[Part of this reflection was influenced from a talk given by Dr. Tony Campolo at an Educators Convention, years ago. The perspective still has relevance today.]
Mark 1:14-15 – 14After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15“The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” [“Repent” – turn around; do an about face; go the opposite direction. “Believe” – demonstrate genuine faith; alter your lifestyle; live His life]
American history is a contrast between two founding cities; Jamestown and Plymouth Rock. The difference is between greed for gold and glory to God. Jamestown was founded upon greed; seeking personal gain to the exclusion of God. Plymouth Rock was founded upon liberty from tyranny; the unlimited freedom to worship God. The conflict of these two interests is still occurring.
What is the emphasis of your ambitions?
There is a tension between climbing toward God and sliding into greed. The pursuit of God’s kingdom involves going in opposite ways; a different lifestyle.
Slippage can occur in undetectable ways. Everyday expectations can cause a person to misplace focus. Compromising forces battle Jesus’ followers. Citizens of this nation face constant challenges living as citizens of God’s kingdom. Note some signs in the never-ending conflict.
America is a pluralistic society.
As a nation, we are more than one in belief and in practice. The family is growing increasingly harder to define. There is no standard model. Old-time television buffs know that the “Ozzie and Harriet” and “Leave it to Beaver” days are over (if they ever existed in the first place).
The heritage, language and beliefs of this nation are very diverse. American families are now divided into four categories.
There is the amoral humanist family. These homes are hedonistic; committed to selfish, instant gratification and to the belief that there are no absolutes. Family members live any lifestyle. They embrace the concept “If it feels good then do it,” with the faulty premise attached “as long as it does not hurt anybody.”
Marriage becomes optional and not considered permanent. Vows have changed from “As long as we both shall live” to “As long as we both shall love,” each individual defining love their own way. Children may witness parents using drugs; pornography is in plain sight; sex may be done openly with several family members.
Many cannot imagine a home like this, however, they do exist. The general rule of thumb is “no restraints.” One of my High School classmates grew up in these surroundings. Tragically he committed suicide in his twenties. He had no reliable moorings to anchor his soul.
There is the moral humanist family. These homes adopt a measure of moral values based on personal convictions. Family members are generally faithful, honest and upright. They are very insistent on the rights of the individual. Each person decides for himself or herself what is right, within broad moral boundaries. Viewpoints do not necessarily come from religion.
This was the kind of home I was raised in, as well as most of my friends. My brother, sister and I had similar mannerisms and standards but based our lives on radically different foundations.
There is the Christian humanist family. Among people who attend church there are degrees and variations of moral standards. Some live very consecrated lives; some live totally unrestrained lives; most live somewhere in between.
Many are Christian by name yet their lifestyle does not reflect the Bible. They appear sincere but have integrity issues. Generally accepted social and business practices are often done, even though Biblically unacceptable. They demonstrate as much greed as any American.
The Ten Commandments are lived-out as Ten Suggestions. Professing Christ but living confusing lives; confessing Jesus’ Lordship yet behaving like humanist. The unchurched compare their life to these witnesses and end up questioning the need to follow Jesus.
A member of a church wanted my advice: “Why shouldn’t I divorce my wife and marry my girlfriend? God loves me and wants me happy. My wife doesn’t make me happy but my girlfriend does. It must be God’s will for me to divorce my wife.”
This kind of reasoning is based on humanism, not the Bible. Many are failing to establish a Scriptural lifestyle.
Remember Proverbs 14:12: “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.”
There is the Biblical Christian family. God’s principles prevail in the home and His counsel is sought in every decision. Each day is considered an opportunity to discover God’s will. The family seeks to glorify God and give Him first place. The commitment of the married couple is, “Till death do us part.” (This phrase does not advocate murder over divorce but rather longevity.J)
The focus of the home is to bring up a family in the ways of God. Not only love the Lord but serve Him. Each family member exercises their gifts for the advancement of God’s kingdom.
These four home lives have become incorporated into the warp and fiber of this society; they reveal a nation of diversity and plurality.
America is a society based on freedom, equality and competition.
Society’s values are not based on superior principles for living, or matchless standards of behavior, or a first-class code of ethics. Values are rooted in the economy. Newspapers give front page to the Federal Reserve Board Chairman, whenever he speaks. Things are all that matters.
Bill Clinton ran his campaign and won the Presidential election with the slogan, “It’s the economy, stupid!” A governor from Arkansas better understood the heartbeat of the average American than those who were residing in Washington DC.
Human worth is measured by the one who has the most goods at the lowest cost. What is being promoted as reasonable and acceptable today?
In order for this nation to be strong, people have to keep buying things. But the people with the money to buy things already have everything they need. Therefore, they must be convinced to buy things they do not need.
Each year at Christmastime we subconsciously hope something new will be invented so we can give a gift to the person who has everything they need. We would never consider saying, “This year nobody gets anything; you already have everything.” We are afraid of being branded a Scrooge.
