I will be the one to tuck my child into bed.  I will be the one to teach her to ride a bike for the first time.  I will pack their lunch for school.  I will pray with him before meals, and when he is scared, and on many other sorts of occasions.  When she practices her most enchanting hobbies, spending free time in a way that most pleases her, I will be the one next to her.

I will be the one that celebrates these moments with them.  I will be there whispering in their ear that they are loved by me, and loved even more by God in Jesus.  What could be more powerful a safeguard than that?

“Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.”  Colossians 3:5

Little gods?  Idols?

Chances are that carved figurines don’t sit on our book shelves and our homes probably doesn’t have shrines in them.  But idols may be sitting on the throne of our hearts, in the form of something so familiar to us that we fail to recognize them.   Idolatry is alive and well and it has taken residence in our hearts.

It’s those things that dictate what we do and how often we do them, taking a role that belongs to Jesus.  Imagine how abhorrent it must be to God to see people bow before things made with their own hands.  Now consider that every time we’re selfish, or lust after a woman, we deem these things divine.  We are worshiping.  In other words, our worship never ceases!  It’s just either directed to its rightful Person, or to an idol.

Selfishness is an idol.  Lust is an idol.  Complacency is an idol.  The list goes on…

Sinning is an act of confusing the created for the Creator.  The root of our problems: we have replaced God with something infinitely less than he actually is.

There are people, places and things that want the throne of our hearts.  What may help us navigate this life is remaining conscious of what we are doing when we sin.  In essence, when we lust, exercise pride, selfishness, greed, envy, distrust, lie, retain jealousy, have fits of rage, create factions, impurity, or hate…we are worshiping something other than God.  Don’t let yourself be seduced into making for little gods for yourself.  They dishonor God, and after a while, they just get boring.  Jesus doesn’t.

“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.”
John 4:13-14

Here is an interesting way to use this approach when reading Proverbs.  I got it from a sermon by Mark Driscoll, teaching pastor of Mars Hill Church on September 6th, 2009.  Some of the conclusions we can draw from Proverbs are:

1. The adulteress worships sex.
2. The sluggard worships comfort.
3. The greedy/stingy worships money.
4. The proud worships himself.
5. The drunkard worships alcohol.
6. The glutton worships food.

What do our habits reveal about our worship patterns?

“Hun, you can’t be soliciting in this shopping center!”  I don’t think the children even knew what it means to solicit.

Experience helps me understand that con-artists, liars, and lazy people do exist.  But Jesus’ words also affirm that the poor we will always have with us!  And so began my contempt with this attitude of elitism we often express.

We’re the type that want to enjoy our strolls in the park, glances at architecture, and gazes at landscapes without having our consciences bothered by the reality of poverty.  We complain about their work ethic but when they drive/bus/walk/bike out into our neighborhoods and offer us a service we look the other way.  We know there are poor people out there but we don’t want them to come into our homes and bother us where we live.  Why have we become so calloused to the needs of others?

Here is the emptiness of our logic:

Premise: I should choose when I want/can help the poor.

This implies that the poor need to stay put and wait on wealthy people who have the moral conviction to give.  But we know the saying; evil triumphs when good people do nothing.  And this happens far too often for it to be a viable solution.

I was recently in a downtown area where I hung out with a street musician after grabbing some late-night Coney Island.  His rhythm, tapping foot, and big ol’ smile was something worth sharing in as be plucked away the blues that night.  He sang about the simple things– dancing, love, church– and I became richer as I sat with him on the sidewalk.

Bourgeoisism fails to see the connectedness we all share as people made in God’s image.  As important as intentional aide is, sporadic help is needed too.  The poor don’t cramp our style.  When they come to us, the least you can do is pull out those crumpled bills and coins floating around your change purse.  If everyone they asked would do that little, we would all be much better off.

4,000/Day – 25,000/Week – 109,000/Month – 1.3 Million/Year

Since 1973, over 40 million children lost their lives.

“Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter.” Proverbs 24:11

Roe (plaintiff) vs. Wade (her state’s attorney general) 1973

-This Supreme Court case ruled that unborn babies are not persons who are protected by the right to life under the constitution.  It also determined that a woman has a right to the privacy of making decisions pertaining to her body.  Therefore, the issue that now needs to be resolved is when a baby (embryo, fetus) has personhood.  If the case can be made that an embryo has personhood, they too should be protected under the constitution’s right to life, making abortion illegal.

Where the court went wrong: Biologically, an embryo has the genetic make-up which makes something a person.  Consciousness, reasoning, and communication are not the qualifications for personhood, otherwise the mentally handicap, clinically insane, or those in a coma should not be considered persons.  But that would be absurd.  Therefore, an embryo/fetus is a person and their right to life is more basic of a right than a woman’s right to privacy.

What the Bible has to say on abortion: Exodus 21:22; Psalm 139:13-16; Jeremiah 1:5; Matthew 1:20.  Life begins at conception.

What you can/need to do: Pray for our country, vote with this in mind (Matt. 23:24), educate yourself, speak out against this injustice, offer hope and love to those considering this procedure: http://optionline.org

1-800-395-HELP.

Learn more: http://abort73.com

You have my permission AND suggestion to link to, copy, paste, further alter, and please print this information off to inform Christians on the issue.

See also “The New Evangelical Politics: Camels & Gnats“

After the winner was announced, Joe Rogan (UFC spokesperson) hurried into the ring and excitedly pronounced, “If that wasn’t entertaining for you, you must be dead.”*  And so this got me thinking about our culture of violence.  I’m not going to go on about how detrimental video games, toy guns etc. are, but there’s something unique to professional fighting that crosses the lines of the “make-believe” cops & robbers games you’d play as a kid.  I mean, this is the real thing.  Two guys beating each others brains out!  Some people say MMA has recently become an even bigger industry than boxing.  And it seems to make sense; it’s more raw & allows for a more diverse way to do damage to your opponent.

Is this a healthy direction our culture is headed in?  MMA seems to be the modern equivalent of the Roman colosseum, minus the “fighting to the death.”  In defense, supporters of the sport will say that there are strict rules to protect fighters.  So the comparison to ancient gladiator games is not fair.  But the principle seems to be the same: watch two guys inflict damage to each other, & be entertained.  Is this something Christians should be celebrating?

Food for thought: consider the similarities between this issue and others you may have used “your body is a temple for the Holy Spirit” as an argument against a particular habit.

“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit”
Romans 14:17 (NIV)

*Something along those lines.

The season finale tonight, a 2 hour special, has me wondering about the TV biz a little.  24’s past seasons really had me glued to the set cheering the good guys on.  The terrorists were internationals and Jack Bauer was constantly engaged in action sequences that reflected his sense of duty.  Now, the terrorists are a band of American corporations set on overthrowing the government, and the thrill has changed to dramatic encounters that has characters conflicted about their moral decisions.  When I first started watching the show, I believed these producers had an ideology and that 24 reflected this ideology.  But what seems to have happened, for better or worse, is that the producers have changed the values and plot to reflect the American people (notice how the White House administrations parallel each other).

Though the direction has changed, a common thread remains: the show is intensely morally charged.  Given that the series is a political thriller, we should be expect this.  The actions of a president, bureaucracy, and field agents have epic implications.  That’s the nature of things involving politics, law enforcement, and the gathering of intelligence.  Tonight’s season finale was especially packed with one-liners that reflect the shift our culture has taken toward moral relativism, religious pluralism, and tolerance.

Consider these morally charged quotes and scenes:

• “Make a decision you can live with” says Jack Bauer to Renee Walker as she considers “torturing” a terrorist (to gain further intelligence & help prevent a further attack) who will most likely walk because there is not enough evidence to condemn him in our courts.
• Jack Bauer is told “We live in complex times,” and “Nothing is black and white” as he reflects on his life, lying in a hospital bed anticipating his death.
• A Muslim Imam serves as Jack Bauer’s spiritual counsel on his death-bed.  Furthermore, the Imam offers a short prayer saying “Let us forgive ourselves.”  I don’t think orthodox Islam would condone this as any sort of significant prayer or as representative of Muslim theology.

-To torture or not to torture?
-Is there an objective moral standard against which our actions will be judged?
-Are all faiths equally true and useful?

