Author Steven Lake
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| Systemic Christianity - The Symptom vs The Solution Friday, December 12th, 2014 8:27pm Keywords: (None) |
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| One of the problems I've seen a lot to date involving Christianity is a very systemic one stemming not from any problem with authentic Christianity itself, but rather those who are saved, born again believers. Interestingly, it's a problem that comes a lot with people these days. What problem is that? It's the same issue that people with mental illness suffer from. They try to cure the symptoms but never try to fix the problem. You're probably wondering where I got that idea from. Well, it's an ages old test for mental illness and it's almost always effective. Basically the doctor puts a patient in a room with a mop and a sink that's running over and tells them to clean up the mess. If the patient first turns off the sink and THEN mops up the mess, they're often declared sane, or at least they pass the first of several tests to determine their true problems. If they precede to mop the floor but never turn off the water, they're almost immediately assigned to a psychiatric cell for treatment. The same can be held true of modern Christianity. Now I realize that much of this problem likely stems from the unsaved "Churchians" (ie, Christians in name only. AKA, tares as the bible calls them.) within our midst, yet at the same time we're also a product of our environment. The humanistic and worldly way of solving problems is to cure the symptoms and expect that to cure the problem. We as believers need to think in a more Heavenly mindset, and that is to use the symptoms as a clue to the cause, and then deal with fixing that cause rather than the symptoms themselves. Take for example the problems with our leadership in this nation. That's actually a symptom of the real problem, and not the problem itself. And yet you constantly see people trying to treat that as the problem. The problem is the people at the bottom, and never the top. The people at the top, the leaders of our land, are placed there by God, and if He wants them gone, nothing can keep them in power. But if He wants them to stay, nothing can tear them from office. Ever. Period. End of story. No election, no coop, no motion of congress, nothing. Not one single thing. Our leaders are there to lead us, bless us, or curse us depending on how we, the people, are living. Case in point. Look at Israel in the bible. From Judges through Kings, and even the associated major and minor prophets, anytime Israel sinned, they either got invaded, conquered, or judged either directly by God or indirectly through other nations sent by God to do His bidding. But when the nation was righteous, it got good kings, and it prospered. The same is true of our national history. While we were yet a Godly nation we were blessed. When we threw God to the curb, we began to fall. God wants us to be blessed, to serve Him and to do His will. But so long as we remain in sin, the only thing we will receive is the just dues of our sins, and one of those is bad leadership. So if you want to fix the people at the top, you need to stop focusing on them and start focusing on the guy next door, your family, friends, strangers in the area, the poor, the needy, the sick, the lame, and all those same kinds of people that Christ ministered to. Trying to change our leadership is simply salving the symptoms and NOT fixing the real problems. The only way you're going to change this nation is to start with those around you. I know this isn't a popular message, but it's the truth, regardless if you want to accept it or not. So if you want to make a positive change in your world, you need to start where it's actually going to make a difference. And if you think that you're too insignificant to make a difference, consider this. Paul, who wasn't even numbered among the original 12 Apostles, but was a Johnny come lately to Christianity, single handedly turned the world upside down. Yes, he obviously did it through the power of Christ, which you also have if you're a saved, born again Christian. Even so, one man turned the world upside down and did probably more on his own to expand Christianity to the world than the other 11 apostles. So don't give me that whole, "But I'm only one person!", or "But I'm not Paul!" No, you're not Paul and yes, you are only one person. But you have the power of Christ behind you, and as one very wise man once said, "You plus God are always a majority." So think about it. If Paul could rock the world the way he did, even from a prison, what's your excuse for not stepping out and at least changing your community? You don't have to change an entire continent. You only have to go and do that which Jesus asks you to do. If it's a continent, so be it. But if it's only one little boy in a dirty, smelly little orphanage on the south side of town, then by the grace of God, go do it, because who knows what may come of that simple act of obedience. After all, it's all thanks to the obedience of one man that we got Billy Graham. Who says that God won't use you in your obedience to bring about the next great man of God who will, where you couldn't, through God's power, change this nation for the better in ways you couldn't even begin to imagine. All you have to do is believe, obey, and go, and then leave the rest to God. Now, what are you waiting for? GO! |
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