Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today- July 4, 2013
“In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.” Judges 21:25
Spiritual and moral decline is the fruit of a nation or person who abandons absolutes. Once absolutes are dismissed liberties are limited. A decline in spiritual fervor and moral purity always leads to the loss of freedom. For example, a home or car left unlocked in the past is locked today for fear of robbery. Indeed, small loses of freedom lead to larger loses of freedom. Without standards based on absolutes, absolutely anything can go.
The threat of stealing moves from your home to corporate America where in some cases billions of dollars have been bilked to justify a short-term allusion of success to investors. Immoral and unspiritual individuals become deceptive and dishonest if allowed to do “what is right in their own eyes”. Without boundaries and absolutes anything goes and if anything goes, your freedoms will deteriorate and eventually be destroyed.
The cultural battle that rages in our country is over the soul of our society. If absolutes win then our children and grandchildren will see their cherished rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness extended. Therefore, will we bow to the false promise of freedom wrapped in the guise of no absolutes, or will we expose the lies and uphold God’s standards and His definition of absolutes? People flourish where freedom loudly rings!
We lead out of love and compassion, however there are behavioral boundaries to be guarded with vigilance. When the sanctity of life and the sanctity of marriage are under attack we cannot sit passively by and just pray. As followers of Jesus Christ we have a mandate to defend these bedrocks of civilization. Yes we are busy, and yes we have our own problems to deal with, but “you ain’t seen nothing yet” if good people do nothing.
Your freedoms will continue to deteriorate like the “frog in the kettle”, unaware but slowly boiling himself to death. We should be the thermostats of society not the barometers; the influencers rather than the ones being influenced. Consider how you might get involved in the PTA at your child’s school or the local government. Volunteer in church or ministries that need your skill set, gifts and passion. Model the fruit of the Spirit (patience, gentleness, self-control…), as you influence the culture for Christ.
Public policy is a reflection of private morality and spirituality. Absolutes abided by absolutely guarantee your freedoms. So, by God’s grace continue to raise the bar of expectations and absolutes, so that “everyone is doing what is right in the Lord’s eyes”.
The Lord’s throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men. Psalm 11:4
Prayer: How can I best model and live out His absolutes in my life and in the life of my family? How would Christ have me engage in our cultural battle?
Related Readings: Genesis 4:7; Deuteronomy 6:18; Galatians 5:22; Hebrews 13:7-9
Post/Tweet today: Once absolutes are dismissed liberties are limited. #absolutes
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© 2013 by Boyd Bailey. All rights reserved.
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In the 1960’s, as a budding pacifist, I was perplexed by the *violence* with which some so-called peace demonstrators were “demonstrating” for peace. I knew something was fundamentally amiss, but I couldn’t see the bigger picture until looking back years later. I finally realized that in such situations, good intentions can lead to misguided zeal.
In recent years, I believe a similar thing has happened – – some people with good intentions to witness boldly about their beliefs and sense of calling from God, have become mean-spirited and almost hatefully competitive about “taking back our country for God”. I think God weeps about this well-intentioned-gone-misguided campaign, just as much as he weeps about any of the shambles much of our world is in today.
In fact, this world has been in shambles from the beginning. But Eden always has remained within reach, right beside/around/within us – – in spite of the messiness that all of us humans cause.
I pray that we all take another look at the grace and love and powerful attention Jesus gave to matters in the “gray areas” of life. Yes, he proclaimed the absolutes about loving God first, and then others as ourselves.
But he didn’t draw black and white lines in absolutely every situation he encountered. He surprised people then, and now, in his responses. He proclaimed God’s peace, but upset the moneychangers’ tables in the temple. He proclaimed obedience, but broke the law healing on the Sabbath. He proclaimed love by telling stories of how some sinners were strangely used by God to extend God’s love. He proclaimed faith in God, but personally begged to be removed from a hugely difficult situation. He sometimes “stumped” the well-meaning as well as the malicious with new questions, in response to theirs……questions which sometimes led them [and hopefully us] to a stance of Godly thoughtfulness – – of stepping back with holy respect and recognizing the situation is larger than we had understood.
Stepping back with holy respect does not mean that we should not follow our calling. We, of course *must* follow in whatever way God calls each of us. But I believe that God intends us to be who we are called as individuals and groups within the context of realizing that each of us is also a part of the whole of God’s creation. No one of us has ALL the right answers, even if we love God, and love others as ourselves, and obey the Ten Commandments! Because we are ALL human, we all mess up, and we can all learn from each other,……. and God is in charge.
It is so difficult not to become demanding and mean in our well-intentioned zeal. But where did Jesus, (or G0d) tell us to “Be demanding and mean in your well-intentioned zeal” ?
Please, Boyd, lead each of your readers into a grounded sense of proclaiming our beliefs with “holy respectfulness”, and an awareness of the sacred task we, as God’s children, have to bear each other up, rather than to merely fight among ourselves and put others down. We cannot live and grow and bloom among each other, thus live and grow and bloom as a whole, unless we drop the childish attacks and rants. We can spread the flow of God’s love, and the Spirit’s power, and Jesus’ grace if we recognize that each of us is valuable and we are all in God’s Big Picture together.
We will never totally agree on everything, but we *can* agree on a commitment to God’s Word, which allows us to both “speak” our callings and “listen” to others’ with sacred thoughtfulness.
So very happy that you are cancer-free after 16 months! Thank you, God. I will pray for you! I am so delighted that ultrasound, not chemo or radiation, could be used instead.