Attempts at Honesty

Reflections on the interplay of the Bible and Culture

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Unrighteous Indignation

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No Indignation or AngerI am reminded of James 1:20 which tells me that my anger does not produce the righteousness of God. What prompts the mention of this verse is that I found myself a couple of times this week regretting some comments I made on articles and blog posts.

My issue is not so much what I said as how I said it. In Ephesians 4:15, Paul tells us to speak the truth in love. I think that there was truth in my comments, but there was very little love.

Jesus reserved his anger for those who knew better. Those who knew the Law of God and thought themselves experts at keeping it were often the target of his wrath when they got it wrong. With sinners who struggled to think that they could be accepted by God, Jesus was amazingly gentle.

Jesus found a way to let people know that he accepted them without condoning the sinful behavior. Hookers, addicts, poor people, cripples and extortionists loved him. It was the religious leaders who hated him.

How does this apply to me? The point is that if I take it upon myself to convince someone of his error if he is unwilling to see it, I am on dangerous ground. If that person is unwilling, my attempt to convince him will only result in my frustration which will result in the type of comment I alluded to at the beginning of this post.

I am resolved to let the Holy Spirit do his job. My job is to be prepared to give answers in a gentle and respectful manner.

Technorati Tags: Holy Spirit,conviction,anger,love,truth

America’s Colosseum Spectacle

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News & HighlightsI like that social media allow for real time interaction with people from around the world. One of the people I have made contact with is a blogger from Japan who is posting at http://holyfirejapan.blogspot.com/ named Steve Barrett.

Steve posted a Twitter comment (@stevetsunami) about the hysteria of American media in their coverage of the events in Japan. As a result of my recent experience in Rome his comment triggered some thoughts about news media.

I previously posted about the similarities of television and movie violence to the spectacles of the Roman Colosseum. When I wrote that post, I did not think to include television news in my musings. Someone once jokingly said of TV news, “if it bleeds, it leads.” In other words, the most shocking story is the one that gets the most attention. We, as fallen human beings, seem to gravitate toward shocking.

Perhaps this stems from a need to find someone worse off than we so that we feel better about our own conditions by comparison. Perhaps there is something in the suffering that provides perverse stimulation. Perhaps it allows the viewer to feel superior to his peers, like the person who likes to always be ready with an “I told you so.” Whatever the impulse behind hysteria and overstatement, it is wrongheaded and sometimes very creepy.

I suspect that sometimes the stories are chosen and overstated for their support of the political or social world view of the news editor. For example, before “global warming” morphed into “climate change,” every cataclysmic event was heralded as a consequence of man’s destruction of his environment. This exposed the semi-religious fervor of many in media for the “green” movement.

The only good motivation for knowing about a tragedy is to pray and to find ways of helping. The good news is that historically, Americans have responded to disasters (how we use this word so glibly) in a positive way. We have sent supplies and personnel to help alleviate suffering around the world.

The question I have to ask myself as I consume any news is “toward what end is this driving me?” Is the news vendor trying to lead me in a particular direction? If so, what is that direction and is that a direction that God is leading me to go?

We are called to be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. We need to be aware of what is happening around us but not loose confidence that God is in control The question to be asked is what would God like me to do in response to the needs around me? How can I make a difference?

Technorati Tags: disaster,relief,Colosseum,Violence,news

Live with the end in mind?

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I recently got a tweet which said, “Live with the end in mind but remember it’s the journey that matters in the end.”

Without thinking, we might ingest this statement and think it says something helpful. Yet, it is not the journey that matters in the end. A pleasant journey to a wrong destination is a tragedy. The destination is what matters in the end.

There is a measure of truth in this statement. Being finite in our knowledge and wisdom, we often find that detours are forced upon us that end up being pleasant in the end. Enjoyment  of the journey is one of the blessings of life.

Ravi Zacharias points out that every world view must address four core issues:

  1. Origen – Where do I come from?
  2. Meaning – What gives life value?
  3. Morality – How do I judge right from wrong”?
  4. Destiny – Toward what end should I be moving?

Destiny is an important question and no high sounding platitude can sweep this question aside. It must be considered. It is never too late.

Technorati Tags: destiny,journey

Going against the flow

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Swimming UpstreamIn reading the book of Isaiah, I get the sense that with the advent of electronic media, we have improved the speed of communication but not the quality of the content. Solomon said that there is nothing new under the sun and this passage confirms it. Isaiah describes a nation that is in the midst of political turmoil. Sound familiar?

Here is the situation. The Kings of Samaria and Syria are threatening Jerusalem. The King of Judah is considering an appeal to Assyria for aid against these two kings. Isaiah speaks out against this proposed alliance and gets accused of treason.

Isaiah 8:12–15 (ESV)

12 “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. 13 But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. 14 And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15 And many shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken.”

I would like to make a few observations on this text:

  • Speaking out against current political wisdom should not be viewed as conspiracy or treason. The error in that day, as is the error in our day, is to ignore God and rely on human wisdom. In current society, there is a drive toward eliminating any reference to God in public discourse.
  • The result of conventional wisdom is fear. A survey of political talk radio (left or right) in America demonstrates this. Both sides teach that if the other side gets or keeps power, certain destruction will result.
  • The faithful are not to give in to this fear or be in dread. God has not abandoned us or surrendered control.
  • If the faithful focus on God and are obedient to him, he will be our protection.
  • A majority of people in the culture will not understand this perspective and will view it as treason against the state.

The bottom line for me is that I choose to stay away from political speech that is designed to engender fear. My hope cannot be in the federal, state or local government. We cannot solve our problems without the help of God. We, as believers in the God of the Bible, need to be willing to stand firm and not give in to the fear that conventional wisdom engenders. We need to go against the flow.

I believe that the only thing that can save this nation from the death spiral that Rome and other great civilizations have experienced is a revival, a return to worship of the God of the Bible. The faithful need to place their hope in God alone and pray for revival or the speedy return of Jesus. I’m OK with either of these.

Maranatha

Technorati Tags: revival,politics,turmoil,maranatha,talk radio

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