The Midas Touch
You shall eat of it in sorrow all the days of your life Genesis 3:17
In Sorrow – Why do I need to live according to God’s commandments? Why can’t I determine my own rules for living? It’s my life. What’s the matter with the “do what I want as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone”? I’m smart. I’m creative. Why can’t I adapt to the ways things are and do what’s best for me?
How many times have you heard some version of this argument? It’s played out in movies, novels and politics. Do you know how to answer without getting moralistic? Do you know the real reason why God gives the commandments? It’s all wrapped up in the Hebrew word atsav, the word for “sorrow.”
The reason why all human beings need to adopt God’s point of view is not to be “saved.” Salvation is not about moral living. Salvation is God’s option, not ours. The reason why all human beings need to align themselves with God’s point of view is because this world is a mess. It has fallen from a state of grace into a state of sorrow. And there’s nothing any human being can do about it.
The world teaches a big, fat lie. It tells you that life can be controlled, that things will get better and that you can be the master of your own destiny – carpe diem and all that (along with the secrets of success). But reality bites! The Bible is the ultimate book for a realistic approach to life. It doesn’t pull punches and it doesn’t sugar coat the truth. Life is filled to the brim with atsav. No matter how hard you try, you can never get everything working just right at the same time (and don’t deny it). God knows the world is a mess. That’s why we need Him so desperately.
None of the original mission objectives for human beings has changed. The image of God resident in men and women hasn’t changed. But now everything is subject to distress, destruction and destitution. Everything that we do, everything that we are is touched by sorrow. We don’t turn everything to gold like King Midas. We turn everything to rot like the Second Law. Just think about it. Man’s struggle outside the garden is to use his talents, skills and creativity to overcome sorrow. But he never succeeds. Oh, sometimes we can delay the effects of sorrow. We can employ technology, medicine, economics, psychology and hedge funds. But these are only delay tactics. Sorrow always wins. Jesus told the absolute, unmitigated truth when He said, “In this world, you will have trouble.” “Life is difficult,” starts a well-known book. The Bible starts with the answer to the problem – “In the beginning, God.” Imagine what life would be like if God did not give us commandments. We would spend our years trying to figure out how to get the universe to cooperate. And then a hurricane would some along. No, God is filled with grace. He actually tells us, in words we can understand, what to do – and what He tells us isn’t too difficult either. God knows that sorrow is the constant companion of life on earth, so He volunteers to share that sorrow with us, and tell us what to do about it. Now, if we would only listen!
