Enslaved to Freedom
"Professing to be wise, they became fools." Romans 1:22
"Professing to be wise, they became fools." Romans 1:22
I was in Wal-Mart the other day, perusing the music section. One activity I would suggest to anyone for a lesson in both psychology and sociology is to walk around Wal-Mart and just watch people. My youth pastor once said that Wal-Mart is a microcosm for all that is wrong with society, and sometimes I tend to agree with his estimate.
Anyway, as I was walking around the music section, I spotted what I believe was called "The Emancipation of Mariah Carey." Now what I found so amusing about the title of the CD was that on the cover of this CD Mariah was very scantily clad, in something of an erotic pose. She is acclaiming her freedom while enslaving herself to scoiety's image of desirable! What a contradiction!
It got me thinking, however, and it seems to be that this is much like our society. America today lives out Romans 1:22. We proclaim our intelligence and education, we celebrate our freedom from absolutes, and altogether have become slaves to sin and darkness. We have, in the words of Malcolm Muggeridge, "educated ourselves into imbecility."
It is not enough for the Christian today to merely see this and point it out. What must we, as believers, do to stymie the flow of relativism and secularization that we see overwhelming this land? We must first recognize that this is not a surprise to our Creator, nor is it out of His hands. Our Sovereign is in control of all things, even societal trends.
Secondly, it is imperative for us to cry out to God, that He would bring His revival. God alone grants repentance, and God alone renews the heart.
Lastly, we must preach the value and meaning of Christ. I have become convinced that is no longer enough to preach to people that God loves them. They already believe that some god or another loves them. What they need to hear is that the Biblical God of the universe has ultimate value! They need to hear that He alone brings meaning! If all we have as a view of God is love, we have missed out on meaning, because love alone brings no meaning. Ravi Zacharias has said that, in the stages of our lives, we use four things to define meaning: Wonder from our childhood, truth in adolescence, love in middle years, and security in latter years. It is God alone who takes all those things, fulfills them and charges them with value, and brings something worthwhile to this life: Himself!
Anyway, as I was walking around the music section, I spotted what I believe was called "The Emancipation of Mariah Carey." Now what I found so amusing about the title of the CD was that on the cover of this CD Mariah was very scantily clad, in something of an erotic pose. She is acclaiming her freedom while enslaving herself to scoiety's image of desirable! What a contradiction!
It got me thinking, however, and it seems to be that this is much like our society. America today lives out Romans 1:22. We proclaim our intelligence and education, we celebrate our freedom from absolutes, and altogether have become slaves to sin and darkness. We have, in the words of Malcolm Muggeridge, "educated ourselves into imbecility."
It is not enough for the Christian today to merely see this and point it out. What must we, as believers, do to stymie the flow of relativism and secularization that we see overwhelming this land? We must first recognize that this is not a surprise to our Creator, nor is it out of His hands. Our Sovereign is in control of all things, even societal trends.
Secondly, it is imperative for us to cry out to God, that He would bring His revival. God alone grants repentance, and God alone renews the heart.
Lastly, we must preach the value and meaning of Christ. I have become convinced that is no longer enough to preach to people that God loves them. They already believe that some god or another loves them. What they need to hear is that the Biblical God of the universe has ultimate value! They need to hear that He alone brings meaning! If all we have as a view of God is love, we have missed out on meaning, because love alone brings no meaning. Ravi Zacharias has said that, in the stages of our lives, we use four things to define meaning: Wonder from our childhood, truth in adolescence, love in middle years, and security in latter years. It is God alone who takes all those things, fulfills them and charges them with value, and brings something worthwhile to this life: Himself!
posted by Charlie | 9:24 PM
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