The Sink if Filling… (revised)
There once was a man that believed that because of the state of the world our punishment would be the destruction of everything. The man spent all his days standing by his window, with his eyes pointed to the skies and finger pointed to everyone else’s problems proclaiming, “because of the wretchedness of the world and the wrath of God, we are all doomed.” While the man did this routine morning and night, he neglected that in his panic he forgot about the overflowing sink in his basement. As he warned of the chaos that he was sure would come because God’s anger or man’s aggressions, he had been hardened to the reality of his own residence. His neighbors tried to mention to him that it appeared that something was going on in his house, but their voices were drowned out by cries of impending judgement. Eventually the house continued to fill with water, and everyone knows that when water is where water doesn’t belong, it brings chaos. Before the water eventually rose over the man’s head, and caused his house to burst into ruin, the man said “see, I was right along, I knew that God’s judgement was going to get us all, woe is me.”
Often the waters are used as an illustration in scripture to describe chaos or destruction. We see that with the creation story, flood story, and Jesus with his disciples. Water represents chaos and disorder, but God always represents peace and order. Then there are stories where it appears on the surface that God is the one who creates and inflicts the chaos or conflict. One of those stories that often leads to a misrepresentation of God is the story of Job. This story is much too long to read let alone unpack in a devotional, but to summarize, Job is a faithful man, but also a prideful and self-absorbed man. He struggles with seeing God as the one to blame or the one who is giving this punishment. We usually catch the first part (Job’s faithfulness) but don’t as often talk about the other part (Job’s pride and ignorance.) Here comes a portion of the call to repentance from Job’s friend Elihu.
“Hear my words, you wise men, and give ear to me, you who know, for the ear tests words as the palate tastes food. Let us choose what is right; let us determine among ourselves what is good. For Job has said, ‘I am innocent, and God has taken away my right; in spite of being right I am counted a liar; my wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.’ Who is there like Job, who drinks up scoffing like water, who goes in company with evildoers and walks with the wicked? For he has said, ‘It profits one nothing to take delight in God.’ “Therefore, hear me, you who have sense; far be it from God that he should do wickedness and from the Almighty that he should do wrong. For according to their deeds, he will repay them, and according to their ways he will make it befall them. Of a truth, God will not do wickedly, and the Almighty will not pervert justice. Who gave him charge over the earth, and who laid on him the whole world? If he should take back his spirit to himself and gather to himself his breath, all flesh would perish together, and all mortals return to dust.”
This is a big idea, but to close it simply, repentance is not accepting the wrath of God or projecting that wrath on someone else. Repentance is seeing everything (even when looking inward) through the lens of Jesus Christ and surrendering whatever it is that adds to the chaos/conflict and doing all that we can to convert it into peace. The Word gives us instructions for how to overcome the currents of chaos/conflict, not by pointing fingers, but by rolling up our sleeves and turning off the sink.