If someone had asked me why the Biblical city of Sodom was blasted off the face of the earth, I would have given the answer that a large majority of Christians probably give: sexual immorality. And then I read this verse:
Now this was the sin of your sister [city] Sodom: She and her [people] were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. Ezekiel 16:49, NIV
I'm not ...a theologian, or pastor or anything approaching either of those professions, but I interpret this verse to mean that God, speaking through his prophet Ezekiel, is telling us that being arrogant (which I can be) overfed (absolutely am) and unconcerned (check!) are sins worthy of bringing a rain of fire down from the sky.
And if those are the things that we aren't supposed to do, then what are we supposed to do? "...they did not help the poor and needy." Huh....well bring on the fire I guess, because I'm all sorts of bad at that one too.
So I thank God for His mercy and love; that He has forgiven us for our sins, no matter what they may be, or when they occur, as long as we believe in Him. But then why bother talking about this? Two reasons: One - I believe it gives us a good reference for who we should be - humble, disciplined and engaged - and what we should be focused on - helping the needy. Two - To demonstrate that the things Christians tend to judge people on are not the things that God judges people on. And the things that God judges people on are things that Christians tend to pay as little attention to as possible, because they're just as bad at them as everyone else.
Now this was the sin of your sister [city] Sodom: She and her [people] were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. Ezekiel 16:49, NIV
I'm not ...a theologian, or pastor or anything approaching either of those professions, but I interpret this verse to mean that God, speaking through his prophet Ezekiel, is telling us that being arrogant (which I can be) overfed (absolutely am) and unconcerned (check!) are sins worthy of bringing a rain of fire down from the sky.
And if those are the things that we aren't supposed to do, then what are we supposed to do? "...they did not help the poor and needy." Huh....well bring on the fire I guess, because I'm all sorts of bad at that one too.
So I thank God for His mercy and love; that He has forgiven us for our sins, no matter what they may be, or when they occur, as long as we believe in Him. But then why bother talking about this? Two reasons: One - I believe it gives us a good reference for who we should be - humble, disciplined and engaged - and what we should be focused on - helping the needy. Two - To demonstrate that the things Christians tend to judge people on are not the things that God judges people on. And the things that God judges people on are things that Christians tend to pay as little attention to as possible, because they're just as bad at them as everyone else.
-Cross-posted from my Facebook page.
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