Genesis 9

God promises to Noah--and all of humankind--that He will never destroy all living creatures on Earth ever again--via water, at least. Interestingly, God also sanctions the use of meat as food and thus anticipates the formation of PETA (People Eating Tasty Animals). In (almost) the same breath, he creates a sanction (isn't that such a wonderfully versatile word?) against the drinking of blood, much to the consternation of Kristen Stewart and whatever her Twilight boyfriend's name is. Oh, and vampires probably aren't too happy about that decree either.

In verse 6, God also writes a nifty little poem expressing His disapproval of murder. He reminds us that humans are created in His image; we are all precious to Him. This, to murder someone is to abase God. (And notice that the word is "murder," not "kill.") I freely admit that I've never murdered or even killed anybody, nor have I ever thought of doing so. Yet I've had my own nasty little thoughts. When some rat fink cuts me off on the freeway, I momentarily wish that a big rig could decimate his car while leaving him free from bodily injury. Or I wish that an annoying person would just leave me alone and go annoy someone else. Yet if I treat one of God's creations like crap, I'm also showing disrespect to God as well. (I think I wrote something very similar to this in a previous post. As a writer, if I see a chance to recycle material, I'll take it.)

But even Noah, the one righteous man on Earth who faithfully follows God's directions and spends a year in a floating crate, eventually screws up. After drinking like a fish, he ends up on the floor of his tent in the altogether. Ham, like a typical adolescent, shouts to the rafters that dear old Dad found his birthday suit and is trying it out for size.

That Noah should make a mistake is disheartening on one hand, but it's a reminder that, no matter how good I try to act, I'll end up making mistakes if I rely on my own power. But I also have to remember not to act like Ham. Now, I'm not one to naturally publicize someone's blunders, but I also don't really help build people up. Oh, it's easy for me to encourage people I like. But to paraphrase genius fantasy author Brandon Sanderson, you're not a hero if you only help people you like, because even villains do that. Another easy maxim to write, but again, I need much prayer so I can actually apply it in my life.