Why do people sin? Simple. People sin because they do not fully love God.
Therefore, sin is an extremely useful diagnostic tool for the human heart. And since a culture is the collective behavior of those hearts, we might say that cultural sin is the aggregate indicator of how little we love God.
But if our primary response to a sinful culture is to tell it to behave better, we’ve prescribed toward the symptom rather than the disease and, in the process, admitted we don’t really understand why people sin.
But far worse, by trying to spackle right conduct over the godless hearts of a declining culture, we seem to be saying that inhabiting a pleasant society in this life is more important to us than seeing those lost souls around us escape an eternity of separation from the God they do not yet love.
What does it profit the Church to gain the whole culture but lose all the souls?
Thought of the Day 03.17.09
I’ve recently been inventorying my grandfather’s fairly large stamp collection, deciding what to sell and what to keep. In this process, I’ve been intrigued by the interplay of two very different paradigms.
On the one hand, many of the stamps are valuable, which is almost entirely a function of them being rare. On the other hand, many of the stamps are beautiful, which is simply a matter of whether I like looking at them.
Being motivated by beauty and not at all by some rarity fetish, I’m lucky to discover that most of the stamps I like best are also fairly common. Even so, I’m sometimes tempted to rethink my dislike of an ugly stamp just because I’ve discovered that it’s expensive.
I resist this by reminding myself that price and value are not the same thing. In fact, we live in a world where some of the most precious things are also extremely common. It’s almost as if God wanted us not to be deceived by money into thinking ugly things are beautiful simply because they pay well.
On the one hand, many of the stamps are valuable, which is almost entirely a function of them being rare. On the other hand, many of the stamps are beautiful, which is simply a matter of whether I like looking at them.
Being motivated by beauty and not at all by some rarity fetish, I’m lucky to discover that most of the stamps I like best are also fairly common. Even so, I’m sometimes tempted to rethink my dislike of an ugly stamp just because I’ve discovered that it’s expensive.
I resist this by reminding myself that price and value are not the same thing. In fact, we live in a world where some of the most precious things are also extremely common. It’s almost as if God wanted us not to be deceived by money into thinking ugly things are beautiful simply because they pay well.
Thought of the Day 03.16.09
Tragedy leads to packed churches. 9/11 did so, and the recession is doing it again. And although it can be tempting to view such people with disdain for only caring about God when things go wrong, this is a mistake.
Instead, we must view anything which draws people to seek God as an opportunity, even if they’re only seeking Him to alleviate their fear and pain rather than to actually find Him. The real trick is to take this surge caused by temporary circumstances and transform it into lasting conversion and a real expansion of the kingdom. But how?
By giving the people who come more than they think they need. Instead of merely telling them everything is in God’s hands and that He loves them (both true), we need to give them Christ in such a way that having Him becomes more important than having the economy. That way, whether it recovers or not, they’ll keep coming. And this time, for the right reasons.
Instead, we must view anything which draws people to seek God as an opportunity, even if they’re only seeking Him to alleviate their fear and pain rather than to actually find Him. The real trick is to take this surge caused by temporary circumstances and transform it into lasting conversion and a real expansion of the kingdom. But how?
By giving the people who come more than they think they need. Instead of merely telling them everything is in God’s hands and that He loves them (both true), we need to give them Christ in such a way that having Him becomes more important than having the economy. That way, whether it recovers or not, they’ll keep coming. And this time, for the right reasons.
Thought of the Day 03.13.09
Every time I pass a highway speed camera, I notice other drivers putting on their brakes. Whether they were speeding, not paying attention, or just unaware of the actual limit, I still hold them in contempt for their driving incompetence.
But about once a day, I’ll be coming up behind cars who are driving well below the limit and have to put on my own brakes to avoid running into them. The infuriating thing is that this seems to happen in those enforcement zones. So even though I’m braking for a proper reason, I know that it’ll look like I’m braking because of the cameras. And it kills me to think that a stranger in another car is going to mistake me for one of those idiots.
To prevent that, I’ll actually wait to hit the brakes until I’m past the cameras, even if doing so means that I’ve gotten unsafely close to the car in front of me. Some part of me would rather risk rear-ending the slow driver than be thought of as a guy who brakes for speed cameras.
See why it’s such a healthy thing to judge other people?
But about once a day, I’ll be coming up behind cars who are driving well below the limit and have to put on my own brakes to avoid running into them. The infuriating thing is that this seems to happen in those enforcement zones. So even though I’m braking for a proper reason, I know that it’ll look like I’m braking because of the cameras. And it kills me to think that a stranger in another car is going to mistake me for one of those idiots.
To prevent that, I’ll actually wait to hit the brakes until I’m past the cameras, even if doing so means that I’ve gotten unsafely close to the car in front of me. Some part of me would rather risk rear-ending the slow driver than be thought of as a guy who brakes for speed cameras.
See why it’s such a healthy thing to judge other people?
Thought of the Day 03.12.09
Of all the things I do, I think these thoughts of the day are my most cherished creation. Nonetheless, I must admit that crafting a 180-word sermon five times a week can be challenging. Most of the time, the difficulty is in chopping the idea down to fit such tiny clothes without destroying it. But occasionally, it’s just hard to find anything worth saying. In this regard, I’ve noticed a pattern.
When I’m reading the Bible and other texts, listening to sermons, and doing a variety of activities, I almost become overwhelmed with insights and feel like I just can’t wait to get into the studio to formulate them. On the other hand, when I feel like I’m struggling to find something to say, I can usually look back and notice that I haven’t been doing these things as much.
It’s far easier to overflow when my mind and experience base have been filled, because then my little sermons are the best players from a very large draft rather than just the last player remaining to be picked when the deadline comes around.
When I’m reading the Bible and other texts, listening to sermons, and doing a variety of activities, I almost become overwhelmed with insights and feel like I just can’t wait to get into the studio to formulate them. On the other hand, when I feel like I’m struggling to find something to say, I can usually look back and notice that I haven’t been doing these things as much.
It’s far easier to overflow when my mind and experience base have been filled, because then my little sermons are the best players from a very large draft rather than just the last player remaining to be picked when the deadline comes around.
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