Proverbial Paradox

Take an adventure into Matt’s journal:
Most of this below is taken straight from my journal as I wrote it, as it came to me. You’ll see why that is important as you read.

Proverbial Paradox

I need to find myself somewhere between Proverbs 19:3 and 20:24

People ruin their lives by their own stupidity,

So why does God always get the blame?

The very steps we take are from God;

Otherwise how would we know where we’re going?

Of course, I tend towards 19:3 and personal responsibility. It is obviously a paradox, but that’s not what makes it difficult for me. Here’s my kicker: evil in life must be owned up to—it’s our own fault, the effects of sin on the world, or the work of rebellious angel types—good in life is directly from God on all counts.

Wait! All of a sudden it makes sense! God is the direct source of all good. He is goodness, and all that flows from him is pure goodness. He is holy, there’s no shadow in him, no shades of good even. When God shows up, he’s always dressed in his very best, he owns no casual clothes, dispenses no casual, semi-goodness. Evil, on the other hand, is always the result of a God-created free moral agent—a being actively or passively corrupting and perverting goodness. If there were only God there would only be good. He cannot pervert or corrupt himself, and so James was right; “God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt any man, but each one is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own [perverted and corrupted] desires.”

When evil comes in life, it is not God, and cannot be. When good comes in life, no matter how well we think we may have deserved it, it is always directly from God, and can be from none other. We can cultivate a receptive existence—one that is properly oriented through grace to be in the way of goodness. But, we cannot claim credit for its creation. Apart from God, there is no good. Jesus said that himself. Wow!

So, wisdom teaches the right orientation, teaches us to fear God; see him rightly, as the only source of all goodness. Wisdom also teaches us the proper respect for and response to evil: hate it and own up to your culpability in it. Why is there oppression in the world? Because I shop at Wal-Mart. In wisdom we learn to properly discern good and evil. Then we learn to walk in the way of Good, that is God. Jesus embodied it—the Word made flesh. For me and my body, we will serve the Lord!

A God-loyal person will see right through the wicked
And undo the evil they’ve planned.

If you stop your ears to the cries of the poor,
Your cries will go unheard, unanswered.

Proverbs 21:12-13