Genesis #13 - The Gospel According to Abraham #3 - "Faltering Faith, Faithful God" (Gen 12:10-20)

The sermon series that we've been in for the last Few weeks now called the gospel according to Abraham the gospel according to Abraham. We've been working our way I'll admit a little slowly so far as we start to pick up from next week but we've been working our way through the life of Abraham or Abram as he's technically known at this point and.

So if you have a Bible and I hope you do take it in turn with me to. Genesis chapter 12. Genesis and chapter 12. Genesis chapter 12 and verses 10 Through 20. Genesis chapter 12 and verses 10 through 20 should be page 9.

If you grabbed one of the red harbik Bibles we give away. Genesis chapter 12 and verses 10.

Through.

20 Genesis chapter 10 and verses 12 through 20 if you are able to do so Can I invite you to stand with me out of reverence for God's Word as we read it? We will read pray and then we will get to work in this text Genesis chapter 12 then beginning in verse 10.

God's Word says.

There was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to stay there for a while because the famine in the land was severe. When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife sir, I look. I know what a beautiful woman You are.

When the Egyptians see you. They will say this is his wife. They will kill me but let you live. Please say you're my sister. So it will go well with for me because of you and my life will be spared on your account.

When Abram entered Egypt the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. Pharaoh's officials saw her and praised her to Pharaoh. So the woman was taken to Pharaoh's household. He treated Abram well because of her and Abram acquired flocks and herds male and female donkeys male and female slaves and camels.

But Yahweh struck Pharaoh in his household with severe plagues because of Abram's wife Sarai. So Pharaoh sent for Abram and said what have you done to me? Well, why didn't you tell me that she was your wife?

Why did you say she's my sister so that I took her as my wife? Now here is your wife take her and go. Then Pharaoh gave his men orders about him and they sent him away with his wife and all.

He had.

Pray that God will bless that reading of his word and grant us understanding. Let's pray ask for the Spirit's help and we will get to work in this passage. Heavenly father we ask that as we open up your word once again and.

What is a.

Interesting passage to say the least. We ask that your spirit would be at work helping us to understand and to see the great truths about you and about us. That are waiting for us in this text. Father it's our habit to pray for another church in our area and this Sunday, we would take the opportunity to pray for Eagle Point Community Bible Church.

Pray for their pastor pastor Mike Bull and their elders and leaders there that you would bless them. Minister to them as he is working his way through God's Word and seeking to disciple that congregation there.

Pray that your blessing would be on their outreach out there in Eagle Point. And ultimately they would glorify you in all that they do father. That's my prayer for them. And that's my prayer for us even now as we would open up your word.

For we ask you in Jesus name and for his sake. Amen. Please be seated. I've entitled the sermon this afternoon. Faltering faith faithful God faltering faith faithful God. Brothers this is as we begin this afternoon.

I want to start with a question. I want to start with a question. Do you ever feel as though God can't be trusted? Interesting question when you think about it. Do you ever feel as though God can't be trusted?

Now you may not want to say that out loud or answer that question. But I encourage you to think about that. Have there ever been periods in your life where despite the clear and wonderful promises of God's Word.

It has felt as though God Seemingly couldn't be trusted to deliver on what he says. If you've ever had those moments I know for me when I've had those moments happen in my own life. The temptation is to think well, I need to do something because I don't know if God will.

And if you've ever felt that. Feeling in the depth of your soul. Then you might be a little more sympathetic towards Abraham and where he is in the passage that we're going to be in this afternoon. As we come back to the narrative of God's dealing with Abram.

Remember where we left off a couple of weeks ago we we left with Abram obeying God who commanded him to leave his home and His family and to leave the land that he lived in and to go to the land that God would show him.

That's what we ended last time Abraham obeyed God and started making moves towards that land. God had reached out and initiated a relationship with Abraham. He had extended great and precious promises to him and Abrams response at least initially was one of.

Obedience.

Demonstrating trust in what God has said. And it would be great if that's where The story ended. It would be great in our own lives if that's where the story of our walk with the Lord ended. Where we just were riding high and things were always going well all the time.

And we never had any problems when it comes to our faith in him. Well, I'll put it to you that in this text and the one that we'll look at next Lord's Day we're going to see some development in Abrams faith.

