I'll stop the boats

"This is God's Message: Attend to matters of justice. Set things right between people. Rescue victims from their exploiters. Don't take advantage of the homeless, the orphans, the widows. Stop the murdering!" Jeremiah 22:2-3

I'm trying to ignore the election campaign even though I want to be informed enough to vote correctly. But the last sentence of the above scripture quote immediately brought into my mind Mr Abbott's catchcry "I'll stop the boats!"

God told Jeremiah to go to the royal palace and give his message to the king of Judah, his officials and all who go in out of the palace gates. This is what God wanted to tell the people in power, those who ran the country. These things were important to God and obviously weren't being addressed or, more likely, were being deliberately flouted by those in power.

There was nothing in God's message about creating a new chariot route between two outer suburban towns at the cost of several million Shekels. Nothing about cutting debt. No comment at all about the economy.

Today, in fact, when it comes to asylum seekers we could argue that both parties are attempting to take political advantage of the situation rather than vowing to "rescue victims from the exploiters".

When I look at my priorites, how far off the mark are they when compared to God's priorities? Even at church, how far away from God's priorities have we moved?

God, help me to understand and feel your desires when I make decisions in my life.