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Lent 2025: March 14

The book on lament that I have been reading is guiding me through Lent this year. 

This morning I read two incidents in this pastor's life that cut me to the heart--both because of the content/context and my own cold-hearted reaction. 

Cold-heartedness, lack of compassion (I won't use empathy--that is problematic for me, more on that later), impatience, intolerance, and annoyance. My sins that I must own and confess and repent of. 

I won't get into the stories; one was about a young couple's struggle through a premature birth and the child's medical conditions, the other about a minority member of the congregation questioning the lack of response to a racially charged incident. My responses to both were callous, selfish, ungodly. 

Where does this come from? 

The word of God is sharper than a two-edged sword (not a random metaphor), piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. (Hebrews 4)

What we overlook when quoting these verses is the previous line: Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. 

I am writing a book on "that rest." However, I am stuck because I am not enjoying that rest fully due to this sin of annoyance at everyone. Even this morning I got an email from a class member who expressed concern about another one! I am annoyed at both of them, ironically. 

Replace annoyance with understanding of where this annoyance comes from and understanding of their and my human flaws. 

The annoyance comes from wanting to control my time and effort. Neither of these belong to me.  

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