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A Mary T. Hoffman Commentary from All-Creatures.org

 

"Joyful Curmudgeon" An oxymoron?
No! I see all the beauty of God's creation and I'm joyful.  At the same time, I see all the suffering and corruption going on in the world, and feel called to help expose and end it so that we may have true peace and compassion.

 

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Concessions versus Original Intent – 10 June 2006
By Mary T. Hoffman

No, I’m not writing about refreshment stands! The “concessions” I’m talking about are the behaviors reluctantly allowed by God, after Adam and Eve’s disobedience that resulted in their expulsion from Eden.

Two of the concessions that appear in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) are the eating of animal products and divorce. One would think that after thousands of years people would finally realize that these behaviors are detrimental and not in the best interest of individuals or society at large.

In their lust, people embrace actions that God knew from the beginning would be harmful to them. Since humans refuse to use their common sense, and since they insist on viewing God’s injunctions as taking away their “freedoms,” rather than prohibitions from a loving God seeking to protect His errant children, they suffer the consequences. Unfortunately, these consequences are not confined to the individuals involved, but spill over and devastate all of creation.

When parents divorce, children often bear the cost of emotional trauma. And humans, in their frenzied insistent lust for more and more animal-derived products, destroy their own health while causing irreparable damage to their environment. Rightly does 1 John 2:16-17 state:

16. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.

17. And the world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever.

~ New American Standard Bible

In this fallen world, the most “godly” of humans fall far short of the Creator’s perfection. Why? Is it because they choose to keep wallowing in the concessions, rather than to lift themselves up to a higher level, to aspire to His original intent? Perhaps this is why Matthew 5:48, “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect,” is not as popular as John 3:16.

Another Bible passage that most Christians seem to downplay, for obvious reasons, is Genesis 1:29:

29. Then God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you;

~ New American Standard Bible

Go on to: June and Wild Roses – 11 June 2006
Return to: Simplicity – 9 June 2006
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