Paul's Revolution -- Day 4

Today’s revolution comes as I participate in the bedrock of our capitalist economy – I am having a garage sale. Things must be priced right because people are buying. Of course I might be underselling myself – no problem there is always a bailout right around the corner.

Today’s question is an interesting one. It asks, “In what ways has the government strayed too far in applying biblical principals of helping those in need?”
We have to start by asking what is the biblical principal of helping those in need. Because I can’t be comprehensive here let me make some foundational statements and then briefly expound.

1. Jesus said the poor will be with us always.
2. Believers are to take care of true widows and orphans.
3. Those who don’t work don’t eat.
4. Believers are to bear one anothers burdens.
5. Everyone is to carry their own load.

It is incumbent of the Christian community to take care of those who are in need first within the church and then if possible those outside the church. There is a fine balance between helping people and enabling people. If the church’s (or the government’s) actions create a culture where people feel they have a right to other people’s resources because they don’t ‘have’ as much then we have not taught them to be self-sufficient to carry their own load.

What has happened in American culture is that what begins as a helping hand turns into an entitled right. After the great depression social security was designed to be a safety net that would assist people in their retired years. From my understanding it was never to be a complete, all encompassing, retirement plan. Yes, it is a safety net, but too many people expect it to be ample enough to carry them to their graves. Social Security has become an entitlement, and in this instance rightly so since the government has taken the money compulsory from the workers paycheck. They are entitled to their money. What they are not entitled to is to have every need taken care of.

With welfare, unemployment, medicare/caid, and now health care the government has become a nanny state seeing as its responsibility the care of those who ‘can’t’ take care of themselves. Is this a bad thing? Yes and no. It is not bad that people in the government want to take care of those who are need. But centralized bureaucracies as big as the US will only create dependency, disillusionment, and an uncaring institutionalized environment. The constitution says the government is to promote the common welfare. However, big government doesn’t promote the welfare of the people but rather creates an environment that is hostile to families, small communities, cities and states. True care comes when individuals in a community band together for the common good of all, helping those in need by standing with them as they are able to stand on their own. At any time if the government promotes another way then, in my humble opinion, it has strayed from biblical principles.

Tomorrow: Someone has asked me to view and comment on videos showing that President Obama is the Anti-Christ.

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Paul's Revolution -- Day 5

Revolutions don’t stop because of rain, but it puts a hamper on my garage sale. Did well yesterday bringing in enough to almost buy that IPad! What, Rebecca? Oh, I don’t get the IPad? Then I’m just going to go back to my Revolution (huff).

Yesterday I was asked to review some of the many YouTube videos revealing a startling, if not disturbing, “reality” that President Obama is in fact the Antichrist. I have to say that the videos were interesting. Their ability to connect the dots was impressive and alarming. But I couldn’t help but think back to the Star Trek Voyager episode where 7 of 9 was afflicted with some illness that made her paranoid and she began to randomly connect details of the ships crew which formulated into a conflict between Chacote and Captain Janeway. Almost destroyed the ship. Fortunately they were able to resolve everything within 60 minutes.

So, what does this mean for President Obama, is he the Antichrist? Whenever suffering occurs or someone promotes and agenda that is against the general principles of scripture there are those who cry that the end is near. The first century Christians did it with Nero (who was probably more like the Anti Christ than any of the others), Pope John Paul, JKF, the Clintons (Hillary still scares me), and now President Obama. The Apostle John makes these statements.

“For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist…Just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared.”

There will be THE Antichrist but we don’t know who he will be or when he will arrive on the scene. But there are many antichrists in our midst, those who deny Jesus coming in the flesh, those who fight against Christian beliefs, and those who would like to see the name of Christ obliterated. Every generation has these antichrists. One of these days Satan will raise one of them up as a puppet to wreak havoc on the world. The Apostle John writes about the antichrist so that the believers will not be deceived. He wants them to stand in the truth and their faith in their savior, Jesus. So it is important for us as well to stand on the truth that Jesus has come in the flesh and through faith in his death and resurrection we can have eternal life. There are many antichrists in our midst. They are our neighbors, our coworkers, politicians, and, sadly, our family members. Any of these can lead us from the truth if we are not careful. We need to stand on the promises and precepts of the scripture.

