May 1, 2007 - What do you posses?

May 1, 2007

Jer 3:8 KJV
(8) And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also.

Recently I listen to a sermon where the speaker tried to explain that you can profess something and not posses it, and if you posses it you can profess it. Before you scratch your head and say "HUH?" let me give you an example. I can profess to you that I am a computer repair person. If I come to your house and cannot even figure out how to open the case, you have reason to doubt what I have professed to you. If on the other hand, the skills that I posses become obvious to you buy the speed and professionalism I have then you would say that I was right in my profession. Profession does not always equal possession.

In the time of today's scripture Judah was professing to be the one close to God. Israel was the one that was running around like the bad sheep of the family doing all the evil things. But Judah had its skeletons in its closet as well. While it looked to the world as God's darling child, it was no better than the rebellious one.

In our lives it can be so easy to look at others and say that they are getting what they deserve. Maybe we need to look at ourselves. Maybe we need to see, like Judah should have, if what we profess is what we posses.