Woe Is Me (and maybe you too?)
Ever read something and thought, “Wow, I know exactly who needs to hear this”? I think it all the time. And as a pastor, I hear it all the time after a sermon:
“That was a great sermon, Pastor! I wish my ____________ was here to hear it.” [You fill in the blank]
I wish my brother would’ve heard that!
I wish my husband was here for that sermon!
Man, it would’ve been great if my wife would’ve heard that. I’m going to tell her to listen to it!
It reminds me of Isaiah. In chapter 5 of Isaiah, the prophet speaks powerfully against the nations and against sinners. He’s going, Woe! Woe! Woe unto you! You’re sinners; you’re evil; you’ve turned away from God and His anger is kindled towards you. Repent! Change your ways and seek mercy!
He’s speaking judgment and warning, and rightfully so. And then just a few verses later the Lord gives the prophet a vision, in which he sees the Lord high and lifted up. You’ve read this before.
The thing that puts me in my place (especially as a preacher of the gospel) is that right after he sees this vision, Isaiah falls on his face and immediately says, Woe is me!
“Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts” (Isaiah 6:5)
In the presence of God — holy, righteous, terrifying — the very words he was rightfully speaking against sinners are turned against himself.
The message of God wasn’t something for other people. It was for him. He allowed it to work as it should — as a mirror.
What an example for us! It leads us to cry out, O, God please be merciful to me! I’m a sinner. Have mercy on me. Help me, God!
Isaiah’s reaction wasn’t just a moment of humility. It was a recognition we all need. Before we ever pass it on or point fingers, we need to let God’s Word hit home first.
I wonder if you’ve ever turned your words on yourself. I wonder if we’re honest enough with ourselves to do that. Or brave enough. To turn all of the things we say to other people (whether they’re from a pure place, a judgmental one, or even the constant posture of evaluating how the preacher could have said it better or what the author should have emphasized more) on ourselves…and let them sink in.
I wonder if I'm brave enough to turn the focus off of what others do or have done and onto my own heart and the wickedness that you’ll no doubt find there.
It seems like in our divided, finger-pointing, blame-game culture that few are. It’s much easier for me to pass it on to someone who needs to hear it more than me or hide behind evaluation (always analyzing, never absorbing).
Not woe are you.
Not woe is he.
Not be merciful to her.
Woe is me.
Be merciful to me.
I’m a sinner.
We are all completely hopeless without Christ. I think we need to sit in that hopelessness on a regular basis. We need to allow ourselves to breathe in the godly sorrow it produces.
Sin isn’t just what we do. It’s who we are. It’s baked into us from birth. Without Jesus, we’ll choose ourselves over God and others every single time.
And even when we do “good” things, we’ll be doing them for ourselves; because it makes us feel good or to be seen by others.
We. Are. Sinners.
It’s who we are. So, comparing ourselves to those around us to feel better is an exercise in futility, because they are not the standard. God is.
“Man! That sermon was great! I wish my _______________ was here.”
Nope.
I’m glad I was here. That was for me. I am convicted.
“Woe are you.”
“Have mercy on them.”
“They are sinners.”
Nope.
God, have mercy on me. I’m a sinner.
This week, before you hit forward on a sermon or article — before you think about who needs to hear it — pause. Ask God what He wants to say to you. Maybe even pray the prayer Isaiah prayed: “Woe is me…I am a person of unclean lips.”
I’m praying for all of us — me included — to have the courage this week to ask God, “What do you want to say to me?” And the humility to actually listen.