James 1:25 – 27 “But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom, and continues to do so—not being a forgetful hearer, but an effective doer—he will be blessed in what he does. If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not bridle his tongue, he deceives his heart and his religion is worthless. Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
Today we have a number of different groups all demanding reparations for past hurts. There has always been injustice in the world. Beginning in the Old Testament, the Bible is full of admonitions about caring for widows and orphans and strangers. Why? Because widows and orphans and strangers are the most vulnerable groups in any society. Widows have lost their husbands and must fend for themselves. Orphans have no parents to care for them and are at high risk to be trafficked and enslaved. (Consider the story of Joseph – one of the first recorded cases of human trafficking in the Bible.) Strangers may not know the language or the culture of the land in which they find themselves and are at risk for exploitation.
Protesting injustice is one thing. Working against injustice may be quite virtuous. Destroying the hopes and dreams of others, destroying homes and businesses and entire neighborhoods of innocent people – this is something else entirely. Protesters have moved into neighborhoods and have threatened long – time citizens who have nowhere else to go. Many of the people in neighborhoods that have been taken over are older people – some even are widows or widowers. In many cases, they are the vulnerable.
Now, someone might say, “Well, I am not religious, so this verse does not apply to me.” It all depends on your definition of religion. If you are speaking about organized religion, that might be the case. But if you are describing that cause or purpose that motivates you to action and that is the most important thing in the world to you, then everybody is religious about something. The question that must always be asked about someone’s beliefs is this: what is the fruit? what is the outcome?
We are free to choose our own actions. We are free to choose to build up or to destroy, to encourage or to condemn. But we are not free from the results of those choices. Galatians 6: 7 says “Do not be deceived: God is not to be mocked. Whatever a man sows, he will reap in return.” One secular saying sums it up well: what goes around, comes around.
“But,” you say, “I don’t believe in your God.” No problem. That is your choice. You have free will to choose to believe or not to believe. But whether or not you believe, the fact remains that all actions have consequences. The measure you give out will still be the measure you receive.
PRAYER: Father God, thank you for loving us so much that you sent your Son Jesus to die for us. Lord, let all those who read this devotional consider your words and turn their hearts to you. In the mighty Name of Jesus. Amen.
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