All of these themes are treated throughout the series in a way that seems to be moving toward tolerance, relativism, and diversity.  Not to say anything of the plot’s value (how “good it was”), the show may come to a point where it alienates its more conversative audience who’ve celebrated the battle between good and evil, not relativism, until this point.  Only time, and season 8 will tell!

Well, this post may have been more appropriate pre-November 2008, but the subject remains deserving of some attention.  Maybe some post-election reflection is healthy, especially with some of the plans our current administration has.

Can you guess what the “single issue,” referred to by Christians hoping the church will swing its vote, is?  That’s right- abortion.  It’s not difficult to understand why we’re so adament about this issue.  Any honest believer knows that Scripture is clear on what stance we’re supposed to take when it comes to abortion.

“If men who are fighting hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman’s husband demands and the court allows. But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.” Exodus 21:22-25 (NIV)

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” Psalm 139:13 (NIV)

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you” Jeremiah 1:5b (NIV)

“Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter.” Proverbs 24:11 (NIV)

Life begins at conception.  Abortion is genocide.  Christians should vote with this issue in mind.

But what about the other issues involved in a candidate’s platform?  How GREEN a candidate is; how they feel about healthcare for the underprivileged; how they will handle the economy.  Granted, all of these issues should inform your vote (and of course each should be analyzed biblically).

But are all issues equal?  Did God provide the same punishment for all sin under the law?  Doesn’t John even write that some sin “leads to death” while other sin does not (1 John 5:16)?  The truth is, not all issues in a candidate’s platform are equal.  If you’re attempting to get someone in office who best reflects God’s values, please be prepared to explain how killing an innocent life (a sinful act of COMMISSION) is on par with the economy, global involvement, our health care system or whatever else needs correction.

I am not advocating a particular party or candidate.  But I do challenge you to stop “straining the gnat while swallowing the camel.” (Matthew 23:24)  Christians who vote based on important “single issues” are being responsible.  I solemnly believe there is a trump card in today’s politics: it’s abortion.  And until something bigger comes around, I will vote accordingly.

Please visit http://abort73.com to learn more about this atrocity.

These are simple examples, but I hope the point carries over.  My point is this—we shouldn’t try to moralize what is by nature arbitrary.  Preferences like those listed above are private.  And so are the following: what area of a region you choose to live, what material the pants you wear to church are made of, what instruments are used in your preferred music genre etc.  These subjects tend to be more sensitive.  But a strong person practices distinguishing between what is part of the Law of Christ and that which is allowed to vary from culture to culture, individual to individual.

“In essentials unity, in non essentials diversity, and in all things charity.”

Conflict in community happens when the arbitrary is made into the absolute.  Learn to celebrate diversity when appropriate, and pray for wisdom to know the difference.

This Chris Brown character allegedly assaulted his girlfriend Rihanna, another big music star.  It is sad news anytime a person hurts another person.  It is sadder when a man hurts a woman (is that politically incorrect to say? what did Peter mean in 1 Peter 3:7?)  It is saddest when people start saying things to downplay the seriousness of a situation.

Neil Portnow, the president of the “Grammys” came out to comment on the whole deal.  Why him?  Well, Brown & Rihanna missed their Grammy performance because the event happened that day.  Portnow commented that the most unfortunate part of this all is that they missed their performance.  He went on to say that musicians are people like everyone else, with their problems etc.  He’s “not a judgmental kind of an individual.” (watch it here)

If this is not the perfect example of our society slipping into moral relativism, then I don’t know what is.  I mean, we used to be able to argue for moral absolutes by using seemingly extreme examples of brutality and injustice, and asking whether this is in fact evil, and whether or not these principles should carry over to any place, culture, time in the world.  But now things are changing.  Portnow, in a very snobbish and nonchalant manner commented that this was a personal problem.  He cared more about his award show than the alleged injustice to this woman.

I really don’t think our legal system will one day loosen its laws on such acts of violence.  But there does seem to be an increasingly popular shift in making morals “personal,” and suggesting that to get involved is not anyone’s business.  Who will stand up for injustice then?  Like, if someone walks into your award show and wrecklessly sabotages the evening?