Now that the walk with God has begun now, we're going to see how it's going to proceed. And as we look at this These movements I should say in the life of Abram. We're going to learn much for our own walk with God as his.

Children.

That's not really this message and the next message are tied together by that theme now. We start to see how does Abram respond? In day-to-day life as this promise now begins to unfold. Before we delve into our text is one other layer to this I need to consider if you picked up a study guide this afternoon.

You might want to pay attention to that front page real quickly. I won't dwell on it too long. That's for your own reading in your own time. But there's another layer to all of this that's happening in the early chapters of Genesis that I do think is worth considering.

Now remember who we've said those of you who've been here in our studies in Genesis. I remember what we said the original audiences. Who we've said the first readers of this are. You probably have gotten sick of me saying this phrase, but I will say it again.

It is the generation of Israelites on the plains of Moab about to enter the land of promise. Well on the verge of entering this land of promise on the verge of taking possession of it. The question no doubt had to come to the minds of those who would read this narrative for the first time.

What does possessing God's promise look like? Well, I put it to you. That when you look at the narrative here at the end of chapter 12 and going into chapter 13 that Moses puts these two Scenes in the life of Abraham side-by-side and he's seeking to make parallels between Abram and the children of Israel.

That's why I have that chart in front of you because as you look at that shot what you start to realize is there are some very interesting parallels between Abram as we'll see him in chapter 12 and the beginning of 13.

And the children of Israel as they came out in the Exodus. Allow me to summarize the information you've got in front of you. Both groups had to deal with a famine in the land. Both groups end up going to Egypt because of this famine.

Both groups experience affliction at the hands of the Egyptians. Both groups experience plagues are poured out on the Egyptians for their treatment of God's people. Both narratives have the Egyptians sending the people away as a result of the plagues that God pours out.

Both narratives have the Egyptians letting them take with them the possessions they came with. But more than that in both narratives as we'll see you see the people obtaining wealth from the Egyptians as well.

In both narratives you have a return to the land of Canaan that doesn't happen immediately it happens in stages and ultimately in both narratives you have a return to Canaan that culminates in worship.

Ultimately as you're reading this Moses by the inspiration of the Spirit is Reminding the children of Israel that everything that you've endured is not new. That the delays to the promise of God the fact that Israel has made some very poor decisions up to this point.

All of these things are not new. This is how it's always been as it were. And I think it's clear as you read this that the generation who are about to enter into the land are being presented with their history and As they're being presented with their history.

They're supposed to look at the mirror of history and see themselves. And as they're being presented with their history, they're being faced with a very simple decision. And can I put it to you that is a decision that's not too dissimilar.

Yes, there are some Differences but when you boil it all down, it's really not much too different from the question that we ultimately face. Kofi, what question is that? Well, I'm glad you asked. The question that we ultimately face is will we trust God's promise or Will we trust in our own wisdom?

Allow me to personalize that will you trust God's promise or will you trust your own? Wisdom. Abraham faced that decision the children of Israel faced that decision and Ultimately at some point in your walk with God you will face that very same decision.

And when you look at it that way really this passage is an insight into faith. And in particular it's an insight into what happens when faith falters. Now I need to correct something that sometimes the general Christian world doesn't always do a good job of communicating.

But it might be important for our message faith falters sometimes. There is a undercurrent at times in our Evangelical sphere that can sometimes suggest that if your faith is faltering there's something wrong with you that you know Christians don't struggle with their faith.

Christians don't have moments, but no actually they do. Actually, you read this Bible and this Bible is really the story of imperfect people walking with a very very perfect God at times faith will falter and When faith falters sometimes it leads to bad decisions not too different to what we see in this passage.

And.

Can I put it to you that if you are surprised or if you are shocked when for faith falters? Excuse me. You won't know what to do when It happens and you more importantly than knowing what to do you won't know God's gracious provision that is in place for when faith indeed falters.

Well, what can we learn from this portion of the Word of God? I said I've kept saying that this has some great things to teach us about our walk with the Lord. Well, what can we learn from this passage?

What does God desire for us as we read this story from the life of his servant Abram? Well allow me to boil it down simply. Here's the big idea from this message the possession of God's promises doesn't mean That faith won't falter.