I will say, from what I have read and heard, that President Obama is an antichrist. His policies, behaviors, and statements do not conform to the gospel of truth, but rather are designed to promote false beliefs and diminish the gospel. There is a snake in our midst. The dots that have been connected to ‘prove’ that he is THE antichrist are interesting and antidotal, but are based, not on the scriptures, but man’s ability to manipulate data. Yet……

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Paul's Revolution -- Day 3

Today was to be preamble day for my manifesto, but a couple of questions have been asked that need to be addressed. I will deal with the first one today and the second tomorrow.

Question: On what basis do you say that America is a Christian nation? Another way of asking the question - if Jesus were to give an assessment of Christ like behavior, what would he say?

In a strict theocratic since America has never been a Christian nation. I think it is fair to say, however, that the founding fathers, living at a time when the majority of people had a Christian consensus, utilized the Scriptures as a framework for establishing human dignity, God given rights, and the need for law. They did not apply this equally across the board (Slavery and native Americans) but it laid a foundation to deal with their inconsistencies later. And though many of the framers were Christian they were very careful not to use Christian language in the writing of the Constitution, though they acknowledged God’s providential hand in all that they did.

Since its inception the US has been influenced by spiritual men who believed that God’s plan was good and should be followed as closely as possible. That does not mean that all men were equally spiritual and that they lived righteous lives. Yet, there was a greater sense that ‘religion’ was important to the life of the community. The same sins that have always plagued men bit at the heels of men in the US from the beginning until now. The difference between then and now is that in the past evil behavior was considered sinful, even by those who lived unrighteously. Part of that was an acknowledgment of God and part was the imposition of public shame. Today there is not a consensus of either. In the past, because religion was important, communities, large and small, attempted to live out their religion locally and dealt with issues of law and compassion as a community problem and people contributed as they saw fit. The church was a central part of these activities and the Pastor a guiding force.

Today the church is not longer central and it would be safe to say that Public Schools have become more influential in developing attitudes about life and community. As schools have become more centralized in government and God removed from them the moral temperature of the country has fallen. And though there are many other influences to the moral degradation of the US, the public school system has become a battleground for liberal humanistic philosophies. This has made being a Christian teacher both difficult and important. I would dare to venture that the smaller the community the greater its moral influence of the school system.
Today there is no more moral consensus and whatever Christlikeness was evident in the beginning has been eroded by humanism. We are no longer guided by righteousness but by polls, opinions, fear, and guilt. When there is no standard of Truth the people will lose their way. Jesus’ assessment? Not good. That is why we need a savior.

Tomorrow’s Question: In what ways has the government strayed too far in applying biblical principals of helping those in need?

Paul's Revolution -- Day 2

Let’s face it; my revolution has had a slow start. Most of the time it feels like I am shouting at a hurricane telling it to stop blowing its wind at me. No one hears and no one listens, of course, this is all new to me. Though I am patriotic (I cry when the national anthem plays for a medalist at the Olympics and weep when flag draped coffins come home) I have not been an overtly flag waving American. As the scripture says my citizenship is a heavenly one and I find it difficult to pledge loyalty to two different entities. My wife reminds me that I pledge allegiance to a country under God. That’s the rub isn’t it? Is America a country under God, and if not where does my loyalty begin and end? Jesus acknowledges the reality of living in this world and the need to render to Cesar what belongs to him. Jesus doesn’t want our money He wants something deeper and more costly – our lives. Yet, we don’t live our lives in a vacuum, and unless we are going to take the church community into the remote parts of the world and seclude ourselves from everyone else we do have to function within the greater ‘world’ community.
At the core of the gospel is God’s grace poured out on sinful man through the sacrifice of His son on our behalf. Through faith we appropriate that grace. That grace is then played out as we demonstrate love and care to other people. There is, however, a communal aspect of the gospel that reaches out to those in need, the down trodden, the weak, oppressed, and disenfranchised. We call this social justice. God often disciplined Israel when they neglected their responsibility to those in need.
Because the United States has its roots in a Judeo/Christian ethic there is a strong sense to take care of the socially disinclined. However, as it wanders further from those beginnings how it achieves this end becomes muddled with philosophies that are in conflict with those roots. In the media today (conservative talk radio) you would think that the only reason liberals do anything is to gain or retain power (are conservatives much better?). I hate to be so cynical. I would like to think that their motives are genuine, though misguided. The tension is between conflicting philosophies of the distribution of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Revolutions are marked by what they are for and what they are against. I am for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (within the context of a biblical worldview) and I am against that which limits this pursuit by the imposition of governmental constraints that unduly forces me to conform to a philosophical framework that is antithetical to my core beliefs.
This may call for a Manifesto. I wonder if I have to write that from prison. Revolutionaries seem to end up there.

