Attempts at Honesty

Reflections on the interplay of the Bible and Culture

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They’re still clueless

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CluelessIt turns out that those popular kids in High School really were as clueless as me; they were just better at hiding it. Now the popular kids are elected officials and still clueless. I came upon this thought as I wondered why the decisions made by our government representatives seem to be getting less rational.

I have heard it said that it is insanity to do the same thing over and over again and expect a different result. Yet, humanity has been trying for at least 6,000 years to run things without God. The further we get away from the plan that God revealed to us, the worse the results are. Why am I surprised at the foibles of a government that is increasingly turning to Atheism as the state religion?

Jesus predicted that immediately prior to his return, things will get a lot worse. I should not be surprised that there is increasing hostility toward God and those who believe in Him.

As I move into 2011, I am reminded that as individuals and as a church, we have the responsibility to continue making disciples. The distinction between the citizens of Heaven and the citizens of this world will become more clear as we near the end. It is our job to be used by God to bring many into the Kingdom of Heaven before it’s too late.

It is my hope and prayer that God will bring revival to our country and that we will return to the principles upon which it was founded. But if not, we should not be dismayed because our King is soon to return to claim his throne.

Bring on 2011. We’re one year closer . . .

Church the way it used to be?

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Abandoned ChurchI recently had a road trip through the Bible belt and saw a billboard advertisement for a church that read, “Church the way it used to be . . .”

I think that I get what they are trying to convey, but I can’t say that I agree with it. My guess is that they are attempting to portray a place where the values and message are consistent with what could be expected decades ago in the average church.

The problem with this approach is that this church will be a safe haven for those who are fleeing other churches who have allowed change (good or bad) into their body. This will be a church that grows by defection rather than infection. In other words, growth will come from stealing sheep from other sheepfolds rather than by setting conditions for sheep to reproduce.

In Matthew 9:17 Jesus reminds us of the futility of trying to recycle wineskins. We should not seek to contain a fresh work of the Spirit in old forms and rituals.

If our church demographic looks much different than the demographic at the local mall, we should ask ourselves if we are missing something that God wants to do. I see weird (to me) hairdos, piercings, tattoos and various fashion statements on the young people at the mall. If this is a group of people for whom Jesus died, then it would stand to reason that if we are doing our job of making disciples, some of those pierced and tattooed people should be showing up on Sunday.

The point is not whether piercing or tattooing is a good idea, the point is that it’s already done for a lot of young people who Jesus loves just as much as the ones who have steered clear of these practices. My personal opinion on fashion choices has nothing to do with how these folks are to be received by me or by my church. God loves them the way they are.

As a band from the 70’s encouraged us, “don’t look back.” Even if we could, it would be foolish to try to recapture what was happening 5, 10 or 20 years ago. We must press on and be what God wants us to be . . . today.

A Thought from Saint Augustine

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St. Augustine of Hippo
St. Augustine of Hippo

In the Confessions, Saint Augustine describes a depraved soul as “falling away from security in you to destruction in itself.”

I like the way that Augustine puts this. When I make moral choices, I am choosing between God or self, light or darkness, building or destruction. There is no middle ground.

Yet there is hope. The first source of hope is found in Romans 8:1 – there is no condemnation for me if I am in Christ.

The second source of hope is that God can take my half-hearted attempts at obedience and use them for His purpose and His glory. Later on in Romans 8, Paul says, “all things work together for good.” In this context, I take the word good to mean good from God’s perspective, which too often is different than mine.

Ask, Seek and Knock

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KnockLuke 11:9–10 (ESV)

9 And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

In response to these verses I can only echo the prayer “I believe; help my unbelief!” Mark 9:24 (ESV)

Because of my struggle to fully appropriate these promises, my prayers are often whiny and insipid when they should be bold and passionate.

I suppose the answer to this has something to do with deepening my relationship with God so that I am increasingly aware of God’s desires for me and my world. With this knowledge, I can pray more boldly.

My biggest struggle is praying for things which I am not sure God wants. For example, the computer on which I am writing this has a screen that often turns everything blue and is old technology, but it still works. Can I pray passionately for God to provide a new one when there are so many other, more basic needs in the world? Am I just being selfish with such a prayer?

I suppose I can pray passionately about the computer with the realization that if it is not something that God wants, he will not provide it.

Perhaps the answer is to let loose the passion in prayer with the expectation that God will direct that passion for his purposes. I can see where it might be better to be passionate about the wrong things in prayer than lukewarm about the right things.

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