Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men,
for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things (Psalm
107:8-9)
Spoiler Alert: In the story I'm writing (which sometimes writes itself) there is a scene that speaks to this verse. I don't want to give it away, but four characters are discussing their predicament in light of its social context. One character says, in effect, My people will die before we'll surrender." Another character, an outsider to the conflict, asks if effectively, the kingdom will have to be destroyed in order for the two groups to get along. It wasn't until after I wrote the conversation that I realized that such was precisely what happens in the story I'm telling.
It is easy to declare that God is failing to love and failing to do wonderful deeds when you're inside the story and things aren't going as you want. There are people in our world who are hungry and thirsty. Tonight, they'll go to bed still hungry and thirsty and some of them won't wake up again. It's not that there's not enough food. The problem is that the food doesn't reach them. The problem is not (just) that greedy capitalists don't send the food, though that may play a part. The problem is also that the there are people who don't want the starving to be fed. They are in the way of "progress." These people deliver it, instead, to those who please them. The problem is also that food is sent, but the ability of the hungry and thirsty people to produce their own food and water is not addressed adequately, so food must continue to be sent in. The "help" provided is crippling the people it is meant to help because we think what they need is "just" food and water.
We might be tempted to cry, "Why doesn't God feed these people?" But He has provided what they need through other people. Man has gotten in the way. Part of God's unfailing love is that He gives us responsibilities and attaches real consequences to our actions. Two reasons we don't think God is good is because we don't tend to know enough about the problem and because we think God's meeting of those needs doesn't involve us.
Spoiler Alert: In the story I'm writing (which sometimes writes itself) there is a scene that speaks to this verse. I don't want to give it away, but four characters are discussing their predicament in light of its social context. One character says, in effect, My people will die before we'll surrender." Another character, an outsider to the conflict, asks if effectively, the kingdom will have to be destroyed in order for the two groups to get along. It wasn't until after I wrote the conversation that I realized that such was precisely what happens in the story I'm telling.
It is easy to declare that God is failing to love and failing to do wonderful deeds when you're inside the story and things aren't going as you want. There are people in our world who are hungry and thirsty. Tonight, they'll go to bed still hungry and thirsty and some of them won't wake up again. It's not that there's not enough food. The problem is that the food doesn't reach them. The problem is not (just) that greedy capitalists don't send the food, though that may play a part. The problem is also that the there are people who don't want the starving to be fed. They are in the way of "progress." These people deliver it, instead, to those who please them. The problem is also that food is sent, but the ability of the hungry and thirsty people to produce their own food and water is not addressed adequately, so food must continue to be sent in. The "help" provided is crippling the people it is meant to help because we think what they need is "just" food and water.
We might be tempted to cry, "Why doesn't God feed these people?" But He has provided what they need through other people. Man has gotten in the way. Part of God's unfailing love is that He gives us responsibilities and attaches real consequences to our actions. Two reasons we don't think God is good is because we don't tend to know enough about the problem and because we think God's meeting of those needs doesn't involve us.
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