Sunday, September 07, 2008

These Truths are Self Evident

What truths are self-evident? Today I read a sad story about a nine year old girl killed after she annulled her marriage to a forty-five year old man. She was killed as a matter of honor by her family.

I know not all the self-evident truths, but this I do know. Man is responsible to his Creator, who will hold us in judgment for all our deeds. Solomon told us to eat, drink, and be merry, but know that we will account to God for our lives. This country where the vile deed was done has politicians defending the practice, saying that it includes hundreds of years of tradition.

Of course, on its own, that is a fallacious argument, for tradition itself has no merit other than force of habit. Habits may be good or bad, but it is my own observation that most habits are bad and the ones which we would keep and abide by are so much harder to develop and maintain. Following tradition for tradition’s sake would mean that if we had opportunity we would crucify Christ yet again. Thinking about this analogy, I do not doubt that we would do exactly that if He offered us the chance. This time around, however, he is coming as the Lion of Judah, not the Lamb of God.

The Lion of Judah will severely judge misdeeds that happened to this nine year old girl. I think of the apostle Paul, belittled so often by our American culture. He said in perhaps the greatest equality statement of all time, that we are all part of one body, Jews or Gentiles, slave or free, male or female. Those cultures treating women as property shall not escape a harsher look. The Lord comes and with Him, so does judgment.