part of the binding up

Sunday November 23^rd, Ezekiel 34: 15 I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign LORD. 16 I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. It is a curious thing why the idea of building up the weak and destroying the strong and sleek is part of God’s plan. It does not fit with love your neighbor as yourself, as some of my neighbors, as well as myself, are the sleek and strong and well, maybe just a bit on the plump side as well. Indeed one could argue that the majority of the Lutheran church would fit into the category of the sleek and strong and sometimes just a bit plump. One could further argue that it is not just a Lutheran trend, but rather describes Churches, schools, Synagogues, and that Holiest of American institutions, the mall.  I think the discussion that follows should be how one becomes sleek and strong and sometimes a bit plump. Too often in the history of humanity the path to becoming sleek and strong is through the peril of those who are becoming rough and weak in the process. In our climb to the top, there are many unseen victims.  All economic systems, whether currently in vogue or not, tend to have winners and losers. What God seems to be concerned about in this text is those who are winners at the expense of losers. It is not a matter of what you have, it is a matter of who loses in the process of you getting what you have.  Another very important question is now that you have it what are you going to do with it. Now that you have, what are You, not someone else, going to do?? We can choose to be part of the binding up and strengthening, or the tearing down and weakening. You might want to ask yourself where God stands on those issues that stand before you before you act.