Digging in Deeper: Exodus 22:21


“You must not exploit a resident alien or oppress him, since you were resident aliens in the land of Egypt.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Being the new kid is tough. From the moment you walk into the room, it feels like everybody is looking at you suspiciously. Who are you? What are you like? Are you going to upset the fragile social structure they have managed to achieve in their time together without you? Okay, that last question may not be asked intentionally or out loud, but it’s there all the same. This kind of thing happens on a small scale in something like a classroom. It also happens on the much larger scale of nations. There are people living in our country who were not born here. The question we have to wrestle with as a nation because of this is: What is to be done with all of these people? That’s a political question with no easy answers. There’s another question, though, that often gets ignored in public debates (except perhaps to score political points), but is nonetheless just as important: How should they be treated? For followers of Jesus, this one is much easier to answer. Let’s talk about it for a few minutes this morning.

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Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

This past Sunday we wrapped up our teaching series, What Jesus Hated, by switching things up. Instead of talking about something else Jesus doesn’t like, we focused our attention on something Jesus loved. Through a look at one of Jesus’ best-known parables, we looked at love in action and talked about why getting that right matters so much for us. Thanks for tuning in with me this week.

Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

I’m going to ask you a question to get things started this morning. When I do, I want you to shout out the first name that comes to mind when you hear it. Ready? Won’t you be my neighbor? Now, if you’re at all like me, there are two possible names that rushed to the front of your mind, and one of them is a whole lot likelier than the other. The second one of those names is Daniel Tiger from the PBS cartoon series, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood. My kids, but especially Micah, used to watch Daniel Tiger all the time. Secretly, I loved it. Besides its being a fantastic show, the songs they included in each episode to teach some basic moral lessons to kids were like gold. We used them with our kids all the time. You probably only thought about Daniel Tiger, though, if you have had preschoolers any time in the last ten years or so. More likely, the name that came to mind first—as you shared out loud like I asked—was Mr. Rogers. 

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Digging in Deeper: Proverbs 24:17-18

“Don’t gloat when your enemy falls, and don’t let your heart rejoice when he stumbles, or the Lord will see, be displeased, and turn his wrath away from him.”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter

It is satisfying to see someone who deserves justice get it. When someone has been wronged, we love to see them get what is right. Conversely, when someone has done something wrong, we love to see them get their due punishment. This is part of what made movies like Home Alone such a hit. A couple of bad guys got what was coming to them in deliciously hilarious fashion. But, while justice delivered is satisfying (and should be so), there’s a line here that we are wise to not cross. 

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