Tuesday, September 27th

Tuesday, September 27th

Ezekiel 16:49-58
49 " 'Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. 50 They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen. 51 Samaria did not commit half the sins you did. You have done more detestable things than they, and have made your sisters seem righteous by all these things you have done. 52 Bear your disgrace, for you have furnished some justification for your sisters. Because your sins were more vile than theirs, they appear more righteous than you. So then, be ashamed and bear your disgrace, for you have made your sisters appear righteous.

53 " 'However, I will restore the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters and of Samaria and her daughters, and your fortunes along with them, 54 so that you may bear your disgrace and be ashamed of all you have done in giving them comfort. 55 And your sisters, Sodom with her daughters and Samaria with her daughters, will return to what they were before; and you and your daughters will return to what you were before. 56 You would not even mention your sister Sodom in the day of your pride, 57 before your wickedness was uncovered. Even so, you are now scorned by the daughters of Edom and all her neighbors and the daughters of the Philistines - all those around you who despise you. 58 You will bear the consequences of your lewdness and your detestable practices, declares the LORD.

I don’t know, for whatever reason I am feeling a little down in the mouth today. But despite it all, I got a little nugget. How bad can I get to make someone else appear better than me? Well, in my world, everyone really is better. I truly feel that I am squat. I don’t always feel that way, but today I do. Most of the time, I do feel worthless. But I guess it is better to feel that way, and somehow feel great about it. I guess my fear would be this: Do I appear righteous or am I righteous rightfully? (Say that 5 times fast). Would I be prideful to call myself righteous? And if I am not righteous, does my sin cause someone else to look righteous even though they are not? I am boggled down by these questions. God does away with Sodom, and then Samaria does more than twice as much “evil” than Sodom. Is God patient? I think so, simply because Samaria crosses over and “takes the record” for being the worst and continues on to do more than twice as much. That to me is patient. God was patient with me and my friend. We worked it out. The Pharisee’s believed they were righteous rightfully. I personally don’t think I can be the one to call myself that. If I am righteous, someone would have to tell me so. If I were to call myself righteous, wouldn’t that be self-righteousness? I don’t know. I think so. 10 scriptures from Ezekiel and I focus on two words. How weird am I? Why am I feeling so down right now, I wonder. I guess it is being all bi-polar. Oh well, even with the sad days, God blesses me with some insight that I can use in the days to come, God willing. Johnny Out.