The Horribly Complex Irritating and Exasperating Process

And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD. (Gen 4:3)

Back in the day, Cain planted some seeds, grew the plants, and brought of their fruit an offering to the Lord. It took a process of time, but overall it seems a fairly simple process to us. Now if we had to invent a seed from scratch, figure out how to make atoms a certain way in order to create water, work out how the water works on seeds and plants, provide a new thing called a sun and produce this material known as light and so on, we might not call the process simple at all. God has provided a great many things to us that simplify our processes. On the other hand, we have provided a government for ourselves that seems bent on going the other way.

In the office, Mike and I have been endeavoring to persevere through a thing that should be simple yet has been made into a horribly complex irritating and exasperating process. When God found Cain's offering unacceptable, the man grew angry at God and murdered his brother. The temptation to similar actions may come to those who find a simple process made into a Rube Goldberg machine by the very offices meant to serve we the people. For those of you too young to recall, a Rube Goldberg machine is a comically involved, complicated invention laboriously contrived to perform a simple operation. Of course the point of living in Christ is that we don't act on those impulses but act in love.

No matter how big and faceless the bureaucracy, we call them 'neighbor' and love them as Christ does. When the urge to weep in frustration, gnaw the tongue in exasperation, and bash the head on the keyboard in irritation arises, we remember to do and think good to those who hurt us. A tough process that, but we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us!

Bucky