Morality of a Nation

It doesn’t take a genius to see that, as a whole, the fear of God in our nation is pretty low.  Even many who claim to believe in God don’t do what He says.  I’ve always believed that as the people’s hearts go, so does the direction of our law.  Consider what’s happened over the last few decades.  Prayer was taken out of schools, and abortion was legalized.  Fornication has been allowed for more than a hundred years.  Now we’re looking at the homosexual marriage issue and universal healthcare.

It seems strange to me that Christians complain so much about all these things.  I’d say that less than half of all American citizens are believers, and majority rules in a democracy, right?  It just makes sense that issues like this would be passed.  And anyway, even if we win all these political battles, I’m sure it will just infuriate half of the nation against us.  What then is the solution?  How do “we win”?  The answer is, we don’t.  God does.  Even though the Bible says that the “law” convicts people of their sin, is it talking about our national laws?  If our national laws are lenient, will the nation’s morality fall even deeper down the drain?  Well, not necessarily.  I believe the Bible is talking about God’s law.  For example, fornication has been legal in America for many years, but the Bible still convicts people of this sin every day.  The mere fact that it’s legal in the USA just means we can’t punish people with our laws.  God will still judge.

Here’s what I think.  Just restoring the outer shell, the law, the facade of godliness that our nation was built upon 240 years ago, will not change the heart of the nation.  Love will.  We as Christians have been falling back on the laws of America for too long.  We can’t rest on the fact that people will be doing right because the governments says so any more, because the laws aren’t there any more.  We have all sinned, and will continue to sin until God changes our hearts.

We have an opportunity in this day.  We can live out our salvation with fear and trembling, as living sacrifices to God; live out holiness and righteousness, not with boasting, but with humble hearts; live out the love, compassion, peace and joy of the Lord.  Or, we can sit back and let our nation die.  If you think about it, we’re in a better situation now than we were before, because just following good American laws wasn’t saving anyone.

This is our test: can we reach out to a dying generation?  That next woman at your workplace who is about to abort her child: will you volunteer to adopt it?  The next person you see who is sick and without medical insurance: will you rally your church to pay for the surgery?  Will you pick up that next hitchhiker, find a home for the next homeless guy?  Stop living for your own convenience, and live for others.  Shine like a light in this dark world.  God commands us to love.  Will we love, even if it means pain for us?  I hope so, because the love of Jesus is the only hope that this world has.

“For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”"–Romans 13:9

Sensitive Doer? Sounds about right…

I took this personality test thing today, so if you ever wanted to know a little more about my personality, here’s your chance!  I read it over, and it seems pretty accurate to me.  Thanks to Jen for the link.

Simplify

A few nights back, I had a pretty strange dream.  It was about two brothers and their friend.  When they were young boys, the three found themselves in a dark dungeon/maze-like place.  On the walls were many symbols, the keys to a puzzle in the middle of the room.  Upon completing the puzzle, two big doors would open to the exit, and they all would be free.  The only problem was, the puzzle was unsolvable.  There weren’t enough symbols to complete it.  The big doors would never open.  The younger brother kept trying, everything he could do.  He tried every combination, then tried again.  He tried everything in his power to open those doors, but of course, he couldn’t.  The older brother, realizing that the puzzle could never be solved, proceeded to walk up a small, barely visible staircase on the side of the wall, leading his brother and their friend to freedom.

Fast-forward about 15 years.  The two brothers are both masters of martial arts.  The younger one knows 90 different special moves, but the older brother only knows the basics.  One day, to show off, the younger brother fought his childhood friend.  The brother completely humiliated his friend, using his trick moves, smashing the friend’s face into a table and sliding it across to tear his face with splinters.  Seeing the carelessness of his brother, the older brother challenged him, and easily beat him with just two moves, forcing him to submit.  Later, the two brothers found themselves in the dungeon once again, facing the giant doors.  Once again, the younger brother tried to solve the puzzle.  He put in the symbols for sword, treasure chest and shield.  But the fourth symbol was a dragon, and there was no answer for that.  The younger brother was trapped.  The older brother, however, walked up to the doors, and found there was a small passage on the left side to get around the door.  He passed through the door, and his brother was left there, staring at the dragon, the symbol that he thought could never be beaten.

Now, I’m pretty sure I know what this dream means.  I think I knew right away, actually.  Here it is.  There are many different things to do in this world.  Some good, some bad.  Some are beneficial in certain circumstances, and some definitely aren’t.  There are so many distractions that take away time from what really matters.  So here’s the challenge: we must simplify our lives if we want to be effective.  Simple does not mean easy.  In fact, it will probably be more difficult.  The important things may seem less exciting and fun, more tedious, but they are by far the most fulfilling.  Ultimately, only the eternal things will last.  Think about these things, not the next way to get high, drunk on distraction.

There is no way to win in life without Jesus.  We must enter through the narrow gate.  We can try to “figure out” life, seeking riches, power and security, but we will ultimately be faced with the impossible task of defeating our own sin.  Only the blood of Jesus can defeat sin, and light our true path.

“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” –Ephesians 5:15-17

“Go”

One word, with so much meaning behind it.  It’s a command, and it’s a challenge.  Why do so many of us find it so difficult to accomplish?  This commission has been one of my greatest struggles, but I also feel that it is one of my greatest callings.  I think the devil tries his hardest to keep us from what God is calling us to, and sometimes we give in.  For many of us, it’s so easy to fall into spirits of anger, apathy, fear, greed or lust: these terrible things that destroy our witness.  When we’re operating out of these sinful mindsets, we are not able to accomplish the will of God.

When we’re stuck in sin, which I like to more commonly refer to as selfishness, it’s impossible to love others.  Loving God and loving others is the root of all good works.  Loving others is evangelism.  Why would we follow the great commission if we didn’t love God?  Why would we care about making disciples if we didn’t love others?

Many of us, including myself, need to get serious about this call, this mandate to spread the good news to the ends of the earth.  And to do this, we must battle the things that hold us back.  The good news is, if we strive to resist the devil, he will flee (James 4:7).  And when we obey God, abiding in the vine, we will bear fruit (John 15:5).  Take those two promises and run with them.  Run like you want to win, and always remember the last words of Jesus:

“Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’” –Matthew 28:18-20