Day 54, Year 1 Confronting the Source of Our Crookedness

… “Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.” (Hebrews 12:12-13 NASB)

The paragraph before today’s verses mentions that some believers have become weak-handed, feeble-kneed, and on a crooked path due to God’s discipline. For those who refuse to turn from evil and do good, He will likely discipline them by creating adversities or misfortunes, prompting them to abandon their hazardous beliefs and behaviors. God’s discipline weakens His beloved, thus compelling us to stop going astray in our own selfish and separate ways and instead rectify our mistakes.

Discouragement and despair could be one reason why people become perverted. They perceive righteousness and doing good as having no short-term reward. As they see that good deeds do not bring good results, they simply stop doing good. So, they give up righteous or good deeds and end up doing even more evil. This could explain why some people become crooked. Consider this, is going after instant gratification not akin to animal behavior? Will animals in a zoo not receive immediate rewards right after their performances? Should there not be a qualitative difference between humans and animals?

Furthermore, people might be corrupted by this evil and unbelieving world, resulting in a distorted understanding of themselves and forming crooked thoughts and actions. Crookedness could cause people to walk perversely even on a straight path. For instance, a recent study discovered that hypocrisy is more prevalent within religious communities than profit-driven companies. Yet, isn’t one of the missions of religious communities to foster people to be honest? Anyway, when believers understand the reasons behind adversities, we can easily overcome discouragement. This is because we can rely on God’s Word to repent and regain our righteousness and honesty to learn God’s wisdom better.

We could receive strength from God to straighten our weak hands and feet, and to transform our crooked thoughts into righteous ones. Then, we could help those who are facing difficulties in spiritual life. By accepting God’s discipline and choosing life, those who come after us are surely blessed through us. We will influence those who come after us no matter what we have done in our faith. We could ask God to give us spiritual strength if we feel inadequate. Similarly, when facing things undermining righteousness or uprightness, we could seek God’s help to remove all obstacles and enjoy His abundance by doing His will with a righteous heart.

Reflection questions:

1) Has past discouragement caused you to lose your righteousness and desire to do good? If so, how would you lean on the Lord to be strengthened and do right again?

2) What do you think, as a believer, are certain resolutions to avoid being corrupted by this crooked world?