Readings for today: 2 Kings 21, 2 Chronicles 33
“How do you experience me?” A dear friend and colleague of mine once challenged a group of us to ask this question of those we love and serve. It’s not an easy one to ask. It makes us vulnerable. It opens the door to all kinds of feedback, some of which may not be positive. It invites the other person to speak into your life and share what they’ve seen. Over the years, I’ve posed this question to family and friends and their responses have been illuminating. The picture that emerged of Doug Resler was full of all kinds of contradictions. Good and bad. Positive and negative. Plenty to admire and plenty to make a person cringe in embarrassment. I’ve had lots of successes and lots of failures in my life. I’ve had days when I’m easy to love and days when I make it hard. I’ve had seasons where I’ve sailed and seasons where I’ve struggled and it’s made an impact on those around me. Depending on when a person’s life intersected mine, they might experience one version of Doug that would be entirely different if their life intersected mine at a different season. For example, I recently sat down with two high school friends. Guys I have not seen since graduation over thirty years ago. Our lives look much different now of course. And as we caught up, it was amazing to see how much we have all changed.
I thought about that conversation with my friends as I read through the life of Manasseh today. When you lay the two accounts side by side, a very different perspective on Manasseh comes into view. One perspective, from the author of 2 Kings, is entirely negative. The man was evil. The man re-instituted all the detestable worship practices of the nations surrounding Israel. The man rejected his father’s godly legacy in favor of a pagan one. He even set an idol up in God’s Temple! Because of Manasseh, the judgment of God falls on the southern nation of Judah. Because of Manasseh, the people of God will go into exile in Babylon. Because of Manasseh, God will wipe Jerusalem clean as one wipes a bowl. (A striking image to say the least!) However, there is more to the story. The author of 2 Chronicles offers a more complex picture. Yes, he confirms much of what 2 Kings has to say but he adds a significant caveat. Manasseh was imprisoned at some point in his life and in his distress, sought the Lord. He repented and returned to faith. As a result, God restored him to his throne and he spent the last part of his life trying undo the evil had done in the first part of his life. Some might call the differences between the two accounts a “contradiction”, perhaps even a reason to dismiss them altogether, but I believe the contradiction lies within Manasseh himself and I wonder if the authors simply met him and experienced him at different points in his life?
The human heart is full of contradictions. We love and we hate. We are humble and we are proud. We are kind and we are mean. We are compassionate and we are cold and uncaring. We are peaceful and we are violent. We are truthful and we lie. We are faithful and unfaithful. In fact, the only consistent thing about us seems to be our inconsistency. Our inability to walk a straight and narrow road. Seasons come and seasons go. People change. Sometimes for the better. Sometimes for the worse. In my experience, it’s usually both. Rather than condemn someone for who they were or what they’ve done or where they’ve been or how you experienced them in the past, forgive them and offer them another chance. Assume the best rather than the worst of them. They might surprise you!
Readings for tomorrow: Nahum 1-3