Caring

I remember when I was little kid and we would head to the dentist or the doctor. There would be all kinds of promises of how it would be ok. Sometimes there were even promises it would be fun. Yeah, right. There would be bribes of the surprises and toys I might get from them afterwards. It was all hyped up, and then I would get there and the inevitable would happen – they would find a cavity or tell me I’m due for a shot. Then I would turn to my mom with the look of dismay.  It’s funny, now years later I find myself doing the same thing. Abby, my daughter, has a funny way of saying it. “I don’t want to check myself. Is Dr. Kenney (really Mckinney) gonna check myself?” The intelligence of a three year old goes beyond her years.

Some of you may feel the same way after last week, like I’m trying to bribe you into liking Leviticus. There is Pastor Will promising that the book of Leviticus is going to be something I am going to like. He is promising that I will find words of wisdom, and that this is a book that will help my life. If so, then this week might feel like the cavity and the shot. In our reading for today we see God asking for perfection on the Sabbath, and that those who curse be stoned. Perhaps you’re thinking this is exactly why this book is hard to read, and wonder how it relates to any values that God wants us to have?

This week we will talk about the value of caring. To focus on relationships and people, we need to start with a focus on God. Many of our values are a product of how God changes us and forms us to love others, so we start with our relationship with God. If Leviticus is a book about God reforming values, then it begins with us, the very heart and core of ourselves.

Jacob, my oldest son, is starting first grade this year. During first grade I started to notice that kids were different than me. I don’t mean that they looked different or dressed different, but that they grew up differently than I did. I quickly realized that not every kid went to church or was expected to live like I lived, as the first time I tried to witness and share my faith blew up in my face. First grade was the first time I began to realize how God shaped my core values.

Leviticus 24 is doing the same type of thing. God is reminding the people (who are falling astray) that He is the one who shapes their core values, and He is helping those that have fallen get back on track. Our selfish desires can lead us not to care about God or the world around us. Jesus reforms that, and gives us a new value – to care.  This week we will talk about that.