Misplaced Love

Based on Micah 1-3

We invest a lot of love, time & effort into the cares of this life, whether we want to admit it or not. It's crucial to remind ourselves that this whole earthly life is temporary. All the stresses we go through, all the things that press upon us on our to-do list...every one of them will fade...except our relationship with God! If we are not careful, we can misplace not only attention, but affection...loving this life too much and loving God too little...

The book of Micah speaks of the judgments which God will carry out upon His people in Israel & Judah. So much disobedience as a result of misplaced love, away from God:

"Hear, all ye people; hearken, O earth, and all that therein is: and let the Lord God be witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple. For, behold, the Lord cometh forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth." Micah 1:2‭-‬3.

At this point, no one was really heeding to God. There was Israel, Judah, their oppressors, wicked leaders and even false prophets...as the above Scripture states: "Hear, all ye people; hearken, O earth,". Micah was crying out to the WHOLE EARTH! Just goes to show God is God OVER ALL, and sometimes, we ALL have misplaced love...

"And they covet fields, and take them by violence; and houses, and take them away: so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage."
Micah 2:2.

This misplaced love has allowed for a covetous spirit-placing affection upon the materialistic possessions of man-which are, again, temporary! This was causing total defilement of a land and people. This is very comparable to some of the behavior we've seen recently in our world. All about misplaced affection and love, which should be redirected to God!

"But truly I am full of power by the spirit of the Lord, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin." Micah 3:8.

God was using Micah to declare this mightily-hoping desperately that some would hear God's loving cry to them once again...

"The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the Lord, and say, Is not the Lord among us? none evil can come upon us."
Micah 3:11.

Everything was being done for the wrong reasons. Judging for reward, priests and prophets looking at money earned instead of reaching people...and they still have no thought that God may not be pleased with their actions. They forgot their duties in keeping the covenant. It's not just God's job to love us; it's our job to love God!

Keep God in focus. Not only in mind, but in heart.

"Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth." Colossians 3:2.