The fact that God has extended these great and precious promises to Abraham that doesn't always mean that faith won't falter. We've been giving great and precious promises in Christ. Bear witness if we're honest in our heart of hearts that we have moments where our faith is sometimes shaken and sometimes to hurt.

Well.

I want to help us from this passage to see something about faltering faith and more importantly not so much faltering faith but the promises of God and how they remain stable even when our faith is Unstable for the rest of our time.

I want to look at three scenes which unfold Abraham's faltering faith Should challenge and encourage us in our own walk with the Lord. I want to look at three scenes. I promise you we will try not to be long.

This is a very short narrative and it moves quite quickly so three scenes. Consider with me first of all the the circumstances of faltering faith. The circumstances of faltering faith verses 10 through 13.

So we pick up the story in 1210. The narrative just flows seamlessly from Abraham's obedience to verse 10. There was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to stay there for a while because the famine in the land was severe.

Abraham is where God told him to go when this famine strikes now. If you know anything about the geography of this area, I won't bore you with this too much. Suffice it to say that Abraham ends his journey in verse 9 in what's basically a desert so famine is not entirely unheard of.

Now as I was studying the this this week all sorts of questions started to emerge and let me give you a bit of an Insight into how I walked my way through this passage. I found myself asking lots of questions in this narrative because ed but in what is implied.

And so as you start to walk through what's implied in this passage. Some questions start to emerge. Let me just I'll kind of walk you through the questions as I go. Here was the first one I had is based on the end of verse 10.

I Don't fool Abraham for trying to take care of his family. A famine hits the land and he wants to go where there is provision. It's not unwise to want to move from where there is a lack of provision to where he can be provided for.

So I don't fool Abraham for trying to take care of his family. But as I read this text, am I the only one who wonders why? Abram isn't trusting God for his provision. If it coffee, where'd you get that from?

We're very simple. Didn't God tell Abraham to make his way towards this land. Yes call me an idealist call me a literalist, but surely God would have known that there was a Famine in the land when he went there, of course God did.

So if God knew there was going to be a famine in this land. Yeah, he tells Abraham to go. The question becomes why is there an apparent lack of faith in God's promise? On Abrams part now at this point.

It's very easy to hop on Abraham for being flawed and human and unsure of God. Before you go down that road with Abram. Might we put our arms down and put the pointing finger away for just a second I recommend that course of action because if we are honest We have all been where Abraham has been and let's be honest at some points in our lives.

We have made similar decisions.

To Abram.

Haven't we all at some point shown even a little mistrust in The gracious promises of God extended to us in Christ. Haven't we all struggled at some point on this level? I mean, how often do we fall back and please know I said fall back not fall away.

I don't believe that Christ's true sheep can fall away. But how often do we fall back from trusting in Christ into trusting in our own efforts? From trusting in Christ's finished work to trusting our own solution.

If you look at our own solutions, if you look at it that way. We're not all that different from Abraham in this moment. Sometimes are we? Another question arises from Abrams actions in verse 10. And this might seem like an obvious question, but where is God's command in this action from Abram?

Did God tell Abram to do this? I think it's quite obvious from looking at the passage that no. Had God already told Abram where to go. Yes. Beloved I won't labor this point long but right here I mean right here you see two ways that life can be ordered.

You can either order your life according to divine revelation or you can order it by human reasoning. And you may think okay. Well, I'm a Christian. I already know the answer to this question. I don't be so quick.

Even saved people are faced with the decision will my thinking be governed by me or by God. If you think that Kofi, that's a bit of a false dichotomy. Can't it be a little bit of both? May I remind you of what Jesus said?

Actually quoting the author of this very book. We're reading Moses. Remember, he said it in his temptation two times in the Gospels easy way to remember it. They're both in 4 -4 Matthew 4 -4 and Luke 4 -4.

Devil comes to Jesus and what does Jesus tell him? It is written man must not live on bread alone. But on everywhere that comes from the mouth of God. It's interesting Jesus doesn't say man shall not live by bread because actually you do need bread to survive.

But he says you don't live by bread alone. You don't live by that which just sustains your physical body. But you live by everywhere that comes from the mouth of God. Abraham made a choice that on the surface seems reasonable from a human perspective.

But as you read this narrative is going to become very apparent that this goes from a reasonable move. Into what what can only be described as a descent into madness consider verse 11 with me verse 11 When he was about to enter Egypt, so they're making this journey.

