the cycle

I've read through Judges on my personal time over the summer, and the same thing comes up: Israel had no King and they did whatever they saw fit in their own eyes.

OUCH. It's nice to think that we all make the right decisions personally and as a community all the time, but this is not reality. I can tell you that I'm bent towards corruption. If parts of my life reflect a little of God's values it's because of his grace and his spirit empowering me (plus the learnings and experiences along the way, plus the scriptures speaking into me when I allow them to, plus the community I belong to).

Proverbs says: without a vision (direction, hope, purpose) people have no boundaries and perish (or live with no meaning)

BATMAN (the movie), though I haven't seen it yet, exposes the dynamic that people, when given the opportunity or just pushed a little, can easily fall into sin. The Joker plays his part well.

In Judges, Israel keeps falling into slavery or distress. I.E. they begin living lives they were never meant to live - far from how God imagined.

And yet, all through out Judges, God raises up a judge (creative title for the book, eh?). Basically, someone sees the injustice, the detour, the sin, the chaos and stands up to it to make the others aware and bring them back.

Unfortunately, it doesn't end pretty, the last line of the book is the same echo: people did what they saw fit to do in their own eyes. Back in the hole.

Thankfully the story doesn't end there... it continues.

PERSONAL LESSONS:
- without being aware, I can lean towards corruption
- I need boundaries and guidance
- though I'm more of a relational leader/pastor and stay away from being overbearing (at least I hope I do), I can see why a community needs direction - vision leaks, passion fades, stresses in life gets in the way - we all need reminders/encouragement to keep moving forward
- I'm thank for others in my life that fuel me, remind me, encourage me, challenge me
- judgment - when done in grace - is perspective that I've lost, so I'm thankful for some judges in my life, perspective I often get blinded from