On the Post Christian Era

A post written about a year ago:

Instead of starting with a disclaimer, as was my first inclination, I believe I'll instead start with by simplifying my thesis. God is bigger than the world we live in.

Our generation is witnessing more giant leaps towards the secularization of our great country. The strategic omission of "...under God" from our pledge of allegiance, the continual removal of Christian ethics from our classrooms, and the overwhelming tide of relativism that has somehow seemed to protect every viewpoint other than that of those who believe in Jesus Christ. For whatever reason, some seem to view the issue of gay marriage as the field on which conservative Christians must stand and die - for if they are to give up and allow homosexuals the rights and protections of married couples under the law of the land - then they feel we have passed the final tipping point, and all is lost.

I approach this subject from two personal viewpoints - that of a Christian and that of an American.

As a Christian, I believe in the biblical definition of marriage as being between a man and a woman. As an American, I don't believe it's our government's right to define what marriage is at all. At it's core, the concept of marriage is a fundamentally religious belief - the idea that two persons are sworn together before whoever they feel is sacred (God, gods, friends, trees...whatever). Where the state comes in, is in the logistical execution of how and with whom I contractually bind my life and resources. It's paperwork, really. Emotionless, logistical and legal contract work. As far as the state is concerned, my marriage license is no different than my car registration. Does the court care if I love my wife or share an "accepted" belief system that allows us to marry? It's not their role - unless they want to start asking me the same types of questions when I go to the DMV..."Is the merger between you and this Nissan socially acceptable?"

So where does that leave me on the "legalization" of gay marriage? Simply put - I'm for the de-legalization of all marriage. My marriage to my wife took place on two levels. The spiritual, in which I pledged before the God of heaven I would love and honor her in the ways that He instructed - for life; and the legal, in which I agreed before the state that we were contractually obligated until such time as we wanted to do even more complicated and expensive paperwork to undo our obligation. By my description, you can tell which one I believe deserves the emphasis.

So yes, as an American - go ahead and allow people who, based on their belief systems, want to spend the rest of their lives (or whatever time period demonstrates the national average for divorce) to do so with the same logistical and legal protection as those who are doing the same thing in conjunction with biblical marriage. It doesn't dilute the concept of marriage when the state tries to re-define it. It simply shows that the state CAN'T, plain and simple. All they can do (and should do) is give legal and social protection to all people who are living their lives in dependence on each other.

But wait, doesn't that mean I'm "giving up" by letting "them" win? Not at all. I'm "giving" people the right who disagree with my beliefs the right to do so - a concept we as Christians stood on during the creation of this great nation. Or at least claimed to. As an American, to do anything else would simply be contradictory our fundamental beliefs. As a Christian, by choosing to allow others to disagree with me and refusing to use my role as the majority to subjugate them and withhold basic human and legal protections (healthcare, etc.), I believe we demonstrate the grace that has been shown to us by the One who was once our enemy. We must keep in mind, that it is not our role to change the minds and hearts of those whose beliefs don't match our own - that is the Holy Spirit's job. Our futile attempts to do so are typically counterproductive, and look as ridiculous - almost as ridiculous as a state trying to define marriage.

What this does mean to me, is that we are drawing closer to the "post Christian" era in the United States. Our government is reflecting our social majority - drifting away from using the Bible as the foundation for the state's rule and law. "In God we trust" is a fading pillar of our government. Soon our nation may not be thought of as a "Christian" country, and to your possible surprise - I'm not worried.

The spread of Christian faith is, I believe, even more effectively accomplished when it isn't state sponsored. God has shown throughout history how He is able, and may even prefer to permeate His word through the work of underdogs and minorities, working in contrast to the social atmosphere around them. The Christian faith's first "boom" took place as early believers were being systematically hunted and eliminated by the existing government, and from there, God spread it throughout the world. To think that ay decision our government can/will make could limit the work of the Holy Spirit in and through our nation is to see our God as much too small as compared to the world He created.

On Power

The perspective on Grace continues to grow.

Today I realized how necessary both sides of God's character are.  A powerful God without grace would leave us without hope.  A graceful God without power would leave us just as hopeless.

God's willingness to associate with us should be the only very thin thing that keeps us from cowering in terror at the very idea of Him.  Any god weaker than that isn't a powerful enough god.

But being around that kind of power doesn't sit well with us.  It's frekin scary.  And we want comfort.  So we create smaller gods that we can manipulate.  Powerful enough to make us happy, but not so powerful that we need fear them.  Money, attractiveness, approval, food...all means to satisfaction that we feel we can control.  Or maybe even just a PG-13 version of the true God...the Buddy Christ that encourages us when we're feeling blue, but wouldn't dare ask us to change our lives.

Nope.  The real God smites.  The real God judges.  He can do whatever He wants with us.  He tells us what to do.  And He has power.  Power enough to create and sustain everything we know.  Power to give us true peace and contentment - traits that come almost instantaneously when we realize that the all-powerful God of the universe is on our side.

