Education!
Lots of room to lament, especially during this season of isolation.
Students lament the loss of contact with friends.
Parents lament their new roles as home educators.
Teachers lament the students’ lack of progress.
Taxpayers lament the cost.
Society laments declining test scores.
Lamentations 2:19b (NIV)
Lift up your hands to him
for the lives of your children.
Christ wept for His city:
Luke 19:41-42 (NIV)
As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace.”
Let’s follow Christ’s example. Weep for our cities.
I’m taking my cue from the book of Lamentations and writing my own broken-hearted prayer:
Our cities are a mess, Lord.
– Empty sidewalks.
– Boarded businesses.
Marked by desolation and destruction.
People are a mess, Lord.
– Huddled at home.
– Fearing the future.
Short on patience and purpose.
We’ve lost our way, Lord.
– Sheltering in place.
– Following the crowd.
Greedy and grieving.
We’ve gotten what we deserve, Lord.
– Lost jobs and lost joy.
– Disease and death.
Broken bodies and broken hearts.
We look at the news reports, and we wonder:
I noticed a title on someone else’s post: A Lament. It sent my mind to the Bible and the book of Lamentations. It’s a book of mourning, a poetic expression of grief for the downfall of the writer’s nation. The first word, ekah in Hebrew, is translated “how.”
Lamentations 1:1a, 2a (NIV)
How deserted lies the city,
once so full of people!
. . . Bitterly she weeps at night.
Ekah! Cities shut down. Ekah! Cities in flames.
Bitterly, we weep.
Proverbs 17:15 (NIV)
Acquitting the guilty
and condemning the innocent–
the LORD detests them both.
Did authorities look the other way as an officer accumulated 17 complaints? I did some simple research and found a Reuters article from three years ago. They examined 82 police contracts from large U.S. cities. The investigation
“. . . is a telling snapshot of the power police unions flex across the United States, using political might to cement contracts that often provide a shield of protection to officers accused of misdeeds and erect barriers to residents complaining of abuse.”
The guilty are protected. Those who protected them are themselves protected. Justice is perverted.
Officer Chauvin had a history of questionable behavior. He would be better off now if he’d been held accountable years ago. As would George Floyd, Minneapolis and the nation.
Almighty God, we pray for system-wide justice. Grant those in authority the courage to hold their colleagues accountable for their actions–in police departments, schools, government and other organizations. Rein in the temptation to provide shelter for a colleague’s abusive actions. You see the big picture, Lord. Empower us to see as You do, in Jesus’ name.
Let’s close out Daniel 6.
It’s a miracle! Daniel survives the night shut up with hungry lions. Delighted that his friend survived, the king turns his attention to the men behind the evil plot.
Daniel 6:24 (NIV)
At the king’s command, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought in and thrown into the lions’ den, along with their wives and children. And before they reached the floor of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.
They died by their own plan.
Justice was done, and lions were fed.
Anybody out there saying, “I really, really hope our kids never learn to read.” Raise your hand.
No hands? Thought not.
The US NAEP exam (National Assessment of Education Progress) is given every year to 600,000 students from all over the nation. USNews.com reviewed the 2019 results:
“Compared to 2017, the scores of lower performing students declined in three of the four grade-subject combinations.”
The students who most need to do better are still falling further behind. Unintended, it’s not the plan.
Lord, we pray for children falling behind in school, especially now. Establish literacy programs that succeed. Teach us how to teach them.
Continuing in Daniel 6:
Without giving it much thought, the king agreed to ban prayers to anybody but him. It sounded good.
“Daniel is praying to his god,” the conspirators said. “It’s the lions’ den for him. You can’t disobey your own law.” The king was stuck.
Daniel 6:14 (VOICE)
He thought a great deal of Daniel, so he tried to figure out a way to help him. All day long until evening he looked for some loophole in the law.
No loopholes. The king was stuck with a consequence he never intended.
We’re stuck with some unintended consequences, Lord. Help!
In the account of Daniel in the lions den,* some government officials plot to dishonor our hero. There was just one problem:
Daniel 6:4b (NIV)
They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent.
Their solution: a new law – no praying except to the king.
Were they passionate about praying to their king? Probably not.
Were Daniel’s prayers harming the kingdom? Not likely.
Why a 30-day moratorium? They needed a quick fix.
Hidden agendas hard at work–thanks to some corrupt, self-serving officials. Then. And now. Watch for them.
*read the whole story in Daniel, chapter 6.
My pastor’s sermon this week was on Daniel in the den of lions (Daniel 6). I kept thinking, “Just like now.” How so?
Hidden agendas made public. Good intentions gone bad. Perhaps we’re getting what we deserve.
Ecclesiastes 1:9 (NIV)
What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.
Death and destruction. Disease and death counts. Isolation and suicide. Lost income and looting. Police brutality and riots. “What has been done will be done again.”
Rescue us again, Lord.
