TO CARE OR NOT TO CARE
And some of your own sons, who shall be born to you, shall be taken away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord that you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “Why not, if there will be peace and security in my days?” —II Kings 20:19-19
It truly appears in our present American culture that the majority of people do not care what will happen in their children’s, grand-children’s or great-grand-children’s lives. With the debt of our nation well over 17 1/2 trillion dollars there does not seem to be a great or any urgency to get the problem under control and to resolve it. Instead we keep spending and spending… A couple days ago I overheard a conversation of two women. One said to the other about the welfare system, “You can get free money. They (government workers) said they would give you free money!” Or, how about a hearing on education in our state capital I went to a couple months ago where as soon as I walked into the room and started talking with one of the organizers and she found out we run a daycare, she said, “Oh, there is plenty of grant money out there you can get to buy stuff for your daycare. Why is it that people (government workers) are so free to take or give away the hard earned, life-blood earnings of tax-payers money? It is because they do not make the connection of how all this is going to affect the generations to come or they do not care because they do not think it will be a problem in their life-time. Or is it just too easy for them to give away other people’s money?
This is exactly what was happening in the context of the verses above. There were going to be consequences for Hezekiah’s actions, but they were not going to take place in his life-time. He would experience peace in security in his days and he seemed to take and “Oh, well” attitude about what would be happening in the generations to come. His attitude seemed to be “Well good, it will not be happening in my life-time. Let the next generation deal with it.”
What is our attitude toward the future generations? Are we just living our comfortable lifestyles without much thought for how we are affecting the future generations to come? How are we thinking about our national debt and other national problem situations that will affect the coming generations if we do not get them under control? Do we care? If we are thinking that at least it won’t affect my generation and let the next one deal with it, then we have an ungodly attitude. Are we praying? “If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them” (James 4:17). What does the Lord want you to do? If you do not do it, then it is sin. May you and I be faithful to what the Lord God Almighty desires of us.
Dear Father, oh, that I would have a heart to do Your will regardless of how uncomfortable it may be at times. May I serve You wherever You desire me to. Please help me to honor You above all else. May it be so.