They're on their way into Egypt when he was about to enter Egypt. He said to his wife Sarai. Look, I know what a beautiful woman you are. When the Egyptians see you they will say this is his wife. They will kill me.

But let you live. Please say you are my sister. So it will go well with me because of you and my life will be spared on your account. As if the clear lack of faith in God's promise wasn't bad enough. As if the lack of corresponding trust in the sufficiency of God's promise wasn't bad enough now He was gonna drag his poor wife into this.

But if you've read Genesis you've seen this before. Where have we seen a man in covenant relationship with God making a poor decision and then making out his wife was the reason. Oh Right. That was Adam.

Do you think that's by accident in this narrative? I don't think it is. Moses wants to clue you in by the inspiration of the spirit to the fact that Abraham is making an Adam like choice all over again.

One must give credit to Abraham and I might reiterate it later. He Clearly knows his wife for her age is something of a stunner is like babe. You got on Sam like we're going to this place. I Kind of have an idea of how they operate here.

This might not go. Well note that he says for me twice in verse 13. Please say your assist. Please say you're my sister. So it will go well for me because of you and my life will be spared on your account.

So for a moment, let's just count all the bad decisions up to this point you have Abram decided to go to Egypt bad idea number one then he basically tells his wife as We're going these people will kill me and take you so tell them that I'm I'm your brother.

You're my sister. Now. That wasn't untrue. We'll see this later in Genesis. Technically speaking Sarai is Abrams half-sister, so technically it's true, but they're married that relationship has changed quite drastically at this point.

This is not a hot star. Abraham is kind of being like Adam in this moment responding to his own bad decision with a shocking lack of responsibility. These are the circumstances that faltering faith can lead to.

That's only the first scene in our narrative. We see the circumstances of faltering faith but the second scene takes us deeper into this narrative as we see the costs of faltering faith as we see the cost of faltering faith verses 14 through 16.

So we leave the land and in verse 14, we get to where they've arrived in Egypt. Verse 14 when Abram Entered Egypt the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. Pharaoh's officials praised her saw her and praised her to Pharaoh.

So the woman was taken to Pharaoh's household. Now Abraham is a lot of things in this passage. But to his credit. Let's not throw him under the bus too much. He knew his wife. And he knew the effect his wife had on other people.

She turns up in Egypt and she starts turning heads almost immediately. The passage would seem to imply. There's some debate here as to whether becoming a member of Pharaoh's household in verse 15 means she just becomes a member of the harem one among many or something actually happens.

I don't think that's really germane to the discussion. Because that's not really the issue. That's not what the author of Genesis wants you to think about what he wants you to think about is this. Because of Abraham's lapse of faith now his wife remember God has made a promise to him that he is going to be the father of Large group of people kind of need a wife for that.

Now his wife through whom the promised seed would come now. She's the property of another man. And I use the word property carefully because that's what ancient Kings did and not just any other man. If Abraham is going to be the fountainhead of God's kingdom promise in time.

Why is his wife now the possession of the head of another kingdom a kingdom that is opposed to God's?

Kingdom.

There's more I'd like to say about that, but I think that point makes sense all by itself. And so now here you are. Abraham's bad decision has kind of become a self-fulfilling prophecy. He gets to Egypt and now his wife is part of Pharaoh's harem.

The story takes an unusual twist in verse 16 though verse 16. He treated Abram well because of her and Abram acquired flocks and herds. Male and female donkeys male and female slaves and camels. It does actually work out for Abram.

Abrams perfectly fine. In fact Abram gets paid very well paid. The description might be lost on us in 2022. But listen to this. It's from Kent Hughes in his sermons on Genesis quote. Pharaoh was so pleased with obtaining Sarai that he made Abram a very rich man.

Two gifts tell all the female donkeys and the camels. Female donkeys were far more controllable and dependable for riding and therefore the ride of choice of. The rich he describes it like this the Lexus is and BMWs of the Nile.

The camels plural had just been introduced as domesticated animals and were a rarity. They were prestige symbols for show by the very rich not for utility. So Abraham gets a bunch of resources. He's now a very wealthy man almost overnight.

Can I pause for a moment at times Sin can make faltering faith seem like it's not that big a deal. Whatever doubts Abram might have had at least externally he's now very well. Compensated he's gotten a lot out of this but we have to ask the question at what cost.

