8I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing. ( I Tim 2:8)
As I write this morning the oil well continues to pump its black crude into the Gulf of Mexico. For two months now it has been spewing this filth into the water, ruining the ecosystem for decades to come. It makes me weep that they cannot seem to bring it under control. The news tells us that they are trying desperately to bring relief wells to intercept the flow, but I fear what will happen if these efforts do not work. I pray every day about this and trust God that one day soon they will be able to contain this pollution. I cannot imagine what the poor people who live on the Gulf Coast will have to contend with in years to come. I pray for them also.
As I reflect on this oil spill- the worst in our world's history, I cannot help but wonder (and I'm not saying that it is) if this is not God's punishment upon our nation for our unholiness and disregard for who God is and our rejection of Him. To me, it is almost like God is telling us: "Ok, so you want to focus on your greed and materialism? Have you made oil your god? Well I'll give you so much of it you will never want to see another drop again!" I know that God is not vindictive, but He does direct our attention from time to time to refocus our eyes upon Him.
Maybe after this we will want to do all we can to decrease our dependence not just on foreign oil imports, but upon any kind of oil whatsoever. But its our greed and our relentless focus on materialism that has brought us to this disaster. We can't just lay all the blame on BP and the oil companies. Our desire and demand for this oil created this market through which this disaster occurred. This oil is, I think, a symbol of our sinfulness. As crude spills into the Gulf of Mexico, the crudeness of sin and evil pours from our collective hearts and pollutes the world around us. We are swimming in it every day, and seem to be content to do so more all the time.
I applaud the efforts of those like the Coast Guard and others are doing to try to stop and contain it. But I also think that we need to focus on prayer because ultimately only God can stop this disaster. The way He will respond, I think, is as Paul instructed Timothy in this passage: "to lift up holy hands in prayer." Holy hands- not "holier than Thou hands." Hands that are connected to people who have a sincere thirst and yearning for God who want to put as much room between God and sin as possible. Hands of people who are not tarnished and stained by sin. We need to desire a greater depth of holiness- to be more like God and to be pleasing to God; not just treat God as a hobby or just come to Him whenever we need Him but to live for Him in His holiness everyday.
Let's lift up these hands and pray that God will make them more holy. We do so not to compare our worth to others around us, but to point people to a God who expects this attitude from us. God help our nation as we celebrate our Independence this week to be independent from the materialism that creates disasters such as this oil spill.
Have a blessed day!
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