If you have ever inhaled a moth while riding a bike, you know that somethings do not taste good. When you inhale a moth on your bike, you don’t cherish the moment, you gag and spit and cough. You do everything possible to get that chalky, nasty taste out of your mouth as quickly as possible.
When the calendar flipped to 2021 this year, I with many of you spit and coughed to try to get the taste of 2020 out of my mouth. I want to forget the pain, the struggle, the emotional toil. I want to forget about pandemics and riots and strife.
But, maybe we need to let the bad taste 2020 linger for a little while.
There is a danger that we work so hard to forget 2020 that we may not learn the lessons of 2020. It is possible that 2020 was about more than meets the eye. What if the struggle and strife of 2020 wasn’t primarily political or about elections and political questions. What if we are asking the wrong questions?
Maybe the question isn’t “Was there voter fraud? or “Is the CDC lying about masks?” or “Is COVID real?” or “Does racism still exist?”
Genesis chapter 7 describes God’s judgment in the great flood. Genesis 8 tells the story of the flood waters subsiding. In chapter 9 we learn of God’s covenant with Noah’s descendants and of God’s command that they “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.” But, when we get to Genesis 11, just a few generations removed from God’s commands to Noah, we discover that God’s people are disobeying God’s decree. Rather than filling the earth, we read them say in Genesis 11:4,
Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.
Just a few generations removed from the carnage of God’s judgment in the flood, Noah’s descendants are living in active rebellion against God’s decrees building towers to keep them isolated and celebrate their own abilities.
What if we are asking the wrong questions? What if we are just like Noah’s descendants looking on the carnage of God’s judgment and building our own towers, pretending that God is not trying to get our attention?
What if the great lesson of 2020 was a wake up call for us? What if 2020 was meant to get our attention?
What if 2020 wasn’t a liberal government ploy or the failure of a presiendet, but rather the judgment of God, destroying our towers (idols) and forcing us to do what he has commanded us to do all along?
God has commanded us to love him, love our neighbor, and change the world, but instead we hide in our own towers convince ourselves and others that we are doing what is best. Our towers are not usually made of stone. They are ideological towers or towers of power and prestige, but they function the same way. We construct towers to keep us close with those we want to be around and to push away others. We construct towers to make a name for ourselves.
We can become blind to our towers and our situation. We can lose focus on God’s plan and our part in it. But it isn’t too late.
When I was 16 I took the only dip of Kodiak tobacco I’ve ever had in my life (If you aren’t from the south, here’s a link). I was playing golf with friends. I looked down and saw three balls, but I wasn’t sure which one to hit. I made a commitment then and there that if I could get shed of that dip of Wintergreen Kodiak I wouldn’t ever have another.
I have made a concerted effort to never forget that taste or that experience.
As the people of God, it is very important that we not turn the page to 2021 too quickly without learning the lessons of 2020. 2020 tasted bad, but we might need to let the bad taste of 2020 linger a bit to make sure that we don’t forget the lessons that God wants us to learn. You can make lemons out of lemonade, but you’ll learn more from 2020 if you remember how the bad taste set your teeth on edge.
