There are a lot of
sincere people that work with a sincere commitment to make this world a better
place to live. I admire them and their desire to help others that are in great need.
The problems and the condition of this fragile world are overwhelming at
times. It seems like each new day
presents a new situation to be concerned about and somehow addressed; bombing
and killing in Gaza, children being exploited in Latin America finding no help
from the country they are desperately trying to escape to; famine and hunger;
and wars breaking out all over the globe.
Social action in the areas of peace and justice are being called for
from a host of people. But is anyone,
especially the ones with the power to do something to change things, actually
listening and responding?
These are not new
problems. They have been going on since
the beginning of civilization. The roots
are strong; greed, ruthless competition for control, the building of personal
empires at other people’s expense, violence and all out war, are a part of the
dark history of human beings. The
results of these attributes have been dealt with over and over again in each
generation; but the roots are strong and still intact. Until the roots are exposed and destroyed
they will continue to grow strong and produce bad fruit. The roots have been exposed several times but
rather than destroyed people were deceived into thinking they were admirable
and so they continued to bring forth not only bad fruit but destructive poisonous
fruit.
God created this
world to exist under His rule and standard.
When that standard is deviated problems will arise. Time and time again God heard the cries of
those who suffered at the hands of rulers and controllers who bore the fruit of
these anti-God roots. Time and time
again He called humans to return to Him and to His way in order to stop their
submission to evil and to walk in the freedom they were created to walk
in. Some obey, some don’t, but in the
end all suffer and continue to suffer.
“The true light
which enlightens everyone came into the world.
He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world
did not know him” (John 1:9, 10). Only
he can dispel the darkness and destroy the root, yet we continue to fail to believe
him or receive him, and even now, when totally overwhelmed, deny him.
We are bold in our assertion that “War is not
the Answer”. But we still refuse the truth that “Jesus is the Way, Truth, and
Life”. Solutions are figured out, calls
to action are recommended; but there is no call to repentance. We keep building our golden calves to worship
and building our own cisterns that continually break and cannot hold
water. This prosperous country was built
on greed, ruthless competition for control, building personal empires at other
people’s expense, and violence. They are
attributes that many people admire and make those who exhibited them heroes and
role models. These attributes are the
very sin that needs to be repented of, not respected. Until we destroy the roots of these
attributes we will continue to be overwhelmed at the bad fruit they bring
forth.
