Stop trusting in man,
Who has but a breath in his nostrils.
Of what account is he?
-
Isaiah 2:22 (1984 NIV)
We live in a
time – and have for decades – where a huge portion of the population have
sought help, aid, relief, leadership, and just about any other good thing you
can imagine, from the government and other cultural leaders. They have looked to man for their salvation.
This
approach has culminated in recent years in America in the very deification of
great athletes and movie stars who, while great in their professions, are just
that – people who can play a sport exceedingly well or act exceedingly
well. Yet younger people especially hang
on their every word and seek to be like them.
As far as
the government goes, years of ever growing government under both political
parties and ever growing entitlement (“aid”) programs has led people to depend
more and more on it. But government
cannot solve your problems. It is an
enormous bureaucracy, which by definition is ponderous, slow, extraordinarily
inefficient, and dull. Anyone who has
worked with a large organization knows what a bureaucracy is like. Just look at the storms that have hit various
areas. It is the people themselves who
immediately began working to help those affected, as it should be! The government, FEMA, eventually will get
involved, but the people affected surely can’t wait for that. Local helpers and charitable groups are there
always immediately.
Or consider
your protection. In the history of this country
people were to protect themselves. Police
have never been able always to protect the citizens. Most victims of crime know
that. Police generally come in after a crime to investigate and to capture the
perpetrators. There just aren’t enough
police to patrol everywhere. I remember
years ago when I lived near Houston. The
chief of police in that giant city said that very thing to the citizens – we
can’t protect you. You have to take care
of yourselves.
Somewhere
along the way, many people moved from being actively involved in society to
becoming spectators in much of life just as they are in professional
sports. I remember once hearing a major
athlete speak with derision of those who just come and sit and watch. The real joy and focus of the sport, to him,
was in participating, in playing the game.
Certainly we can see how this applies to many Christians as well, who
basically are just that even in their faith – spectators. Minimally involved, they go once a week to
sit and have someone else tell them a few words he has arrived at by study and
prayer and reflection. And then they
leave.
Americans
have stopped playing the game of life, preferring rather for others to take
care of all those areas we are not greatly interested in. Americans would rather work in their jobs,
have a house, and maybe a couple cars, maybe a boat, focus on their families, watch
games and cook out. They just don’t want to get involved in dealing with issues
of the day, so they have all been left to the government – local and
national. And so those governments have
evolved, and people have been elected and appointed to high positions who
clearly are taking the country in a direction that much of the population does
not wish to go. The country is moving to
ever great national government and even apparently to a greater union with
other world governments. And now the
citizens do not know what to do.
Spiritually,
we all know what is happening. We are
living in the last of the last days, and we are heading toward the return of
the Lord and that seven year tribulation period. Part of that period involves a one-world
government and a universal (read “false”) church. Quite apparently we are well on the way to
that time. Recently when Cathy and I
were praying about what we should be doing next, the Lord gave us specific
direction. And he finished it off by
giving Cathy this verse: 1 Peter 4:7:
The end of all things
is near. Therefore be clear minded and
self-controlled so that you can pray. (1984 NIV)
Read that
and receive it. And do what it says.
May you all
live in the blessings of God always.
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