This week, we are going to explore a small story found in the book of Joshua chapter 7 that provides an important insight on the nature of community and responsibility.
This story addresses three groups of people. First, is the group of people who mask their irresponsibility behind religious activity, especially prayer. If we are not careful, we can make the mistake of thinking that as long as we are praying about something, we are doing something important. But we will discover in this story that sometimes you need to quit praying and take action.
The second group of people are those who have tender hearts and are compassionate to those who are suffering the consequences of what they have sown. When people act irresponsible, rather than holding them accountable, they see all the reasons why it is okay for this person to act irresponsible. But this kind of thinking actually enables the irresponsibility in the individual.
And the third group are those who are unfairly reaping the consequences of someone else's sown irresponsibility. It isn't fair, but it happens all the time. They are reaping the seeds sown by an irresponsible spouse, child, boss, neighbor, or friend. They are having to take the responsibility for someone else's irresponsibility. It's not fair, but it's true. Why? It's the nature of community.
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