The Tin Man
“For Thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt Thou compass him as with a shield.” Psalm 5:12
I would suppose that most everyone in this country and probably many other countries has seen “The Wizard of Oz”. It was quite a production in the era of movie making so many years ago. Dorothy and Toto met three characters on her way to find the wizard who could help her get back home. All three of these characters had a desire for something that they didn’t have. The Scarecrow wanted a brain, the Lion wanted courage, and the Tin Man wanted a heart. All three of these desires are things that we mostly take for granted because we all have a physical brain and a physical heart. Courage may be lacking somewhat in the lives of many of us. Those who are courageous and attempt to stand for truth are put down by the voices of hatred and envy. Those folks who don’t go along with those who spread lies and hate are called “racist” or some other derogatory name in order to intimidate them into submitting to policies of which they do not agree. Unfortunately, this is the world we live in today. However, it is no different than the world in which our forefathers hundreds of years ago lived.
King David wrote Psalm 5 as a praise and a prayer request to the LORD. Paraphrasing the words of David, he said, “Where else can we go with the cries of our souls and the meditations of our hearts? We might try to go to men, but they, even in their most sincere endeavor, cannot provide the answers that only the LORD God can. He is the King and the Ruler of the universe. If He did not hold the answer, there would be no answer. Start your day with God. Don’t wait until all the problems pile up and then seek His counsel. God is God of the righteous. The wicked have no claim on Him. All evil comes from Satan who works through unregenerate man (a person who has not been regenerated is a person who is still lost in sin. One who has been regenerated has been changed morally and spiritually.) Sin is abhorrent to God. He cannot look upon it.”
We don’t like to think of God as hating anyone, but David wrote that “God hates all workers of iniquity. (God loved them enough to die for them by sending His Son to go to the cross, but if they reject His offer of forgiveness, they have no one to blame but themselves.) Evil must be destroyed; likewise evil men will also be destroyed. There is a way of escape from the destruction of evil–render yourself to God’s mercy, fear the LORD, and worship Him in His holy temple. Only the LORD can protect us from our enemies. In them lies no good thing. They are very deceitful and cannot be trusted. They only care about themselves and what they can cheat out of others. They will say anything to get their way.
“Those who love God, on the other hand, are zealous for God’s honor and respect and seek the destruction of those who bring reproach and dishonor upon Him. To trust God is to rejoice because of the favor He bestows upon those who depend upon Him. He surrounds His children with a spiritual suit of armor which deflects the attacks of Satan and gives those who depend on God blessings and mercy.”
David was known as a “man after God’s own heart”. Even though he had made some very bad decisions in his life, he desired to get past his failures and become a man of integrity. God gave him a heart to do good and to bless others. The Tin Man wanted a heart, not a physical heart, but a heart to be able to love and have compassion upon others. I can’t help but wonder after witnessing the turmoil in our country over the last few years if there aren’t a multitude of Tin Men and Women who, like the character before he discovered that he had a heart of love, are wandering aimlessly through life not seeking what is right and good, but rather spending their time in selfish pursuits. We all need to pray that God would touch the hearts of those who are far from Him and show them that there is a better way to live rather than for us to seek their destruction. They have been deceived by the great deceiver and are without hope unless they repent and turn to Christ. The thought and prayer came to me to ask the Lord to convict the new political leaders concerning their ungodly policies. Just imagine if conviction came so strong upon them that they would have to repent and go public with their conversion. I realize that there is likely not a snowball’s chance in you-know-where that would happen, but nothing is impossible with God.
One more thing: God bless all the veterans. Thank you for your service.