The Power of Example

As a follow up to Psa. 137, I ask you to view things from a Babylonian perspective. If you were a Babylonian and were witnessing the captivity of Judah, what would you conclude about their God? More than likely, you would either think he did not exist or he was deficient in power. Why would you think this? Because Judah is in captivity. However, if you were a Judahite, you knew that YHWH existed even though your present condition does not bear a true witness. It is true that Judah is God's and he alone is God. What prevents the Babylonians from understanding this is Judah's captivity, which is the result of their sin.

My point with this illustration is this: The Babylonians would probably have had a hard time believing in YHWH because of Judah’s captivity. In effect, Judah’s sin not only led to their captivity but it also could have prevented the Babylonians from believing in God. This is one of the multiple problems with sin. It not only prevents our relationship with God but it can also be a barrier for someone else to develop a relationship with God (Perhaps this is what John meant in Rev. 1.12, 20; 2.5).

Think how the Babylonians would have seen things. They saw those who claimed to be God’s people but they did not see God. When the world looks at you do they see God? The more I think about this the more I understand “you are to be holy because I am holy” (Lev. 11.44; 1 Pet. 1.16). If I truly love God and my neighbor there is nothing more that I should desire than to please God and do everything to help my neighbor please God. When I first thought from the Babylonian perspective, I was terrified when I considered the consequences that can result from my actions. It is terrifying to think that my actions could not only affect my relationship with God, but they could affect someone else's relationship with God. Perhaps this is the lesson of the parable of the lost coin in Luke 15. The coin was lost because of the neglect of someone else!