Quid Pro Quo…
Habakkuk 3:17-19 Though the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olive should fail and the fields produce no food, though the flock should be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle in the stalls, yet I will exult in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength, and He has made my feet like hinds’ feet, and makes me walk on my high places.
Nope. This is NOT about politics! Maybe a little about hypocrisy. But it is about what is common to every man, woman, and child.
We are SELF-concerned, SELF-excusing, SELF-caring, SELF-promoting, SELF-serving, SELF-righteous.
All this SELF-stuff does make sense when we consider, we have spent 9 months with ourselves in a cocoon, developing into an amazing creature that is unique from every other creature in our universe, including the vessel that, not only housed us but provided sustenance, protection, a waterbed we could float and swim in. Apart from those who had to share their cocoon, we were the only ONE we were aware of. We were the only ONE that did such amazing moves, somewhat like what we later learned was an Olympian skill set. We have spent 9 months falling in love with our BESTEST friend! The one who is perfect in every way!
Then comes that rude day, when we discover IT AINT ALL ABOUT ME!
And, worst of all, even me – my bestest friend, can become my own worst enemy!
What is an enemy? Someone, something, somewhere that tells me… NO!
“But I NEEEEEEEEED!!!!!!”
And so we enter the world system of the promise makers. “You can be what you want to be, have what you want to have, live as you want to live, think what you decide to think, do what you demand the right to do…” EXCEPT… just one very small exception… EXCEPT if I or someone, something, somewhere else refuses to let you be, have, live, think, or do what you want.
“Mommy?”… “Daddy?”… “Nanny?”… “ANYONE?”
Desperation turns to planning, planning turns to bargaining, and bargaining turns to, you got it, Quit Pro Quo. (Wikipedia indicates this is a Latin phrase translated in English to “Something for Something” – meaning an exchange of goods and services, in which one transfer is contingent upon the other;)
Good thing it is not a crime!
Parents use it, “IF you’re good…”. Teachers use it, “IF you make good grades…”. Siblings use it, “If you, then I will…”. Enemies use it, “I’ll say yes, IF…”. And even church leaders use it, “God will bless you, IF…”.
Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it.
If there is one world wide Life Training Lesson (outdistancing even potty training in some cities, regions and countries) – locally, regionally, globally, and world wide, it would be “QUID PRO QUO” and its offshoot “What Have You Done for Me, Lately?” (1986 song, sung by Janet Jackson, and co-wrote with its producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis)
And here we go… Training up the children!
And yet… WHO gets the blame when the training produces results that SUCK, in our most humble opinion! You as the trained pet child, now training the next circus performers, children? You as the parents who give their animals children, to others to train? Or the government which steps in because someone reported that the village needed to totally do-over the mess you made?
Or… God… because He didn’t grant your wish, obey your command when you brought Him out of your magic lamp? Or, because He didn’t STOP you from screwing “whatever” up?
I have been asked (and possibly asked myself before I knew the truth), “IF God is soooooo good, why does HE LET BAD THINGS HAPPEN?” Or, “Why does HE ALLOW EVIL TO EXIST?”
Let’s review… bad means, “I DON’T LIKE IT!” Evil, means, “I DON’T LIKE IT!”
But the TRUTH IS…
Back in the day, there was this ONE THING that God said “NO!” too.
The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” Genesis 2:16-17
We could almost feel sorry for our first ancestors, I mean they had no clue that evil was as evil does. They knew ONLY good – God, their Creator, Provider, Intimate Friend. How would they know that the snake was NOT good, he was “JUST a snake” (and now he is a snake in the grass!).
ALMOST feel sorry for them… For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Romans 1:21
No???? When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. Genesis 3:6
And… then came the children… born to be just like our “old man” – Adam…
Professing to be wise, they (we) became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. Romans 1:22-23 Learned our lessons well! “If God won’t give me what I want, I will make a deal with the devil”… “Quid Pro Quo, Baby!”
Something for Something… BUT… I CHOOSE! Really???? Evil laughs! He will give you something… Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8 He will give you death and destruction no matter what you give him.
There are those who have changed the meme just a little… Something for Nothing. Or for those who have given up on life… Nothing for Nothing. All of it bears the same demand – I CONTROL! “I am the god of MY LIFE!”
And there you have the answer to WHO do we blame for the mess we’ve made? LOOK IN THE MIRROR!
But God…
2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
No, God does not do Quid Pro Quo. He does God! “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts. “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth And making it bear and sprout, And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:8-11
He IS The Promise Keeper!
The Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” Deuteronomy 31:8
Quid Pro Quo? The Quid and the Quo are not worth the blood, sweat and tears it is written in. Seek God, He is the Something The Only Someone, our world (you, me and everyone) can’t seem to find but desperately NEEEEEEEEEED!
You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13
**All Scripture quoted comes from the “Bible Gateway” app and is the NASB version of the Bible unless otherwise noted.