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GAY 103, or APRIL 13.

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GLASS HALF FULL OR HALF EMPTY?

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Our thoughts today are from 1 Chronicles chapter 2 verse 7.

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The son of Karmi, Achar, who brought trouble on Israel by violating the ban on taking devoted

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things.

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Now the big picture surrounding this verse.

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The writer of the Chronicles could have been Ezra, who was a key character in the return

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from Babylonian exile.

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They were certainly written after the other historical books of Samuel and Kings, and

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with them in mind, but from God's perspective.

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The writer makes great efforts to record accurate genealogies, as these were vital to the Jews

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especially as they returned to the Promised Land, taking their history with them.

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These lists of names proved who they were, and this was vital information.

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The chronicler begins with Adam and sweeps through the generations to the United Kingdom

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when Saul, David and Solomon ruled.

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This gives a firm foundation for the rest of the book.

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And now our action step.

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So many names with so few details, but the name of Achar caught my eye in chapter 2 verse

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7, especially when he is described as one who brought trouble on Israel.

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The account of his actions is in the book of Joshua, where his name is recorded as Achan,

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but there is no doubt it's the same man whose father was Karmi.

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I don't know about you, but I would prefer to be remembered for the good things I have

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done rather than the bad ones, but sadly we remember Achar for one thing only, and that

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was very bad.

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On a general note, why is it that so many of us today have a default setting that recalls

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the negative or bad?

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Of course the chronicler wasn't doing this.

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He was recalling the actions of Achar as part of Israel's history from God's viewpoint.

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Often however, we do it just to score points or put someone else in a less than favourable

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light.

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Wouldn't our churches be different places if we only made positive comments?

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Unreal?

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Perhaps.

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But how about making your first comment each time a positive one?

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Try it today if you dare.