I've Got Just the Prophet...

Passage: Micah 2:6-11

A few years ago I read a novel in which the main characters all employed a “family singer.” The singer’s job was to soothe people when they were stressed out or depressed. He would say pleasant things to them about their glowing positive attributes or the rosy state of the world. And they would calm down and feel good again. Of course it was all lies. But the singer made people feel so good about their lives that they kept him employed.

God repeatedly speaks to the kingdoms of Israel and Judah through prophets. Prophets are a generally accepted class of people whose job it is to deliver the all-important word of God. The problem is that the prophets consistently tell people stuff they don’t want to hear. God’s people circumnavigate this problem by hiring their own prophets – spin doctors who, for a fee, will remix God’s word so that it sounds nice.

Needless to say, God, and his legitimate prophets, have little patience for this practice. In Micah 2 the prophet confronts his people. He says, “You want I should stop prophesying? What good will that do you?” In the same way that a patient who disregards the doctor’s bad news is unlikely to last long, the people of Israel and Judah stop their ears to God’s word only to their great detriment.

It may benefit us to take stock of the “prophetic voices” informing us. Do you stick to commentators, preachers and pundits who say what you want to hear? Do you change the channel when someone confronts a habit that’s a little too close to your heart? Do you turn up the volume when the voice on the other end of the line gives you permission to do what you were hoping to do anyway?

Micah and God’s other prophets say, “Fine. Have it your way. Have your rent-a-prophet. It’s not going to help you when God comes calling.” What do we want? To feel good about ourselves, or to get right with God? We do well to choose our prophets carefully.