Take for example this passage from Jeremiah 8:
"I have listened attentively,
but they do not say what is right.
No one repents of his wickedness,
saying, 'What have I done?'
Each pursues his own course
like a horse charging into battle." verse 6
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One of the greatest comforts here is the ear of the Lord. God is listening to his people...He is listening for his people, but they are not saying what is right.
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Disturbing, and very telling of our culture today (especially church culture), is the lack of repentance because of the lack of reflection. In this short verse we see something very telling about Judah, and it speaks prophetically to us today as well. We charge ahead without thinking of the ways of the Lord. We don't reflect on how we live our lives to see if it aligns with how God calls us to live. We don't ask ourselves, "what have I done?", because we deem ourselves innocent.
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This innocence comes from a lack of holiness in the people of God. We no longer 'measure' (and I use that term in a very non-legalistic way) our standard of living to how Scripture instructs us to live, but rather we first measure our standard against classes and against our culture. What I mean is this: we don't think we're as bad as the next guy. So we measure how 'good' or 'godly' we are against those around us who are godless. We're all godless at heart. We can't understand holiness comparing ourselves to others. We can only understand holiness as we understand the Scriptures and as we work out our salvation with fear and trembling with the Sciptures, not in comparison with others.
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So today let us ask, "Lord, what have I done?" As the opening line to this verse states, God is attentively listening for us to pray this kind of prayer.
