Architects of our own distress in the family business

In last week’s reflection, we see that Israel angered God by forgetting their covenant with Him and worshipping other gods. Now we see the consequences of Israel’s disobedience:

So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies. Whenever they marched out, the hand of the Lord was against them for harm, as the Lord had warned, and as the Lord had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress. (Judges 2:14-15)

God stopped protecting Israel. Their poor choices in behavior and worship were deeply disappointing, leading to Israel’s significant emotional, physical, and spiritual pain. What strikes me here is not the specific consequences – the plunderers and the enemies – but the recognition of distress brought on by one’s own behavior. Our own choices leading away from God ultimately create difficulty for us. There are painful consequences to choosing spiritual separation.

I’m not confident that all distress is the result of spiritual separation, and distress surely looks different for each person, or for each family business, or for each community of people. But the idea is that when we are spiritually separated, when we worship the wrong things, when we behave in ways we know are counter to God’s expectations (sin), we often find ourselves in distress.

What has distress looked like in your life, or in your family business? At those times, or the times leading up to your distress, how would you characterize your spiritual relationship with God?