Power belongs to God, and steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord. For you repay to all according to their work. (Psalm 62: 11-12)
Do good and be rewarded. Be bad and be punished. This is the simple symmetry that we often read into scripture.
Our choices clearly have consequences. We are generally repaid as we invest. If we plant hate we harvest hate. If we plant love we harvest love.
But in God's economy the exchange of value is of a different character. The word translated above as "repay" is the Hebrew shalam. Given the common notions of our worldly economy we are apt to misunderstand how God repays.
Shalam means to complete, make whole, make good, to restore, to cause peace. God will - if we allow it - transform our bad choices into glorious outcomes.
Do good and be rewarded. Be bad and be punished. This is the simple symmetry that we often read into scripture.
Our choices clearly have consequences. We are generally repaid as we invest. If we plant hate we harvest hate. If we plant love we harvest love.
But in God's economy the exchange of value is of a different character. The word translated above as "repay" is the Hebrew shalam. Given the common notions of our worldly economy we are apt to misunderstand how God repays.
Shalam means to complete, make whole, make good, to restore, to cause peace. God will - if we allow it - transform our bad choices into glorious outcomes.
posted by Didymus | 5:08 AM
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