Bite You!

#dailyword