During one of the spiritual mountaintop experiences of my life I was asked a question that I didn't quite know how to answer.
"Pastor, how does it feel to be an American today?"
The question came from the Filipino pastor we were visiting. A dream had come true. To be on a mission trip in some faraway land was something only God could have put together. To be there as an American and to hear the question was the most unpleasant part of that trip.
During that time in 1998, the worldwide, everyday news was about the scandalous sexual episodes of an American president. In the moment the question was posed, there was a feeling of shame within my heart for our nation. I felt a sense of being ashamed when I would hear so many people say that morality did not matter as much as a strong economy. Besides, some would say, what a man does in private does not affect anyone else publicly. Those folks ought to have to explain to a Filipino pastor how morality is irrelevant in a very public arena. What this president did in private was manifested publicly in our mission trip halfway around the world.
There was a whole lot of popular thinking that agreed with the concept of no absolutes in 1998. After all, we're only human and who are we to judge, right? What's wrong in one person's way of thinking is perfectly acceptable to another, some would claim. It was always amazing to me to see how silent the church was during that time. That kind of popular thinking is still very popular today. Shame is still a precious commodity in America. Someone has said we used to blush when we were ashamed. Now we are ashamed if we are seen blushing!
Living in a culture of non-absolutes does not change the truth that there is an absolute standard. It is found in the word of the Living God. Contrary to pop culture's value system, the standard is not the gold standard. The standard is God's standard. Holiness.
Not only collectively, but as individuals, we are held up and measured against God's absolute standard. The pain of resisting sin and being ostracized in our culture today is very real. We can easily feel the sting of being called a bunch of narrow-minded, intolerant, religious bigots. We can easily be trapped by compromising godly principles and becoming confused about "gray" areas of right and wrong. Sometimes God’s people don't know which way is up. If God occupies the high moral ground, where is this place? Is it the church? Is America still known as a moral nation? Ten years out from that mission trip I don’t see improvement. I see only degeneration.
Righteousness is to sin as up is to down. As a nation, we can either be exalted or disgraced. It may come as a huge surprise to learn the following spiritual truth: America is not the Kingdom of God!! America's political and spiritual leaders are accountable to a holy God according to His holy standard. One day the church will be judged on the basis of how we used what God has entrusted to us. Someone has said that America will not stand back up on her feet until the church gets back down on her knees.
Instead of lamenting about the moral darkness, what are we doing to be lights in our homes, churches, schools, workplaces, communities, regions, and nation? Let God clean your vessel so His light may shine the brightest. Instead of whining, why aren't we shining? Instead of hiding in the darkness, we can take back the night.
Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people. (Proverbs 14:34)
I guess I had a lot of leftovers in my mind about that. Gives us all something to muse about for the rest of the day.
"Pastor, how does it feel to be an American today?"
The question came from the Filipino pastor we were visiting. A dream had come true. To be on a mission trip in some faraway land was something only God could have put together. To be there as an American and to hear the question was the most unpleasant part of that trip.
During that time in 1998, the worldwide, everyday news was about the scandalous sexual episodes of an American president. In the moment the question was posed, there was a feeling of shame within my heart for our nation. I felt a sense of being ashamed when I would hear so many people say that morality did not matter as much as a strong economy. Besides, some would say, what a man does in private does not affect anyone else publicly. Those folks ought to have to explain to a Filipino pastor how morality is irrelevant in a very public arena. What this president did in private was manifested publicly in our mission trip halfway around the world.
There was a whole lot of popular thinking that agreed with the concept of no absolutes in 1998. After all, we're only human and who are we to judge, right? What's wrong in one person's way of thinking is perfectly acceptable to another, some would claim. It was always amazing to me to see how silent the church was during that time. That kind of popular thinking is still very popular today. Shame is still a precious commodity in America. Someone has said we used to blush when we were ashamed. Now we are ashamed if we are seen blushing!
Living in a culture of non-absolutes does not change the truth that there is an absolute standard. It is found in the word of the Living God. Contrary to pop culture's value system, the standard is not the gold standard. The standard is God's standard. Holiness.
Not only collectively, but as individuals, we are held up and measured against God's absolute standard. The pain of resisting sin and being ostracized in our culture today is very real. We can easily feel the sting of being called a bunch of narrow-minded, intolerant, religious bigots. We can easily be trapped by compromising godly principles and becoming confused about "gray" areas of right and wrong. Sometimes God’s people don't know which way is up. If God occupies the high moral ground, where is this place? Is it the church? Is America still known as a moral nation? Ten years out from that mission trip I don’t see improvement. I see only degeneration.
Righteousness is to sin as up is to down. As a nation, we can either be exalted or disgraced. It may come as a huge surprise to learn the following spiritual truth: America is not the Kingdom of God!! America's political and spiritual leaders are accountable to a holy God according to His holy standard. One day the church will be judged on the basis of how we used what God has entrusted to us. Someone has said that America will not stand back up on her feet until the church gets back down on her knees.
Instead of lamenting about the moral darkness, what are we doing to be lights in our homes, churches, schools, workplaces, communities, regions, and nation? Let God clean your vessel so His light may shine the brightest. Instead of whining, why aren't we shining? Instead of hiding in the darkness, we can take back the night.
Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people. (Proverbs 14:34)
I guess I had a lot of leftovers in my mind about that. Gives us all something to muse about for the rest of the day.
Blessings to you,
Sam
1 comment:
Good sermon !!! Thanks for keeping us on focus.
How do you think so deeply at that hour of the morning ???
Post a Comment