The Importance of What We Do and Fail to Do

Prayer-Soldier

The Importance of What We Do and Fail to Do

Scripture:

And the Lord said: The cry of Sodom and Gomorrha is multiplied, and their sin is become exceedingly grievous. I will go down and see whether they have done according to the cry that is come to me; or whether it be not so, that I may know. And they turned themselves from thence, and went their way to Sodom: but Abraham as yet stood before the Lord. And drawing nigh, he said: Will you destroy the just with the wicked? If there be fifty just men in the city, shall they perish withal? And will you not spare that place for the sake of the fifty just, if they be therein? Far be it from you to do this thing, and to slay the just with the wicked, and for the just to be in like case as the wicked; this is not beseeming you: you who judge all the earth, will not make this judgment.

And the Lord said to him: If I find in Sodom fifty just within the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake. And Abraham answered, and said: Seeing I have once begun, I will speak to my Lord, whereas I am dust and ashes. What if there be five less than fifty just persons? Will you for five and forty destroy the whole city: And he said: I will not destroy it, if I find five and forty. And again he said to him: But if forty be found there, what will you do? He said: I will not destroy it for the sake of forty.

Lord, said he, be not angry, I beseech you, if I speak: What if thirty shall be found there? He answered: I will not do it, if I find thirty there. Seeing, said he, I have once begun, I will speak to my Lord: What if twenty be found there? He said: I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty. I beseech thee, said he, be not angry, Lord, if I speak yet once more: What if ten shall be found there? And he said: I will not destroy it for the sake of ten. ( Genesis 18:20-32 )

Buried with him in baptism: in whom also you are risen again by the faith of the operation of God who has raised him up from the dead. And you, when you were dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, he has quickened together with him, forgiving you all offenses: Blotting out the handwriting of the decree that was against us, which was contrary to us. And he has taken the same out of the way, fastening it to the cross. ( Colossians 2:12-14 )

And it came to pass that as he was in a certain place praying, when he ceased, one of his disciples said to him: Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. And he said to them: When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.

And he said to them: Which of you shall have a friend and shall go to him at midnight and shall say to him: Friend, lend me three loaves, because a friend of mine is come off his journey to me and I have not what to set before him. And he from within should answer and say: Trouble me not; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot rise and give you. Yet if he shall continue knocking, I say to you, although he will not rise and give him because he is his friend; yet, because of his importunity, he will rise and give him as many as he needs. And I say to you: Ask, and it shall be given you: seek, and you shall find: knock, and it shall be opened to you. For every one that asks receives: and he that seeks finds: and to him that knocks it shall be opened: And which of you, if he ask his father bread, will he give him a stone? Or a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he reach him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father from heaven give the good Spirit to them that ask him? ( Luke 11:1-13 )

Reflection:

The Bible reveals to us occasions where God slaps down His hand of justice, destroying the wicked and wiping out nests of evil. We might be tempted to wonder, then, where is His hand of justice as we face all the evil within the world of our day? With so much conflict, tragedy and violence spilling out into the streets, we might ask, how is it God allows the thief, the abuser, the corrupt, the tyrant, or the terrorist to wander freely while the innocent suffer? The answer is contained not within what He allows, but what we allow.

He allows goodness to come forth. Where goodness resides within a heart, His desire is for such souls to rise and help bring forth His love and the light of His truth within the world. He desires that the faithful share of the gifts He gives them so that the souls who wander, the souls which are lost, the souls within the clutches of evil, might find their way back to Him.

We need to only read the news to see the results of what we allow. Through closed eyes and closed hearts, we create the environment which gives rise to those who bring darkness to our days. Some might say, we have no desire for the ways of the wicked; how could it be that we are considered responsible for the ways of the world? The answer is found in what we fail to do. When we remain silent, when we do not engage our leaders, and when we sit apathetically in belief that one person cannot hope to change the ways of the world, evil steps in to fill the void. Any change within a society, good or bad, begins with one person who believes it can be so. As one hand joins with another, a direction is determined. The few, as they begin to stand together, become the many. What is allowed, therefore, begins with our choices in what we do to encourage or discourage others in faith and what we fail to do to help share of His blessings.

If we desire to change the world so evil shall no longer have its way, we must pray for His guidance and look for the opportunities He gives by which we may encourage the ways of His Word and sharing in the blessings of faith. It begins with our choices from moment to moment; choices in how we treat one another, choices in how we raise our children, and most importantly, choices in how we bring God and His Word into our lives.

In chapter after chapter of the books of the Old Testament, we see how nations which turned to Him prospered and how those who turned away from Him faced the rampages of evil. God desires that we may learn from these examples, yet, as we look back through the generations, it seems we struggle to comprehend. He has given us the freewill to make our choices. We have the opportunity to study His Word from which we may chose to learn or ignore. The choice as to how we choose to influence the ways of the world remains with us and God will allow us to experience our choice.

As we look back, sin is in our wake. We see so many opportunities of goodness squandered and so many ways of evil selected. If it were not for the goodness of the One who created us, we would have no hope, for the day comes where each soul is held accountable for what they have done and what they fail to do. Blessed are those who believe in the Son of God, for through Him, they may be forgiven of their sins and cleansed of their iniquities so that they may have the opportunity to live forever with Him within His kingdom where love is shared by all and evil is not allowed to follow.

As we examine ourselves and find ourselves wanting, we may turn to Him for help. In prayer, we may ask Him for the wisdom, courage and strength to do what is right and just. We may ask Him to walk with us and guide us in how we treat and influence others. If we are in doubt as to how we should face down evil, we should turn to Him. He will not deny us, but we must listen carefully within our hearts for His answer. We must watch carefully for the ways by which He seeks to guide us.

He has given us one another, not that we should live in torment, but so we might share in blessings and love. Let us learn from Him and let us live by His ways. If we allow His commandments of love to be our guide, we have the opportunity to join our hands with those who join their hands with Him to make the world a much better place, not only for ourselves, but for all who cross our path.

May the peace and blessings of the Lord be with you always,
Prayer Soldier