Fire and Brimstone

On the wicked, God will rain coals of fire and sulfur; a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup. For the Lord is righteous. – Psalm 11:6-7 (NRSV) 

Is God still righteous if the wicked thrive? 

Maybe you’ve noticed that there are children weeping because their parents have been taken from them—by immigration officials, by gun violence, by war.  

Maybe you’ve noticed that there are people raging because their lives are undermined—governments spend money more readily on teargas than on education, corporations prioritize profit over community, religions love orthodoxy more than understanding. 

Maybe you’ve noticed your own spirit, listless and wondering “How long?” How long will hearts bleed, how long will discouragement weigh down souls, how long until hope is realized? 

Still wars are waged. Still people are kidnapped. Still wealth inequality skyrockets. Fire and brimstone aren’t raining down to engulf AK-47s. Coals are not being stoked by the breath of God to incinerate white nationalism. 

Is God still righteous? 

Perhaps not. Perhaps God’s righteousness can’t be defended in the face of evil. Perhaps God’s righteousness hasn’t been fully demonstrated against the wickedness. Personally, I suspect God’s reputation of righteousness is tarnished, at the very least. 

Then again, I’m pretty sure it’s not my place to judge God’s character. I have my own to deal with! But judging God isn’t the pursuit of faith anyway. The call is to seek God: which includes gazing honestly at evil, resisting its violence as well as its lull, claiming and sharing hope, and digging in deeply to the wellspring of love and life. 

I don’t know if God is still good. But we’re called to keep searching for it—and searching for one another—through the fire and brimstone. 

Prayer
I don’t know if God is still good. I suspect God’s righteousness is tarnished. But we’re called to keep searching for goodness—and for one another—through the fire and brimstone.