Just A Thought

G.K. Chesterton, the celebrated Catholic theologian of the early 20th century, predicted the chaotic moral climate of our present, politically-correct world. In his masterpiece entitled Orthodoxy, he said, “We are on the road to producing a race of men too mentally modest to believe in the multiplication table. We are in danger of seeing philosophers who doubt the law of gravity as being a mere fancy of their own.” In short, Chesterton argues that, philosophically, those who have talked themselves into believing that they are no longer bound to absolute morals and values not only have nothing to believe in, but they have nothing to oppose -- since truth and absolutes do not exist in their made-up world.

Natural laws such as the boiling point of water, the inevitability of the seasons, and the laws of sowing and reaping have been proven since the beginning of time. They have become saviors to those who embrace them and executioners to those who choose to ignore them. No amount of argument or human revolution will change these laws! Embracing them frees us to enjoy their benefits and avoid their unbending consequences.

Spiritual laws, such as The Ten Commandments, give dignity and civility to those who embrace them. Such laws prevent men and women from behaving like mere animals, wandering naked in the town square, engaging in indiscriminate acts, and abusing one another. Those who obey God’s spiritual laws live a better life here and an even better life hereafter. Those who choose to live by God’s absolutes are free to enjoy their benefits and avoid their unbending consequences.

You may have noticed that people who genuinely live by God’s higher order of civilization reap great benefits:
· They celebrate the dignity of life and the sacredness of relationships.
· They take better care of their minds and their bodies.
· They find healthy ways to deal with anger and solve problems.
· The honor God more highly than popular culture or man-made religion.
· They have identified the boundaries of a road that leads to genuine freedom of the heart, mind and soul.

You may have also notice that those who choose to ignore God’s absolutes do so at their peril; it is a peril that manifests itself in dysfunctional relationships, addictions, poor health and emotional disorders. Unfortunately, spiritual laws can be explained away or ignored more easily than natural laws; this is because their ramifications are sometimes unseen, or delayed, or may not be fully exposed until this life is over.

Be wise. Beware of the concepts our politically-correct world culture is promoting. Don’t believe everything you hear. Don’t buy into the mob philosophies that are being marketed. Don’t assume that people are right because they are rich, famous, politically powerful or beautiful. Choose to live by the laws that can make you free -- both now and forever. For example, the next time someone encourages you to ignore the godly council of keeping sex within the bounds of marriage, picture them encouraging you to experience the rush that comes from jumping out of a plane without a parachute. It may be a popular choice, but it is not a productive choice, because it violates a God-ordained law for which there are consequences.

You’ll find freedom in believing:
· 2 x 2 = 4.
· Gravity=(Gm1m2)/d2.
· Every human being will all answer for their actions.
· Jesus loves you.
· Jesus forgives.

There is a road to abundant and everlasting life that it is clearly marked with time-proven guardrails; these moral guidelines are beautifully revealed in the best-seller of all times, the Bible. Read it. Obey it. Live free!

G.K. Chesterton, the celebrated Catholic theologian of the early 20^th century, predicted the chaotic moral climate of our present, politically-correct world. In his masterpiece entitled Orthodoxy, he said, “We are on the road to producing a race of men too mentally modest to believe in the multiplication table. We are in danger of seeing philosophers who doubt the law of gravity as being a mere fancy of their own.” In short, Chesterton argues that, philosophically, those who have talked themselves into believing that they are no longer bound to absolute morals and values not only have nothing to believe in, but they have nothing to oppose -- since truth and absolutes do not exist in their made-up world.

Natural laws such as the boiling point of water, the inevitability of the seasons, and the laws of sowing and reaping have been proven since the beginning of time. They have become saviors to those who embrace them and executioners to those who choose to ignore them. No amount of argument or human revolution will change these laws! Embracing them frees us to enjoy their benefits and avoid their unbending consequences.

Spiritual laws, such as The Ten Commandments, give dignity and civility to those who embrace them. Such laws prevent men and women from behaving like mere animals, wandering naked in the town square, engaging in indiscriminate acts, and abusing one another. Those who obey God’s spiritual laws live a better life here and an even better life hereafter. Those who choose to live by God’s absolutes are free to enjoy their benefits and avoid their unbending consequences.

You may have noticed that people who genuinely live by God’s higher order of civilization reap great benefits:

· They celebrate the dignity of life and the sacredness of relationships.

· They take better care of their minds and their bodies.

· They find healthy ways to deal with anger and solve problems.

· The honor God more highly than popular culture or man-made religion.

· They have identified the boundaries of a road that leads to genuine freedom of the heart, mind and soul.

You may have also notice that those who choose to ignore God’s absolutes do so at their peril; it is a peril that manifests itself in dysfunctional relationships, addictions, poor health and emotional disorders. Unfortunately, spiritual laws can be explained away or ignored more easily than natural laws; this is because their ramifications are sometimes unseen, or delayed, or may not be fully exposed until this life is over.

Be wise. Beware of the concepts our politically-correct world culture is promoting. Don’t believe everything you hear. Don’t buy into the mob philosophies that are being marketed. Don’t assume that people are right because they are rich, famous, politically powerful or beautiful. Choose to live by the laws that can make you free -- both now and forever. For example, the next time someone encourages you to ignore the godly council of keeping sex within the bounds of marriage, picture them encouraging you to experience the rush that comes from jumping out of a plane without a parachute. It may be a popular choice, but it is not a productive choice, because it violates a God-ordained law for which there are consequences.