Words for 2013

Some guiding words for 2013:

"With every breath I take, every heart beat,
Sunrise and the moon lights in the dark street.
Every glance, every dance, every note of a song.
It's all a gift undeserved that I shouldn't have known.
Every day that I lie, every moment I covet
I'm deserving to die, I'm under your judgment.
Without the cross there's only condemnation.
If Jesus wasn't executed - there's no celebration.
So in times that are good, in times that are bad
For any times that I've had it all I will be glad.
And I will boast in the cross. I'll boast in my pain.
I will boast in your sunshine, boast in your rain.
What's my life if it's not praising you?
Another dollar in my bank account - a vain pursuit.
I do not count my life as any value or precious at all.
Let me finish my race.  Let me answer my call."

Lecrae "Boasting"

Square one

Over the past year, I have tried to focus on different aspects of God's relationship to us.  I have asked God to teach me more about His patience, His love and especially His grace.  And every time I have attempted to focus in on one of these aspects, I have found myself reading and learning more and more about God's power.  Thinking that I was off-track, this has limited my experience - "I wanted to learn more about grace, God.  I want to show people more about how gracious you are.  Why do I keep ending up in areas of the Bible that talk about how strong you are?"

Yeah, I'm pretty near-sighted.

And so, as 2013 nears - I think I (and so many of us) need to take an appropriate moment to put God back in the proper perspective.  His grace, love, justice and all other traits are only properly perceived when we first remember that he is the all powerful creator and sustainer of anything - and that we are absolutely nothing in comparison.  With this in mind, I think we'll be far less willing to take him to task for our circumstances, or to try and negotiate when it comes to relating His commands to the culture around us.

The last chapters of Job (38 through the end) really drove this home the other day.  Though Job was a good man in what seemed to be circumstances that would make anyone question God's goodness, God brought him back to square one to realign his perspective - "Don't you know who I am?"

As the year closes and the holidays bring in all of their normal distractions, I pray I don't lose sight of this first fundamental truth.  I think it is the difference between whether God is truly my God - or just a way of thinking I subscribe to.  One commands a fear that nothing else can compare to.  The other gets distracted, self-righteous and demanding.

I pray I remember my place.

      

There goes my hero...

I think we're all waiting for that great opportunity to be heroic.  We're looking for it so intently, that we ignore the thousands of opportunities we have every day to be selfless - not realizing that until we seize those, heroism will never be possible.

Pander to me.

How much of your time is spent being entertained?
It occurred to me today that we live in a world that seems to be completely constructed around our own personal entertainment.  There are as many galaxies as there are people, with each one at our own respective center, watching everything spin around us for our own amusement.  I'm not talking about simple self-centereredness - that's as old as human nature itself.  I'm talking about what fuels that fire.  And I think we've come to a place where the need for entertainment has made us more narcissistic than any generation before us.
It's not all our fault.  We can blame technology for some of our need to be pandered to.  We are the first generation truly raised by television.  We were subdued with videos as infants, babysat by video games as kids and "kept out of trouble" through endless adolescent hours on the web.  If you think this hasn't resulted in a generation of people who need to be constantly stimulated and distracted, check out the folks in the line at the grocery store next time you're there:
Step 1. Approach checkout line.
Step 2. Survey length of line and estimate time they'll spend waiting.
Step 3. Obligatory momentary pause.
Step 4. Engage smart phone.
Generations before us told us that television would rot our brains, and they were wrong.  Our brains aren't rotten - they are just addicted.  We flock to screens like fish to feed.  We seem to need minutes of mindless pandering as much as solid sleep to recharge from a long day.
Now don't take me to the ultimate extreme - I'm not saying all entertainment is evil.  I'm saying that it becomes evil when you need it.  When it becomes such a fundamental part of your day that any time spent without distraction leaves you searching for something to amuse you, entertainment has started to take up the wrong place in your life.  When you spend more time interacting with the screen of your computer, iphone or tv than your family and friends - it's a problem.      
So what's so bad about this sickness, and what's the cure?
Well, the problem is that this addiction, like all addictions, plays right into Satan's hands.
"Really?" you're thinking, "Satan? I'm just spending my weeknights watching sitcoms.  I'm not hurting anyone.  I can't even possibly be sinning."
No, you're probably not.  But the thing is - you're not doing anything.  You're not helping anyone - not even yourself.  Satan doesn't have to have us strung out on meth or drunk in a gutter to keep us sidelined during our brief time in this world.  He can render us just as ineffective by keeping us glued to our Macbook or the couch.  He knows he can't destroy us - but can sure as hell distract us.
And the diagnoses is the cure.  It's that simple.  Look at your day.  How much of it (time, effort, money) is focused on keeping yourself entertained?  Identify that time.  Then do something.  Anything.  Anything that isn't about you. Help someone's day become better.  Serve them.  Accomplish something.
In the end we'll find that life is better lived when we are less worried about passing time and more focused on making seconds count.

The Truth

"Maybe it's time we all stop trying to outsmart the truth and let it have its day."
-The Dark Knight Rises