Joel M Bradshaw

3You shall tear down their altars and dash in pieces their pillars and burn their Asherim with fire. You shall chop down the carved images of their gods and destroy their name out of that place. 4You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way. 5But you shall seek the place that the LORD your God will choose out of all your tribes to put his name and make his habitation^a there. There you shall go…–Deuteronomy 12

Today’s title comes from Ecclesiastes 3. Moses had been recounting the marching orders God gave Israel before entering the land. These specific commands directed intentionality regarding breaking down and building up and objects of worship. I think there’s a life lesson for us here today, as well.

The quarantine of 2020 was a frustrating time for many, a scary time for others. But for me, it was a blessing. It gave me opportunities to work on my marriage and my parenting. The family was in the house together most of the time. Daddy and Mommy worked from home. I’m firmly convinced that the kids of this generation will look back at that time as ‘the good ole days’. Dad and Mom were always home!

I had things I needed to tear down about my attitude and selfishness. And the little changes I made I could see their effects in real time as if it all was one big science experiment. “If I stop getting frustrated and angry about this, how will the evening go?…If I start intentionally doing this with the family around the dinner table, how will things change?”

I started asking my kids for forgiveness when I got angry and yelled at them. Asking my wife for forgiveness when my attitude hurt her. And the kids heard that, too. That was one major thing I began to model. As quarantine progressed, the kids were asking forgiveness of each other. It all started with my selfishness being torn down and humility being modeled. Some things needed to stop and some needed to start.

Ancient Israel needed to tear down those altars otherwise they would be tempted to worship the idols there. You can’t stay faithful to someone if you are giving your allegiance and love to someone else. Yahweh expects exclusivity. But the needed to build the altar for God where he told them so they had a place to worship. They needed to intentionally break down and build up. These serve also as metaphors for their lives and ours. What needs to be torn down and what needs to be built up in your life? Be intentional.–JMB