Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)

“Now these are the kings of the land, whom the children of Israel struck, and possessed their land beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise, from the valley of the Arnon to Mount Hermon, and all the Arabah eastward: Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and ruled from Aroer, which is on the edge of the valley of the Arnon, and the middle of the valley, and half Gilead, even to the river Jabbok, the border of the children of Ammon; and the Arabah to the sea of Chinneroth, eastward, and to the sea of the Arabah, even the Salt Sea, eastward, the way to Beth Jeshimoth; and on the south, under the slopes of Pisgah: and the border of Og king of Bashan, of the remnant of the Rephaim, who lived at Ashtaroth and at Edrei, and ruled in Mount Hermon, and in Salecah, and in all Bashan, to the border of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, and half Gilead, the border of Sihon king of Heshbon. Moses the servant of Yahweh and the children of Israel struck them. Moses the servant of Yahweh gave it for a possession to the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.”
(Joshua 12:1-6)

“Don’t rejoice when your enemy falls.
    Don’t let your heart be glad when he is overthrown,
lest Yahweh see it, and it displease him,
    and he turn away his wrath from him.”
(Proverbs 24:17-18)

The Lord turned over to the Israelites all the Land, but the Israelites were not perfect in their obedience. There were people who stayed when they should have been driven out. Still, the Lord was FAITHFUL to them. There were many people who they did defeat, who were judged by the Lord for their disobedience and iniquities and sin. The Israelites were to REMEMBER what they had done in order to remember WHY they had been judged. So that Israel wouldn’t pick up their idols, their ungodly religious sites, and their false gods. The Israelites were to REMEMBER them in order to avoid BECOMING them. This was to be a cleansing of the Land, not a mere shift of management.

How we interact with those around us matters. Our heart attitude matters. It’s what Jesus preached. Doing what was right VISIBLY was good, but doing what was right in your HEART was godly behaviour. When we see those around us in hard times, we are NOT to rejoice about it. If they set themselves against us and the Lord delivered us from their hands, we are NOT to celebrate their downfall but PRAY for them. If we are in a position to, we might even HELP them. Loving others doesn’t mean loving when it is convenient. It doesn’t mean loving when they’re lovable. When we choose to care about animal life, we need to care for the spiders and slugs just as much as the fluffy bunnies and otters. Love doesn’t restrict. We are to love and bless ALL those around us because we should be wise enough to know that is EXACTLY how God views them. God sheds real and terrible tears for every single human life – no matter how dedicated to evil and rebellious they are.

Summary

We bless those who curse us, we don’t curse those who irritate us. We love those who hate us, we don’t laugh when our enemies fall. It’s all too easy to choose to take pleasure in people getting their comeuppance. To seek to give people what they deserve and give like for like, tit for tat. That is Law and that is pure JUSTICE. But that isn’t LOVE. Doing right, no matter what they did to us. Blessing them, at least with decent behaviour and maybe even a smile. Upholding godly conduct in the face of betrayal, rejection, and scorn. It doesn’t mean being a doormat. It doesn’t mean letting things slide. It means choosing to love like God loves and seeking Him for the right behaviour, words, and thoughts in every situation. When we do them wrong – even in the secret places of our hearts – we are sinning against them. Don’t pick up iniquity over those who don’t do right by us. Pick up your cross, submit your feelings to the Lord, and embrace His emotions on it. Love them. No matter what. Yes, it is good for them. But it is so much better for you.