REPENTANCE NOT RESPECT

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.