5 O God, you know how foolish I am;
my
sins cannot be hidden from you.
6 Don’t
let those who trust in you be ashamed because of me,
O
Sovereign Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
Don’t let me cause them to be humiliated,
O
God of Israel.
7 For
I endure insults for your sake;
humiliation
is written all over my face.
8 Even
my own brothers pretend they don’t know me;
they
treat me like a stranger.
9 Passion for your house has consumed me,
I once heard
a version of the familiar quip that promised: “God watches over fools and
Englishmen.” I feel doubly blessed by that thought because of my ancestry and my
propensity to act foolishly at times. Because I have chosen to write for a
public audience, many others besides God know of my foolishness. I
have argued in the past that my insistence on being right about everything
may border on foolishness in some cases. I also share the Psalmist’s concern
that something I write may cause someone else to be “ashamed” or “humiliated.”
Or, as has happened too frequently, that some may “pretend they don’t know me.”
I have been un-friended on Facebook and shunned in real life because of my
stated positions. I am sorry about that.
However, as I
wrote before, “If God’s Word
offends people, and I suffer the consequences, I am getting what Jesus promised: “If the world hates you, keep in mind that
it hated me first.” In other words, my love of God’s Word and His
ways will sometimes drive me to stake out a position that makes others
uncomfortable. I am reminded of the only time recorded in Scripture when Jesus
was angry. The Gospel writer tells us that he was acting in accord with the
psalm that says, “Zeal for your house has consumed me.” The word “zeal” can
be translated indignation. Because it was the Perfect Son of God doing it, it
was righteous indignation. The word “consumed” means to be overwhelmed. That
tells me that there are times when that kind of attitude is called for – let the
chips fall where they may.
The reason I
am writing about this again is because of what I see happening in America.
Although the percentage is shrinking, polls still suggest that a significant
number of Americans are conservative, believe in God, read their Bibles
(occasionally), and express a concern for the sanctity of life and family
values. In spite of this, society is becoming ever more pagan, and officials continue
to be reelected at all levels who share none of those traits. Since we are
entering another presidential election season, the disingenuous claims and outright
lies of politicians are filling the airwaves once again.
What I want
to ask is where is the righteous indignation? Young people are being subjected
to “gender affirming therapy” which has proven to be disastrous far too often.
Cities are being turned into war zones because of the idiocy of defunding the
police. Billions of dollars are being sent overseas to fund questionable causes
while our national debt soars to stratospheric heights. The border with Mexico
is being left undefended allowing millions of people to flood the country, many
of whom are dangerous criminals or terrorists who wish us harm. Meanwhile, church
attendance dwindles, and anti-Christian sentiment rises.
I remember a
time when we sang songs like this in church:
Stand up; stand up for Jesus / Ye
soldiers of the cross.
Lift high the royal banner / It must
not suffer loss.
Or
Onward Christian soldiers / marching
as to war
With the
cross of Jesus / going on before
Where are the
Christian soldiers? As I
have said before, we are in a cosmic battle against the forces of darkness.
When
Jesus told Peter the gates of Hell would not prevail against His church, He
was invoking military imagery. He
once implied that His kingdom would be taken back from the enemy by force.
Almost without exception, the church in America has forgotten that aspect of
being the church. There is an old theological term not often heard anymore that
should be revived; the body of Christ in this age was referred to as the “Church Militant.” I
feel like the Psalmist when
he wrote, “My eyes pour out streams of tears because people do not follow
your instruction.”
Wake up,
church, or we will lose the battle without firing a shot. I know; we will
ultimately win the war. Christ assured that on the cross. But there are battles
to be fought in the meantime. Take
Paul’s admonition a little more seriously: “Put on the full armor of God…
and stand!” To mix my metaphors, we need to get our light out from under the
basket and charge into the kingdom of darkness carrying Kingdom light. Turn
your righteous indignation into righteous assignation.
Related
posts: When
Being Right is Wrong; For God’s Sake;
The
Importance of Being Right; Disagree
Agreeably
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