So that we, who have everything, keep buying the things we do not need, we work harder and longer. The average workweek has gone up sizably in the past ten years. Consequently most of us no longer have any time for our families and, when we do have time, are too exhausted for it to be meaningful.
This is where the scenario gets interesting. In order to get the people, who have everything they need, to buy the things they do not need, we have to advertise.
What do we advertise? We market the qualities we gave up in order to work longer hours to get the money to buy the things. We advertise friendship and companionship. These qualities now come by purchasing a consumer product that we can afford to buy because we gave up friendship and companionship to work the hours to pay for it.
Some classic television commercials reveal this mindset. A group of friends gather together and a woman’s cell phone rings. The look on her face reveals an unwanted business call. On a whim she throws the phone into the pool and the friends start laughing. A man, sitting nearby, is busy using a laptop and the group stares at him. They want him to follow the woman’s example; they non-verbally challenge him to get out of the rat race and join the party. The next scene shows everyone’s electronic devises at the bottom of the pool; enjoying friendship and companionship. What made this possible? The purchase of a brand-name alcoholic beverage!
An unforgettable, award winning, commercial shows people from every race and tongue, dressed in various cultural outfits, climbing a hill. Everyone is singing the same tune in their native language, “I want to teach the world to sing, in perfect harmony.” The curse of the tower of Babel is broken; true Pentecost has come. What made this happen? Coca-Cola! The purchase of a consumer good!
Products are sold on the basis that they will deliver back to us those things we gave up so that we would have the money to buy them. In our society we, who have everything, have given up faith, relationships, friendships and human harmony in order to put in the time, to make the money, to buy the things that nobody needs. The irony is that we see this as being rational and reasonable.
The civilization just described is bound to be stressful. To attempt to live this way will add strain to a person’s life. In a stressed-out world people look for escapes. This lends itself to an increase usage of mind-bending drugs, alcohol, pornography and gambling.
At this point the church often makes a mistake. People are told, “With God’s help no one has to escape.” They hear, “With God’s help anyone can have a place in this society.” Churches fail to recognize the fallacy of a lifestyle built on greed and try to give people a divine peace to live the American way. Maybe the American way is wrong; founded more on Jamestown than Plymouth Rock?
Church leaders are attempting to do the role of being “all the king’s horses and all the king’s men, putting humpty-dumpy together again.” They try to help people adjust without questioning if this is what God wants for His children. If not careful, people will be able to accuse the church of tailoring faith to help people fit into something God never intended. Are churches guilty of picking up fatalities, healing them in the name of Jesus and sending them back into a world that is totally absurd?
A major part of declaring the message of Jesus is “blowing the whistle” on what this world is doing and inviting people to not be of the world while still being in the world. “Therefore, come out from them and be separate….” (2 Corinthians 6:17) Isolationism is not being promoted. The message of Jesus does not advocate membership in a parallel culture; the cry of the gospel is residency in a different culture.
Jesus came to offer us the Kingdom of God.
The Good News is that a Savior has come and that access into God’s kingdom involves doing an about face. Faith is not about surviving a faulty world-system but changing to a totally new way of living. The message of the church is not about becoming a sub-culture but being a counter-culture.
“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:2)
Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, “For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:32-33)
God’s people are to reveal that there is a world system that demands everyone fit into it and accept it, but they have chosen to instead be part of a different kingdom; a kingdom of simplicity, righteousness and genuine peace. Everything is done for the Lord.
People that embrace an absurd system may accuse those who follow Jesus of living illogical lives but it makes perfect sense to God and those who genuinely love Him. Their lives reveal a sacrificial love in a world that thinks doing so is foolishness.
“2This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. 3This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, 4for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.” (1 John 5:2-4)
The acceptable model of the school classroom is self-love. Christ followers, as members of God’s kingdom, died to self on account of Calvary and substitute self-love for God-love.
Self-love will not suffice “when the hardships of life threaten to sever hope from you; there is no prosthetic for an amputated spirit, no therapy for the atrophy of a dream, no medication for the sickness that breaks the heart and withers the soul.” (Tom Selleck)
Look at what this world is selling people and has done to people; be a lighthouse of a different way of life. The message of Jesus is that we will no longer be part of a system that regularly tells people to get more stuff.
Consider the day of an average American. In the morning they get off a box-spring mattress, eat breakfast out of a box, drive to work in a box, sit in a box, eat a box lunch, drive home in a box, eat dinner cooked in a box, and fall asleep watching a box. They call this “living?”
Jesus offers the Kingdom of God; a life with a different focus, purpose and destiny. A life that is no longer absurd.
Kenneth Caraway gives an exciting challenge: “There is no box made by God nor us but that the sides can be flattened out and the top blown off to make a dance floor on which to celebrate life.”
Get out of the box!
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