Starting A Revolution

Frogs in slow boiling water always die. They rarely realize that death is happening and kind of feel good about it until it is too late. In the economic and political climate of today many are beginning to wake up to the slow boiling pot. The ever-increasing taxation and intrusion of our government has riled up a segment of American culture who are speaking out and calling for change. Both democratic and republican politicians have been to blame. They have their own causes, their own ideals, and they are willing to sacrifice the freedoms and liberties that Americans have enjoyed for over 200 years to accomplish their own agendas.

When I work twice as hard to make half as much because the government has their hands in my pocket something is wrong. Only one hand fits in my pocket at a time and when I reach in and find it empty I know that Uncle Sam has already been there and I feel violated. There has been a lot of discussion about gas prices, the home mortgage crisis, the cost of goods and services, etc. Gas prices are high because of taxes, I can’t afford my home because half my mortgage each month goes to taxes, I can’t go out and purchase items because retail taxes go up to pay for professional sports stadiums and other projects to “boost” the economy (of course I can’t afford to go to the games).

John Lenin (of the Beatles for those whose music history is limited) wrote, “Revolution ------ we all want to change the world”. I am on the verge of starting my own revolution. Revolutions seem to begin when people feel disenfranchised by those who are in power. And when those disenfranchised feel that peaceful demonstration or political activism falls on deaf ears they revolt. Revolts can take on different forms. They can be passive, “I won’t do that,” or they are active, “I will force you to change”. However, I have a dilemma.

The Scriptures say, “Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God…for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil” (Romans 14:1ff, NASB 2005).

The Apostle Paul was talking about a highly repressive Roman government. There was no individual freedom, especially for non-Roman citizens. So, how does this apply today? And how does it apply to a government that espouses public participation and even encourages revolution when the laws of the country no longer exist for the public good? And how do you determine which laws have been established for the good of the people and which are imposed on the people for political purposes? Do you see my dilemma?

All I know is that the water is a little warmer than I want it to be and if I am not careful I am going to boil to death while I enjoy its illusory comfort.

What Do We Crave?

If we were honest most of us would say that we have asked the question, “Isn’t there anything more than this?” Our contexts may be different but the question lingers. For some it may be a question that comes from looking at a hurting world and realizing that their lives have been self-absorbed. For others it is a question born of pain and confusion, hoping that what they are experiencing isn’t reality; there is a hope and that something better just around the corner

The question isn’t a bad; it’s honest, introspective, and full of meaning. Our personal circumstances and what we see in the world beg the question. From the lonely depression of a young girl to the great holocausts that have been perpetrated on oppressed people the cry for something more fall from their lips if not from the deep prayers of their hearts. “Choose for yourself [God] another chosen people”(Movie Defiance). The persecution of the Jews during World War II drove them to ask the question and crave something more.

However, it isn’t just pain that causes people to crave something more. Many people become disillusioned because what they have been pursuing doesn’t truly satisfy the deep longings of their hearts. In fact they have sought to fill this craving with filler and false promises. Money and power are intoxicating but once achieved do not satisfy. We trade addictions for addictions. We look askance at the bum in the alley because he drowns his emptiness in a bottle or needle, but then applaud the work alcoholic who achieves fame and fortune. They are both addicted and they are both trying to fill a hunger deep within that doesn’t want to be satisfied.

So what is the question? The writer of Ecclesiastes states it this way, “Vanity of vanities,’ says the preacher, ‘Futility of futilities! All is futile. What advantage does man have in all his work, which he does under the sun? A generation goes and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever” (Ecclesiastes 1:2,3 NASB).

It makes me think of my infestation. It seems as if the ants in my community have no better place to go than in my house; my kitchen; my bathroom; my food; and yes even in my bed. They are everywhere. Yet, with all the angst I have had in trying to get rid of them I have had the opportunity to observe them. They are persistent at whatever they are about even if what they are doing isn’t very obvious. They move with purpose and they do it together. I was contemplating this as I sat waiting in the mall. As I observed the people moving about I realized that their movement, their sense of purpose, and their persistence weren’t much different than the ants. As I sat there watching I found myself becoming as detached from the world of shoppers as I did from the world of ants and wondered if there was any purpose and meaning to all the activity. Detach yourself enough and it becomes surreal and isolated and the deep questions of life, purpose, and meaning can be overwhelming. These people were no different than me. They get up and eat. They brush their teeth and get dressed. They fight the traffic to work and then do stuff for the day and then fight the traffic home. They fix some food, talk to some friends, watch some television and eventually go to bed, and for what, to get up the next day and do it all over again? It seems so meaningless.

