Living in the Spirit
June 28, 2017
Scripture Reading: Psalm 13
How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I bear pain in my soul,
and have sorrow in my heart all day long?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
Consider and answer me, O Lord my God!
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,
and my enemy will say, ‘I have prevailed’;
my foes will rejoice because I am shaken.
But I trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.
Futility is a dangerous state of mind. Futility results when one feels ineffective, unfruitful. The population of the futile in our country is growing. Most work and still may go to bed hungry at night. The rate of low or very low food insecurity is 16.5% of the Oklahoma population*. Many of the working poor rely on food stamps to supplement their low wages facing the denigration that accompanies paying for groceries with a food stamp card. Many service industry jobs limit hours of work by whether the employee is needed making it impossible to know what income to expect. Most such jobs offer no sick leave and certainly no leave for parents to stay home with sick children. The vast majority of child care facilities do not take sick children and could call a parent in the middle of the day to pick their child up if he or she becomes ill. Too many of those incidences can get one fired. Two many firings listed on a job application can restrict one’s employ-ability. Living from one paycheck to the next is the only option. This first verse of this hymn is their song.
Our call as followers of Christ is to pave the way for the futile to learn about God’s steadfast love. One introduction to God’s love results from the example of our steadfast love exemplified in working together to form a just society where all earn a living wage and businesses flourish because all our citizens are a part of a vibrant economy.
Prayer: Lord, makes us each doers of justice for all your children.
*http://okpolicy.org/fact-sheet-hunger-in-oklahoma/