Hubris of Humanity
By: Mark A. Vincenti Penned: 3/19/2020
Lord, I’m troubled.
The hubris of humanity frightens me.
We are tiny life forms floating on a speck of dust in the massive vastness of the universe
Cruising through the cosmos on the edge of a spinning milky galaxy
Filled with hundreds of billions of stars
Every one of them born by the breath of your mouth.
You call each one by name.
The One who is Light
Spoke and light exploded into being.
A trillion fiery suns brilliantly blazing with explosive energy
That makes atomic power look like a purring pussycat.
Every wonder in the vast expanse of the universe
Intricately woven by Your creative genius.
You stand above it all.
And it all glorifies its maker.
We’re so blind to the glimpse it gives of the God who made it all.
On the canvas of nothingness
You painted awe-inspiring beauty
Breath-taking splendor
Mind-numbing infinitude.
Hubble gives us views from our little bubble
You’d think this would make us humble
Yet we struggle with our arrogance.
We think we’re the best thing in the universe.
And we tend to think You’re the worst.
When anything goes wrong we shake our fist at the sky
And defiantly cry out, “Why, God, why?”
“Why did you do this to us?”
You’re such an easy scapegoat – so easy to blame
It’s surely not our fault things are this way!
When things go well, we pat ourselves on the back
But things turn sour and we’ll turn your eye black.
We turn our back on you and live life on our own
And then blame you for all the evil we have sown
And the seeds grow and grow and finally give birth
To the corruption pain and wickedness we experience on earth.
“It’s all God’s fault,” we cry, “We thought You were kind!”
These statements show our arrogance, revealing we are blind
But if we want to know reality, we need to push rewind
And head back to the beginning and see what we will find.
Creation was perfection: a perfect garden paradise
Harmony: person to person, people to earth, people to God
Responsibility: tend and care for the creation, love and serve each other,
Know You, God, and represent You to the world
Bear Your good and beautiful image faithfully so all the earth will see
You reflected in us.
You taught us how to live, so simple and free
Uncomplex instructions for how we oughta be
But instead of listening we chose a lesser path
Pandora’s box of sin and pain and death is the aftermath.
There is a deep yearning in all of us to regain what was lost
And a heart of Divine love is what drove you to the cross
For you are a delivering God, you pursue the wayward one
Seeking to heal the sinner’s heart, catching prodigals on the run
You gave us paradise and the freedom to choose love
We disobeyed in rebellion and made this world corrupt
You continued to reach out to us even when we roam
Making provision for our wickedness and calling us back home.
How we ignore Your goodness, Lord
We point to all the world’s bad
We blame you for the wickedness, Lord
When the blood is on our hands.
How we forget Your greatness, Lord
Your unfathomable power
We need reminded of these truths
Especially at this hour
So God, we confess
Our arrogance
Our rebellion
Our blasphemy
Our blame-shifting
Our refusal to take responsibility.
We are not self-sustaining. You are.
We are not grand, great, or good. You are.
We ruin what we touch, but You restore.
You deliver. You save. You redeem.
So, in this hour, we ask you to do it again, some more.
Amen.
