This post will be shorter for a couple of reasons. First, I don't have much time. Second, it was pointed out to me this past week that the length of my posts allow for several different thoughts rather than just one. While it was not meant as a criticism I would like to keep this more succinct and focus on only one point.
Here it is - God is in control. I am sure we are all familiar with the song and agree with the lyrics that speak of God still being on the throne of our life and the world around us. I am also sure that we are also familiar with the Chicken Little Christians, as I like to call them. You know what I am talking about. Since President Obama has taken office basically the United States has turned into the U.S.S.R. and has become a communist state. Every political move from the White House is cause for more wailing and weeping and gnashing of teeth. It reminds me of Chicken Little - the story of a young chick who got everyone whipped into a frenzy because a nut fell on her head and she thought the sky was falling.
Let me remind everyone reading this that God is still in control. No one has dethroned God. The throne of heaven is still comfortably occupied by the Almighty God of the Universe. The One True God who tells us that he appoints kings and turns them wherever he wants them to go is still reigning. So the sky is not falling. The world has not come to an end even though a Health Care Reform bill has been voted in by Congress. The devil has not taken over heaven even though the Senate and House are both Democratically controlled. You can tell me that you are just worried about your kids and the future and taxes and, and, and,... But isn't that the point? We are worrying, instead of trusting. We are complaining, instead of believing.
We believers need to stop being Chicken Little's and start becoming Little Red Hen's (someone who works hard at what God has given them to do - like working at your job or evangelizing the lost).
I will end with Isaiah 46:9-10, "Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure."
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
This blog is written by Pastor Pierre Willems of Colonial Hills Baptist Church. Mars Hill is intended to help people develop better spiritual discernment about common and current events that are taking place in the world around us.
6 comments:
I agree with this post. One varation of your "Chicken Little Syndrome" is the idea that things are worse now than they have ever been before. Sin is more rampant, Christians are more backslidden, Satan is more powerful than at any other time in history. I don't really think that is true. In fact, I don't think things are really all that bad, comparatively speaking. Opportunities for the magnification of God's glory are out there. Now, if we (myself included) could just open our eyes enough to find them...
Clearly, you missed the Disney version of Chicken Little because the sky definitely IS falling and we all need to freak out about it. In fact, we should all go to the tops of our houses in white robes and await Christ's coming because I have seen the signs and this is it, and the world is about to end!
[/sarcasm]
But in all seriousness, I highly recommend John Dominic Crossan's Book God and Empire. His conclusions are terrible, but his take on Christianity in juxtaposition to Rome (and vis a vis the USA) are worth reading.
Hey Erik,
Thanks for the recommendation on the book. I will definitely have to check it out. Can you summarize his wrong conclusions? Or should I just read it?
Hey Andrew,
I agree with your thoughts concering how people think everything is getting worse and worse all the time. Yet if we look back in history it certainly appears that we haven't become nearly as bad as it used to be. My one question on this that was thrown out to me the other day is 2 Tim. 3:13 which says, "But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived." This is in reference to "the last days" earlier in the passage. I have some thoughts on what this means, but I would be curious to hear your take (or anyone else's for that matter).
Thanks for this Pierre. It's a good & needed reminder. And even if this world is going to pot, it's "not my home, I'm just a-passing thru."
I do have to point out to you and Andrew though, that even if times aren't worse than they ever have been (compared to ancient Rome or Corinth, for example), our nation appears to be worse off, morally, than it was two generations ago. And the laws that are meant to restrain the immorality of her people seem to be loosening, rapidly. This generation may not be dramatically worse than the previous (perhaps because we were brought up under our parent's laws) but what of the next generation?
While I don't think it is your actual attitude toward the issue, the tenor of this article seems to be one of blase indifference. God is in charge and he promises to use all circumstances for the good of us who believe, but by no means does that mean we should be unconcerned about the direction our country is heading.
Hey Toby,
Good to hear from you. I agree with your first thought overall. It does appear that the morality of the nation is growing looser and looser. I guess my question on that would be, "What morality are we talking about?" For example, in the past, it would have been unheard of for a politician to openly admit they were gay. Today it is not considered that a big a deal. So the conclusion most Christians reach is that the world is getting worse and worse. Although, on the surface, I would tend to agree, I do wonder about that. Is it really true that 50 years ago when it wasn't acceptable to proclaim that you were gay that the world was more "moral." Do we really know that there were less gay people back then? How about prostitutes, thieves, murders, anger, lies, hatred, racism, adultry, pride? Was it really more moral back then or was it just not as openly immoral? There is a difference. I'm not really looking for an answer on this one because I don't think any of us can really answer the question. How can we possibly say that we can know if a nation (meaning millions of people) is more "moral" at a particular time then at any other particular time? I don't think it is possible to know that.
I also completely agree with your second point - we should not be unconcerned or indifferent about the direction a nation is heading. But I do believe that the modern christian has developed a solution that is unbiblical. In essence our solution to a nation (millions of people) living in complete unbelief or outright rejection of God is to be politically active. While that is all well and good I believe the best solution to the problems of this nation are found in sharing the Gospel and changing lives through the power of God's Word and the work of the Holy Spirit. I would rather see lives changed through personal transformation then countless "moral" bills passed by Congress telling people what marriage is or when they can and can't commit murder. I don't see the political activism as a long-term solution.
Post a Comment