What Should You Do?
Thus says the Lord:
Woe to the city, rebellious and polluted,
to the tyrannical city!
She hears no voice,
accepts no correction;
In the Lord she has not trusted,
to her God she has not drawn near. (Zep 3:1-2)
On Sunday, we heard many people in the crowd ask John the Baptist, “What should we do?” as they heard of the need for repentance. John gave each of the groups very good advice.
In this morning’s reading, Zephaniah is prophesying against a sinful, unruly people. They have not done what the Lord has asked them to do. Their thoughts were far from the Lord. Instead, their lives were directed solely around themselves. They did not care about others, nor about maintaining a good relationship with God.
We all know what it is like to refuse to listen. We have all done it in the past. Our parents may have told us over and over again not to do something. We decided that we were going to ignore them, we did something, and we ended up hurt in the process. The warnings went in one ear and out the other and then we whined and complained when we ended up hurt.
Our teachers instructed us over and over again how to do something. Yet we believed that we knew better. We decided not to follow directions but, instead, to come up with our own solution. We failed because of it.
Our employers told us what needed to be accomplished. We thought it was unimportant and we did not do what we were told. We ended up written up for it.
When we fail to listen to our God, the consequences could be much more severe and eternal to boot. Let us hope that we never hear the Lord say to us, “Woe to you…” Rather, let us do all that we can to hear the word of God and to abide by it.
FAITH ACTION: Draw near to the Lord today. Make some time to sit in silence and spend the time reflecting upon God and His goodness to you.