You’ll find freedom in believing:

· 2 x 2 = 4.

· Gravity=(Gm₁m₂)/d2.

· Every human being will all answer for their actions.

· Jesus loves you.

· Jesus forgives.

There is a road to abundant and everlasting life that it is clearly marked with time-proven guardrails; these moral guidelines are beautifully revealed in the best-seller of all times, the Bible. Read it. Obey it. Live free!

The educator and philosopher, Will Durant, said, “A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within.” With that in mind, many Americans cringe at what they see around them, fearing the demise of a great nation. Advertisements, movies and public conversations have sunk to new moral lows; our society as a whole seems to have forfeited the sacred, the pure and the modest values that made our country great. Greed and corruption now dominate much of the corporate and political world. Intact families and decent relationships are hard to come by. Hard work, honesty and decency are rare gems in a culture that has removed God from school and the public square and replaced Him with the gods of humanism, science and selfishness. It seems like “everybody’s doing it.”

Many of you may remember your parents trying to save you from making the same poor choices your peers were making by arguing, “Just because your friends jump off a cliff, doesn’t mean you have to jump off too!” Maybe you are numbered among those who stand dumbfounded at the sea of humanity that is unthinkingly marching toward moral and social suicide. You might be troubled by the overabundance of bad news, bad attitudes and bad relationships. But not everyone is jumping off the cliff. There are bright lights shining in a dark world. Look for them. Celebrate them. Be one of them.

Allow me to share just one example of a bright light in our dark world. There are a group of teenagers and young adults, who attend the church I pastor, who have chosen to live on a higher plain than their culture. Not only do they attend church, but they are all involved in some kind of ministry. Several years ago several of them came to me and requested that I allow them to meet for prayer. I gladly agreed and the prayer meetings have been life-changing for them and a great blessing to our assembly. Then, more recently, a few of these youth began writing a weekly blog. They are sharing their values and proclaiming their faith – on their own steam. Their comments can be viewed at www.newfreethinkers.com.

If you take time to read their blog, you will quickly notice that the young people mentioned above are choosing to live lives of purity and integrity. They don’t smoke, drink, cuss, sleep around, take off their clothes in public, or watch dirty movies. They are choosing to live addiction-free, chaste and unashamed of their faith. Refreshing, isn’t it?

The fact is that, just as civilizations are conquered from within, individuals can only be conquered when they allow themselves to be changed from within. No matter how godless, violent, or immoral the world around us becomes, you and I have control over who we are as individuals. There are still people who are choosing well. There are still families and groups of people who are holding themselves to high standards and enjoying the benefits of hard work, faithfulness and biblical lifestyles. There are still people who attend church regularly, meet in one another’s homes for prayer, and show Christian love to those around them. Some people are standing firm; they’re not jumping.

Keep your dignity. Insure integrity within your own mind and heart. Take advantage of God’s promise to fill you with His Spirit and give you inner strength. Choose life. Find others who are doing the same. Be a bright spot in a dark world. Not everyone is jumping off the cliff.

On more than one occasion, after inviting someone to attend church, I have had them half- jokingly say, “If I came to your church the roof would fall in.” Further discussion often revealed that such people were not always unbelievers; some just thought they weren’t good enough, didn’t have enough faith, or didn’t want to go someplace where there might be hypocrites. Well, not to worry. The roof won’t fall in. No one is good enough. We all could use more faith. And, we are all hypocrites at times. Besides we don’t let those kinds of excuses keep us from going other places. Do you stay home from restaurants because you are a poor cook, because you don’t have as much money as other patrons or because people who are overweight eat there?

A man recently told me that he was at a bowling alley on Sunday. All 40 lanes were full! That means several hundred people were willing to invest a substantial amount of time and money in -- just a game. I can guarantee you that there were people in that very crowd that were grouchy, hypocritical, drunk, cheating on their spouse, etc. Yet there were more people paying to bowl that day than there were in many of the local churches that morning. You don’t suppose there may be some other issues going on, do you? Think about it. If God is almighty and man lives forever, wouldn’t it make sense that people would be willing to gather with other imperfect people for a few hours on a Sunday morning to make plans for eternity? What gives?

I wonder if the real issue nagging people who don’t often attend church is that they are having trouble believing and think that disqualifies them. Maybe some significant hurt or tragedy has shaken their faith. Perhaps questions have come up that don’t seem to have answers. It could be that they have encountered some genuinely, faith-shattering situations that make them wonder if they truly believe. Do you suppose that such people think that those people who attend church regularly don’t have doubts or questions like they have -- allow me to clear that up.

Christians don’t have it all figured out. In my experience, people who attend church have many doubts, questions, and times of intellectual and spiritual turmoil. That is the very reason why church attendance is so important to them. Church is a great place to wrestle through your faith issues as you get to know God better. Madelein L’Engle said it this way, “Those who believe they believe in God but without passion in the heart, without anguish of mind, without uncertainty, without doubt, and even at times without despair, believe only in an idea of God, not in God Himself.”

The life of a believer is full of struggles and discoveries. They do not attend church because they are good and strong, but because they need goodness and strength. Church is not a place for perfect people -- it is a place for the fellowship of people who are facing life’s challenges. Church is a place to worship, wonder, weep and rejoice. It is a place designed to help people wobble and totter toward heaven.

My theory is easily tested. Just attend church this Sunday and see if the roof falls in. It won’t cost you anything, but it could change your eternal destiny.