Yet, deep down something drives us to keep going. Survival is a strong motivator for continuing on in life. Abraham Maslow developed his hierarchy of needs in 1954. He stated that there are five basic needs that man has and for man to achieve the greatest of those needs (Peak Experience) he has to start at the bottom meeting basic survival needs. Survival by itself doesn’t explain the drive to achieve the higher order of need. There is something deep inside the human condition that drives us to keep going in life, and when we don’t feel these needs are being met we become depressed, lonely, or we begin to fill it with something else. There is something that we crave so much that we will do anything to fill it, even if it is filled with counterfeits. Of course the counterfeits only temporarily satisfy and we are left even emptier.

So what is it that we crave so much? There are actually three things that we crave. Everyone craves relationships, significance, and a spiritual experience. From the time of our birth our lives begin to revolve around these cravings. Even in the absence of the basic needs of life we crave these three things. I think of Tom Hanks in the movie “Castaway.” Shipwrecked on an island with no human interaction the character developed a relationship with Wilson, a volley ball. It was a movie that explored the human psyche in the absence of one of man’s greatest needs – relationships.

Hanging out with friends and family is great but by itself will leave us empty inside. We have a deep need to live significant lives. Why does our heart ache for the poor hungry child we see on television? Why do we reach into our pockets and pull out a quarter for the homeless person on the corner? Why do we write a check to our favorite charity? We do it because it makes us feel that we are a part of something that helps others; to make the world a better place. Of course it is easier to give money than it is to give our time, but either way it is to satisfy a deep craving in our lives – to be significant.

Finally, we all crave a spiritual experience. Every culture recognizes in some way this deep craving. It is expressed in different forms; the practices are varied; and the doctrines endless, but in the end the desire to seek answers to our existence leads us outside of ourselves to something greater. Even in the midst of our technological culture where there are those who would have us believe that the spiritual side of life is a myth there is a growing desire of people to experience the mystic. This comes from a deep craving of something more than what this life has to offer.

Sounds Of Worship

I am lying on the bottom bunk in the dorm of the college that my middle son, Steve, plans to attend this coming fall.  At the moment it is but bare walls and hard tile floors. Excellent acoustics.  He is in the common area practicing for his audition tomorrow.  What I hear is what touches my heart today—the sounds of worship. 

The melody is a contemporary sound that resonates through the empty room, fills the air, and stirs the soul.  It isn’t just a song or a strum on the guitar.  It is a heart cry and passion for the glory of God. I love (and I am sure I am bias) to hear my son sing, but I revel in his expression of worship.  So what are the sounds of worship? They are the heart cry of every individual who falls before the throne of God and submits their lives to him.

The expressions of worship are many and often debated, but God desires a heart that longs for Him and is willing to set everything aside to give credit to Him.  Worship is a natural part of the human condition.  Sin has warped it and man now worships his idols.  In the days of old the idols were made of wood and stone, but today they include money, power, and self.  Man worships his possessions, his hobbies, his time, and even his family.  Worship is when we lay everything at the foot of the throne.  The question is who/what sits on the throne.

Idols of worship can be insidious.  Over this past year I have allowed my own idols to creep in and push God off His throne (I speak as a man). Mine have been self-pity and doubt.  Being unemployed can cause a man to question his significance and then blame his circumstances on God.  And if I haven’t blamed my circumstances on God then I have blamed Him for not relieving me of them.  It has been easy to dismiss Him and then replace him with my own self-abasement.  I mean surely I am due.  Have I not served Him well?  Do I deserve such treatment?  If He is to dismiss me then I will merely dismiss Him? 

God is patient. That works in my favor. He deserves worship, longs for worship, but He doesn’t need worship.  Therefore, He is able to patiently wait for me. Jesus died so that God’s patience would not mean my condemnation.  Rather, as He works in my heart, that is so prone to wonder, the worship He receives is because of His grace. And in His grace the worship and glory is so much richer.  

I hear something echoing; resonating in the deep recesses of my heart.  It is filling the throne room of the king.  It reaches His ears and I see a smile.   He closes His eyes and He revels in the worship of his child.