Undelightful Fools
Last week I offered some commentary on some of the turmoil caused over the Trayvon Martin shooting. The truth is that, while a lot of what I said was looking at Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, it was about so much more. Honestly, those two demonstrate symptoms of underlying currents of various other problems in this nation.
Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
Romans 1:28-32
This is a story about our world, our nation … me.
I readily admit that, even though I may be quite amazing, I am really messed up without Christ.
I first believed in Jesus Christ as Lord in 2000. I had a lot of ups and downs in my walk with Christ. In 2003, I met a young woman. Our relationship also had a lot of ups and downs. I let her get between me and God. I let me get between me and God.
I became worse than I was before I first believed.
I made a lot of bad choices during this time: in my relationships, at work, with church.
I became a gossip.
I would share stories with more or less actual relation to reality than the true events.
I would cheat and steal.
I even considered cheating on that young woman on a few occasions.
I even considered suicide once.
I became cool, but people began liking me less. I became the life of the party, but I began caring less about people. I was a great listener, but I gave myself over to all sorts of the things listed in the passage above. I actually led people away from God and celebrated very sinful things.
I was just like most of our world.
Look around. Are Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton the problem with our nation?
They get attention, because we willingly give it to them. We listen to people who cause more division than peace, because (though we may not always admit it) we enjoy the division.
It makes for great stories. We get to feel involved. We get to know the dirt on others. We get to share our opinions.
We like to entertain ourselves. We like to feel important. We like to have power. We like people paying attention to us.
Al and Jesse are not the problem. The problem is that the Church has not done what it should.
In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
2 Timothy 4:1-5
We are all called to seek and save the lost (see Matthew 28:18-20) and lift each other up in the Lord.
The problem is not Al and Jesse. It is not people killing each other. It is not people saying and doing horrible things to each other (or not doing good things, even).
The problem is I want to be the one in charge. We each want to be God. We each want to run the Church.
How about we let God do that?
a simple man of God 