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Transcript

The Litmus Test · The Holy Pause

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: A reading from Scripture, Zechariah chapter 7, verses 4 through 10.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: Then the word of the Lord Almighty came to me.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: Ask all the people of the land and the priests.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month for the past 70 years,
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: was it really for me that you fasted?
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourself?
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: Are these words not the words the Lord proclaimed through the earlier prophets
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were at rest and prosperous and the Negev
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: and the western foothills were settled?
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: And the word of the Lord came again to Zechariah.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: This is what the Lord Almighty said.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: Administer true justice.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: Show mercy and compassion to one another.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: Do not plot evil against each other.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: In my college ethics class,
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: my professor really enjoyed setting dilemmas in front of us and then asking us
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: to solve these impossible situations
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: to teach us there is often no absolute right answer,
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: just the one which fits most completely within our ethical framework.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: It's fair to say everyone hated these exercises because they were really hard.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: One such framework we were taught is the front page test.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: In this scenario,
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: you imagine the outcome of your one optional decision,
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: all the way down to the details of what is most likely to happen.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: Then, after you've written that story,
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: you ask yourself the question,
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: Would I be comfortable seeing this action described on the front page of
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: the local newspaper tomorrow?
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: It forces you to imagine the reaction of loved ones to your decision.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: The thought of your family...
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: Neighbors or boss reading about your choice makes you cringe.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: It fails the test.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: It uses public transparency as a proxy for moral rightness.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: But what if other people's opinions aren't necessarily the best way
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: to set up your ethical system?
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: For Christians, there is a different question we must ask.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: Would I be comfortable seeing this action described to God in the morning?
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: This brings up a different litmus test by
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: which we measure each decision using God's ruler,
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: which somehow seems to make finding a solution even harder
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: because we think we don't know what God would want us to do.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: But we really do.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: And it turns out God's litmus test is really simple because the Bible tells us of
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: a divine who is always on the side of the most vulnerable in any situation.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: The answer then to the question of what should I do?
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: Is always answered by another question.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: Am I standing with the people who have the least power?
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: That, friends, is a much easier question to answer, but a much harder one to live out.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: Have you seen yourself stand with someone who is vulnerable in the last week?
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: How did you do it?
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: Did you show them kindness, a listening ear, or offer a helping hand?
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: Join me in prayer.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: May our rhythms reflect the freedom you have given us,
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: and may our lives bear witness to your kingdom of grace rather than demands
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: of endless production.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: These podcasts will always be free.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: But if you would like to support our online ministry, you can donate using the link in the bio