Jer 38-41, Good Definitions for a life of Learning!!

August 23rd, Jeremiah 38-41

       Take your punishment and move on. Confession is good for the soul! Your ego won't help. All of these are good lines for the king, good lines for us. The trouble for the king is much like the trouble for a sea captain who has been trained to go down with his ship. Make sure everyone else is okay before your exit. Like a field general who is hoping that some last ditch effort might bail us out of our situation and bring victory.
       The king wants to listen to Jeremiah, he knows it is God's voice and yet the instruction..."Give into the king of Babylon, go willingly into his hands and save yourself and others is too tough to take." Going down in the history books as a coward who gave in is not appealing. The problem is he went into the history books as the one who wouldn't listen to God and everything prophesied about the situation came true. You could have been a hero, instead you got voted off Survivor with an immunity idol in your pocket... misplayed!!
       Hindsight is 20/20, I can see the problems making the decisions. Decisions for your self: fighting your own ego, fighting perception, fighting the counsel of fellow leaders. Decisions for your nation: losing a kingdom to another, blame from every side, the look of cowardice instead of strength, giving in to the advice of a madman(God's Prophet). What would you do??
       God's judgement is inevitable. Like the kid who has pushed his parent too far: no groveling, no repeating how sorry you are, no tears are going to keep you from the naughty chair or a spanking. Take your punishment, learn from it and move on. The key is learn from it. If you don't you'll find yourself in the same confrontation again and a parent's statement... "How many times do I have to ask..."
        The king made a poor decision, so have I, so have you. How well do we learn from those moments and make a change will define much about us, so let's press into good definitions!!