I Told you that there's a link here between Israel's history and Abram. Listen to this from the psalm. Psalm 106 verses 13 through 15. This is the psalmist reflecting on Israel's history. Psalm 106 13 to 15 says they soon forgot his works referring to God and would not wait for his counsel.

Sounds a lot like this text, doesn't it? They were seized with craving in the wilderness and tested God in the desert. He gave them what they asked for. Let me pause for I finish the verse. Sometimes it's all too easy to think in a very short-sighted way when everything's when we're not doing the right thing and yet we seem to be blessed or enriched as a result of it.

But the Word of God doesn't end there. Yes, you may get some temporal Prosperity as it were but again, I'll ask you that question at what cost. Let me finish someone else 615. He gave them what they asked for.

The CSP says he sent a wasting disease. Kind of what it says there. The literal language is he sent them leanness of soul. I'll give you what you want, but it's not necessarily what you need. And this is a theme that plays itself out on and on in the Word of God that just because we receive Temporal benefits for not trusting God that doesn't mean in the final analysis.

That's the best thing for us. Job said like this Job chapter 20 verses 4 and 5. Don't you know that ever since antiquity from the time a human was placed on earth? The joy of the wicked has been brief.

The happiness of the godless has lasted only a moment. My favorite text on this theme is Psalm 73. ASAP is essentially a worship leader. But he gets a little bit discouraged.

And.

He says the reason I got discouraged was I looked at the wicked and the wicked were prospering and here am I. I'm a worship Leader serving God in his temple, and I'm not seeing anything for it but then the text says he goes to the house of God he engages in worship and Then he gets a heavenly perspective on earthly prosperity.

Listen to what he says right at the end of indeed you put them in slippery places. You make them fall into ruin how suddenly they become a desolation. They come to an end swept away by terrors like one waking from a dream Lord when right arising.

You will despise their image. I have to pause. I would be doing your soul a disservice if I didn't say this while we're in this passage. Just because you enjoy physical prosperity and physical prosperity is not bad.

Please don't hear me saying that we are not ascetics. We don't believe that the poorer you are or the less What's what I'm looking for the less enriched you are or the less comfortable you are the closer you get to God automatically.

We are not saying that please hear me is not saying that but we do have to ask What is it worth having all the money and means if in the world if it strikes our faith? Right at its heart. I've seen it in my own life in the life of others how many Christians have assumed that Prosperity is a sign of divine blessing when it came at the cost of communion with God and fellowship with his people.

Just this week I was reading a blog post, you know, I mean I read blog post which I shouldn't read. I know but I was reading a blog post this week and This is from a professing Christian. Very well read blog and the person said the work and career advancement, which are good things.

You should work hard and God has generally built a world in which when people work hard they get noticed and rewarded for their hard work. So it's a good thing. I'm not downplaying that at all but the author said So it was a Q &A someone to send him a question and said look I've got a new job.

It comes with a promotion, but it means I'm missing church on Sunday a bunch and I don't want to take it but some of you my life say I should beg. What should I do and his his answer was basically that Work and career advancement.

This is his quote now. These things are as holy as church. So if you need to miss church for a protracted season, it's no big deal. And these were his exact words. Before there was a church God gave the sacrament of work.

I'll put aside how. Not true. There's about 20 other words I could use but let me just Keep it clean. Not true. That statement is beloved. Abraham receives a lot from Pharaoh as a result of his poor decisions made in a period of faltering faith.

But is this in the long run? What is best for?

Abram.

Abram gets a lot and with more goods come more problems. I Have another man now. God would have been just to let Abram suffer the consequences of his bad actions. No wife in a strange country. Sure. You've got a lot of and what's that gonna do when the house is lonely?

God would have been just to let Abraham suffer the consequence of his bad decisions just like God would be just to leave us to the consequences of our bad decisions when our faith falters and sometimes he does but that's not where the story ends, thankfully a Faltering faith had led to bad circumstances and even worse consequences.

But praise God that even when we mess up point number three, there is grace for faltering faith. There is grace for faltering faith verses 17 through 20. So as we come to verse 17, we now hit the climax of this narrative.

All kind of looks if the story had ended in verse 16 all this kind of bleak and our but look at verse 17 but Yahweh struck Pharaoh and his household with severe plagues because of Abram's wife Sarai. God is not going to leave that story.

