innocence

Sunday September 23^rd, Jeremiah 11:  ¹⁸ Then the Lord told me about the plots my enemies were making against me. ¹⁹ I was like a lamb being led to the slaughter. I had no idea that they were planning to kill me! “Let’s destroy this man and all his words,” they said. “Let’s cut him down, so his name will be forgotten forever.” How often do we find ourselves just being cannon fodder in someone else’s battle?  We are called to be wise and cunning, but innocent as doves (Matthew 10:16). It is a tough call.  All too often we substitute ignorance for innocence.  I have been amazed in my adult life how often a significant portion of John Q Public can be duped into voting against their own self-interest.  Taxes cuts for some on the top become fewer services for you.  Smaller government sounds like more freedom and less money taken out of our paychecks, it becomes a small decrease in some red tape for us and less regulation and much more profit for those corporation making tens or hundreds of billions.  Be as wise as serpents, but as innocent as doves.  We are not called in this world to be the doormat for someone else’s dream, we are called to be the children of God, part of the body of Christ that is whole only when the rest of the body is whole and healthy.  We are called to work for justice for all of creation not just lack of responsibility for a few. Don’t substitute ignorance for innocence.