LAMENT: To express grief for or about; mourn
It's interesting, reading the book of Lamentations. Because even though most people pronounce Lamentations "lamb-en-ta-shuns" after looking at what the word really means, it's almost like we should pronounce it "lament-ations."
Because the fact of the matter is this: in today's reading, and in the readings to come in Lamentations, it's all about mourning. It's about the deaths and destruction of many people and towns. Great kings and wondrous cities fell-- all because of sin. There's a diagram I threw together (below), saying that SINFUL DECISIONS is the start of it all, because we all sin.
And I guess that ever since Adam and Eve ate that forbidden fruit-- the world kinda stinks. That means that all sin leads to bad stuff.
That bad stuff can be turned into one of two things:
REALIZING MISTAKES
REACTING NEGATIVELY
If we realize that we sin, and that God serves justice to the world for our sins, God is applauding us for that. He's showing us that we can overcome. He's showing us that even though He loves us, we need to learn from our mistakes. He's giving us a reason to have faith in Him, too.
If we react negatively, then we're back to where we started-- with the bad/sinful decisions. It's just this big loop that we're stuck in.
I think it's important to understand that God is a God of LOVE. He loves us and will always be there for us. He is forgiving, even when we commit sins. But there are still consequences that come from sin. And we chose what to do next.
It's confusing. And really, who am I to say what is right and what is wrong? God is the ultimate judge and He controls what goes on. All we can do is react. We react and make decisions as a test of faith, even when times are tough.
Keep your faith in God when times do get hard, because with faith in Him things are always a little bit easier.
Please post any questions or comments if you feel called to. Other than that--
Peace out.
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