"My Country, Wright or Wrong"

Poor Jeremiah, the First! Forty years he spent trying to stem the flood of national self-deception. He was stoned with insults, from the lowly mob through every class, rank, and commentator (through the reigns of three kings Josiah, Jehoiakim, and Zedekiah). At last, when insults were not enough his detractors resorted to the real thing.

And what was old Jeremiah’s offense? Well, it seems he was a pastor who didn’t walk the talk of smooth things (Isa. 30:10). He spoke as he saw it through the lens of experience, understanding, and revelation.

And déjà vu—surprise! Nobody wanted to hear him. Not too different than one hundred years before with Isaiah. They were tactless, blunt, audacious preachers describing a past, present, and future that no one cared to hear. They contended against staunch advocates of “We are wise! What have [we] done?” (Jer. 8: 8, 6). Rigid points of ego that shuttered minds to the slightest flicker of consideration—“Could any of these offensive, egregious accusations have merit?”

Whatever the present Rev. Jeremiah’s perceived or actual flaws, maybe it would be worth listening to his whole speech. Maybe it would be worth a thought process rather than a knee-jerk contortion of offense. Maybe it would be worth re-reading Isaiah and Jeremiah (and applying the words unto ourselves).