Just where it is. He begins to enact a rescue not just of Sarai. But of his covenant plan all by himself and think about this. He didn't have to. Again pay attention to our text. You see Abraham praying and asking God for the way forward.

No. Do we see Abraham waiting for God? No. Abraham just made a decision and went on his own way. Go cuz did you know what keep on keeping on? Okay, and yet. Because our God is good because he is kind because he is faithful he does act and.

Even here, isn't that how grace works? It's undeserved. It's unearned. It's extended to those who deserve anything, but One of the words of Psalm 103. Psalm 103 verses 8 through 10 Says Yahweh is compassionate and gracious.

Slow to anger and abounding in faithful love. He will not always accuse us or be angry forever. He has not dealt with us as our sins deserve or repaid us according to our iniquities. Isn't it good to know that in the words of the Sovereign Grace version of Psalm 103.

My God is slow to anger. When I go astray bless the Lord all my soul. Isn't that good to know? Isn't it good to know? That for all the song goes on and says for all of my betrayals. He does not repay.

Bless the Lord. Oh.

My soul.

God acts in great grace towards Abram making sure that Abram and Sarai and more importantly his covenant plan will be just fine. Pharaoh didn't know it when he made this decision. But he unwittingly has made himself an enemy in the God of Abram.

And to Pharaoh's credit we don't know the text doesn't tell us how he knows this. But he gets the message very quickly. Look at verse 18 so Pharaoh sent for Abram and said What have you done to me? Why didn't you tell me she was your wife?

Why did you say she's my sister so that I took her as my wife? I? Mean, he's all very reasonable questions on Pharaoh's part. I somewhat sympathize with him. Now here was your wife. You can kind of hear the exasperation in his voice.

My mom might be watching this. Kind of pictured my mom saying these lines. Not a mom will do this but When we were younger and really annoying. We do something about my mom did not want to actually talk to us because she could not be trusted to say something kind of.

That moment. She's just be like just go. You can kind of picture that in Pharaoh's tone here. Just like to take your wife and go get out of here. Here is your wife take her and go. But even in that Grace is on display.

You see Pharaoh's most powerful man in the world. The Pharaohs were not exactly known for their humility and taking things on the chin. You generally didn't touch Pharaoh and live to tell the tale. Or Abram gets is a deportation.

Oh, he gets to keep all his stuff when he's been deported and he gets his wife back. Oh. And they don't ask for all the stuff that they gave him. Just just please leave get out here. Bye. One would expect that given the monumental disaster.

That this trip to Egypt has been. You'd expect God to kind of rebuke at this point. Surely but look at verse 20. Yeah, this narrative ends. Then Pharaoh gave his men orders about him and they sent him away with his wife and all he had.

That's how the story ends. I think there's something for us to learn as we come to the end. This is short message. It's a short narrative. But I think there's something for us to learn as we look at that.

For all I said earlier I would be a failure of a new covenant preacher if I just kind of thundered the law without proclaiming the grace of God. Yes, we should seek to make decisions with God in mind.

Yes. We should seek to order our lives according to the revelation of God's Word and our own human reason. Yes, we should not make decisions absence of God. All of that is true, and I'm not taking a single word away from what I just said about that.

But let's be honest Christianity is about yes. The pursuit of godliness and holiness and walking with the Lord and zeal and all the glories of life in Christ. But can we also be honest and say that we are imperfect people?

That we sin in many ways as James says we falter in many ways we like Abram missed the mark in many ways. There's a way to read this narrative that basically says don't do what Abram did try harder and do better and do it fast before God takes as it were his celestial belt to your spiritual hide a narrative like this.

However tempers that a little. Because think about this. Let me leave you with this as I wrap up if God could be merciful to a coward like Abram who sells out his wife in more ways than one and Nearly got his head lifted off his shoulders for the trouble if God could be merciful to him.

But let me leave you with this how much grace will he show to weary pilgrims who are Journeying with him and at times experience their faith faltering and hear me. I'm not saying that to make light of flagrance or Unrepentant sin.

The Bible has a lot to say about not enabling but confronting that kind of sin. I'm not talking about that. No, my aim is not to let folks off the hook as it were but it is to lift up downcast heads and weary hearts.