Location, Location, Location

Yahweh loves the righteous   Psalm 146:8

The Righteous – Where will you look for a righteous man?  God tells us exactly where to find this most important role-model follower.  Right between the bowed down and the strangers (verses 8 and 9); right in the midst of the hungry, the prisoners, the blind and the fatherless; right where injustice and discrimination seem to prevail; right where the wicked have their way. 

What does this mean?  It’s really pretty obvious.  The righteous man is just like them.  He is found in the company of the sick, the hurt and the oppressed. 

Let that arrow penetrate deeply into your heart.  Let the Spirit of the living God cut into that carefully crafted confident portrayal to the world.  Let God bring you to your knees in sorrow and sin-sick pride.  When did we decide that the righteous were the ones driving a Mercedes, writing big checks for the mission fund?  God’s location is certainly not what we expected. 

Gerstenberger points out that the inclusion of the tsaddiyqim in the midst of the catalog of the wretched is no accident.  The righteous are themselves part of the exploited, the poor and the suffering.  Why?  Because God’s grace comes to those who understand their own poverty and need.  Why doesn’t God lift them out of the mess?  Because grace is a function of dependence.  If God’s grace is sufficient, it will not share space with a better investment portfolio.  No wonder Jesus told us it was nearly impossible for the rich to enter heaven.  The righteous are at home with the poor.

We must rethink the Bible.  We have assumed that it is a book about being a follower who is successful.  So, we underline the passages about God’s blessings.  We have forgotten that the Bible is for the broken.  It is not a guide to success.  It is a guide for those who spill their blood because God’s heart of compassion tears them apart.  It is a story of weeping over the world.  It is a glimpse of the greatest tragedy and the greatest rescue the world will ever know – at unimaginable cost.  It is a love letter for the undeserving.

Can you ask forgiveness for your aggressive exploitation in pursuit of human achievement?  Has the Spirit shown you the deepest pride in a heart that really wants recognition?  Can you put your arms around a leper in Calcutta and love him?

God’s righteous real estate is not easily purchased.  It will cost you your life as you know it.  But what good is a deed for property on Park Avenue if God is working in the slums of Mexico City?