The Root of the Problem

Devotion for the Week...

Many places are saying they're having trouble finding people to work right now. They blame the people, saying they're lazy because they'd rather not work and just take the money that governments are giving out to help people because of the pandemic. The people, on the other hand, are pointing out that they make more money from what the government gives out than they would if they were working. They're not lazy, they're actually better off financially if they don't work. Rather than blaming people for not working, it's important to find the root of the problem and fix it.

Nehemiah had a similar problem once after he returned to Jerusalem from a trip. He came back and found that the Levites were not performing their duties at the Temple and had returned home to their own towns instead. Rather than losing his cool at the Levites and blaming them for abandoning their proper work, he found the root of the problem. Nehemiah 13:10 says, "I also discovered that the Levites had not been given their prescribed portions of food, so they and the singers who were to conduct the worship services had all returned to work their fields." 

A portion of the offerings people brought to the Temple was supposed to be given to the Levites as their pay for their work, but either the people had stopped bringing their offerings or the offerings weren't being properly distributed. The Levites, of course, could not live without food, so they had to stop working at the Temple (for little or no pay) and return to their fields so they could provide food for their families.

Nehemiah got right to work fixing the problem. "I immediately confronted the leaders and demanded, “Why has the Temple of God been neglected?” Then I called all the Levites back again and restored them to their proper duties. And once more all the people of Judah began bringing their tithes of grain, new wine, and olive oil to the Temple storerooms. I assigned supervisors for the storerooms... and it was their job to make honest distributions to their fellow Levites" (vv. 11-13).

When there are problems, it's tempting to put all the blame on the people we feel aren't doing what they're supposed to be doing. It might be more helpful, though, to look for the root of the problem and fix it.