ODJ: don’t be cruel
December 27, 2011
This is what the Lord says: “Do not listen to your prophets who claim that soon the gold articles taken from my Temple will be returned from Babylon. It is all a lie! Do not listen to them” (27:16-17).
READ: Jeremiah 27:1-28:17
Have you noticed how difficult it is for elected officials to break bad news to their citizens? Numerous countries are drowning in debt, yet most leaders refuse to raise taxes or cut benefits. Figuring that bankruptcy will be the next government’s problem, they happily kick the crisis down the road.
These leaders act like the false prophets in Jerusalem. God had punished Israel’s idolatry by sending Nebuchadnezzar to plunder the city and carry off her best and brightest into captivity. Jeremiah told God’s people that He wanted them to submit to Babylon for the foreseeable future, and that after a while He would bring them “back to Jerusalem again” (Jeremiah 27:22).
This struck many citizens as overly pessimistic, and false prophets such as Hananiah declared that God would intervene and destroy Babylon within two years (28:10-11). Then it was God’s turn to be exasperated. He told Jeremiah to inform Hananiah that he would die, for his lies had cruelly filled the worn down Israelites with false hope (vv.15-16).
Giving a thumbs-up when we know better is the worst kind of mean. We must not encourage friends who are struggling with sin to simply grit their teeth and try harder, for they can simply beat it. If they rely on themselves rather than God, they’ll end up back where they started—drowning their sorrows in their addictions.
We must also never assure people that regardless of whom they trust or how they live, a loving God will take them and everyone to heaven. It may seem harsh to warn people about hell, but if you believe that hell is real, it would be unspeakably cruel not to tell them. We humbly share bad news, not because it’s fun but because it’s the first step toward hope. —Mike Wittmer
What bad news, either about yourself or others, have you been ignoring because it seems too painful to confront? What steps can you take to face your problem and begin the journey to wellness by God’s strength?
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