Moses kills a bunch of people in the name of God?

Participating in a Bible study this week and these verses came into the conversation:

25 When Moses saw that the people were running wild (for Aaron had let them run wild, to the derision of their enemies), 26 then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, ‘Who is on the Lord’s side? Come to me!’ And all the sons of Levi gathered around him. 27 He said to them, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, “Put your sword on your side, each of you! Go back and forth from gate to gate throughout the camp, and each of you kill your brother, your friend, and your neighbor.” ’28 The sons of Levi did as Moses commanded, and about three thousand of the people fell on that day. 29 Moses said, ‘Today you have ordained yourselves for the service of the Lord, each one at the cost of a son or a brother, and so have brought a blessing on yourselves this day.’ 30 On the next day Moses said to the people, ‘You have sinned a great sin. But now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.’ 31 So Moses returned to the Lord and said, ‘Alas, this people has sinned a great sin; they have made for themselves gods of gold. 32 But now, if you will only forgive their sin—but if not, blot me out of the book that you have written.’ 33 But the Lord said to Moses, ‘Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book. 34 But now go, lead the people to the place about which I have spoken to you; see, my angel shall go in front of you. Nevertheless, when the day comes for punishment, I will punish them for their sin.’ 35 Then the Lord sent a plague on the people, because they made the calf—the one that Aaron made.

Kinda messed up. 

First off, it is worth noting in previous verses God wanted to destroy the people but then Moses talks God into changing God's mind. And so in verse 14 God changes God's mind and does not consume the people. 

But then you get Moses coming down the mountain and seeing all this "running wild" and gets those who are on "God's side" to kill those who are not on "God's side". Of course Moses commands all this under the declaration of "Thus says the Lord." Again, God just changed God's mind, God will not destroy the people. 

Could it be that this action, is the sin of Moses? Moses calls for a killing of people in order to purify the ranks and then tells the now 'pure' people, "Hey the sin we saw happen was rather big and we destroyed the people who were the problem. I will go up and talk with God to make an atonement and set all this right again. Just wait here." 

Moses goes up and says to God - please forgive us as we sat by and allowed this golden calf to be created. If you would not forgive us, then kill me as a way to appease your anger. 

God says - Moses, I will take care of those who sin against me in my own way (whatever it means to be blotted from the book), I will punish them through a plague. In case you forgot I said I did not want to destroy the people then you go down and kill all these people! What the heck are you doing?! This is not what I said and here you go putting my seal on your actions. I do not desire these people to die, but it seems you did.  

I know I am taking some artistic licence here, but I struggle with the idea that God says God will not destroy then Moses goes down and kills 3000 people in the name of God. Did Moses sin and kill a bunch of people in the name of God? 

Strategic thinking is not common sense

I have been wondering how to learn and how to teach strategic thinking. It has been said to me that this is not a skill set that is teachable it is a gift that one has or does not have. I tend to hold out that this is a sill set that can be learned and taught.  

There is a difference however, in strategic thinking and common sense. 

This may go without saying, but it was recently shared with me that many view strategic thinking as glorified common sense. The difference seems to me, that strategic thinking and common sense have different goals and if we examine our goals then we know if we are thinking strategically or just using common sense. 

A lot of common sense seems rooted in the goal of survival. Whereas strategic thinking's goal is determined by the thinker.  

Lets take a meeting for example. If we were using common sense to run the meeting, then we would do things that would not anger people or make us look good because, well that is just common sense. Why would you want to create an environment that has tension in it? Why would you want people to dislike you? Why would you want to make a tough decision when you could just kick it down the road and hope the problem cures itself. Why would you want to change the status quo when to change it would require a lot of uncertainty? When using common sense it is clear what the choice is, live to survive another day. 

However, if in a meeting and we were thinking strategically, then the goal is different. Survival is not the main goal. You will have to say things that upset some people and you may have to eat your own words. You might have to introduce more tension into the situation in order to exacerbate the problem for people to see the problem. Some people may not like you. You may have to make a tough decision now ad refuse to table the decision. The status quo might have to change in order to reach the goal you have in mind because the goal, in thinking strategically is not survival.

The goal is to thrive. And, many times common sense might help you live but it rarely ensure that you will thrive.  

It would have been common sense for Jesus to just shut his mouth and stay low for a while. But Jesus was not driven by common sense. It is common sense to avoid the lepers in the event you may get the sickness, Jesus sought out the leper. It is common sense to just answer the questions Pilate has for you and then you would have gotten off and lived, Jesus refused to answer the questions.  

What Jesus teaches me is that common sense does not change the world. It is too, well, common.

Followers of Jesus are called to avoid the trappings and false sense of security that comes with common sense and rather think strategically about the world. As a reminder, we are to die to self (not common sense), bind ourselves to the call of Christ (not common sense), practice forgiveness in the face of hate (not common sense) and proclaim resurrection in the face of death (not common sense). 

How baffling you are, oh Church

Today my wife and the good reverend Estee Valendy, shared with a classic reading, which points to where my heart is right now. I share it with you in case you are on the same island I am on. 

How baffling you are, oh Church, and yet how I love you! How you have made me suffer, and yet how much I owe you! I would like to see you destroyed, and yet I need your presence. You have given me so much scandal and yet you have made me understand what sanctity is. I have seen nothing in the world more devoted to obscurity, more compromised, more false, and yet I have touched nothing more pure, more generous, more beautiful. How often I have wanted to shut the doors of my soul in your face, and how often I have prayed to die in the safety of your arms. No, I cannot free myself from you, because I am you, though not completely. And besides, where would I go? Would I establish another? I would not be able to establish it without the same faults, for they are the same faults I carry in me. And if I did establish another, it would be my Church, not the Church of Christ. I am old enough to know that I am no better than anyone else.

From Carlo Carretto, The God Who Comes