How We Should Live Then and Now, Not Now And Then

 "The Christian and the Materialist hold different beliefs about the universe. They can't both be right. The one who is wrong will act in a way which simply doesn't fit the real universe." - C.S. Lewis 

As I have said many times, we often try to address spiritual problems with physical solutions and seem surprised when they don't work. Spiritual problems require spiritual solutions.

"C.S. Lewis explains the dilemma in my favorite of his essays, 'Men Without Chests'. For a person to be moral, 'the head', the seat of reason, must rule the 'stomach', or the passions. But it can do this only through the 'chest', which in Lewis's analogy represents the will, the moral imagination. The problem today, Lewis writes, is that modern rationalism has reduced morality to cognition; it has focused on moral reasoning while ignoring the role of the will and moral imagination; it has robbed us of our 'chests'. And then we wonder why morality is declining. In Lewis's unforgettable words, 'We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honour and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate and bid the geldings be fruitful.' "

......

"What does it take to create the good life? A firm sense of right and wrong and a determination to order one's life accordingly. Not out of a grim sense of duty, but because it is what fits with our created nature and makes us happiest and most fulfilled. When men and women act in accord with their true nature, they feel a sense of harmony, contentment, and joy. This is happiness, the fruit of virtue. In fact, the ancient philosophers defined happiness as something one achieves only at the end of life, after spending a whole lifetime in character training.

     It was this definition that the American Founders had in mind when they declared that we have an inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The last phrase did not mean a right to hedonistic pleasure, as many people believe today, but the pursuit of virtue, a life spent ordering our appetites and desires to the truth of who we are, which produces happy individuals and a harmonious society."

- from pages 380-382 of "How Now Shall We Live?" by Chuck Colson and Nancy Pearcey (the latter of whom studied under Francis Schaeffer at L'Abri in Switzerland, which was instrumental in her conversion to Christ! :-) I'm glad I was able to visit this legendary Christian institution a few years back.)

In reading through this book, the call for Christians to share Christ through the Great Commission has been clear, along with the call for Christians to live out the Gospel and use our lives as an example of how God's kingdom operates and thus influence the culture around us as well.

     I was thinking some on this the other night, especially in view of the current pandemic the world is experiencing. While I'm trying to be cautious, I am also trying to be bold in faith. Ultimately my life is in God's hands. 

    Yet I found myself unwilling to engage with someone trying to get my attention while I was momentarily parked somewhere. (There were mitigating factors involved, including it being late at night, my body was physically tired at the end of a long day at work, and the person had no mask on and social distance would likely have been breached.) I don't know what the person wanted though I assume it was a plea for help. I say this to my shame that I didn't acknowledge the person but rather drove off and went on home. Shortly afterward, I did feel guilt and drove back to see if I could find the man, but it seemed he was gone.

    The thought struck me- if we're not helping those who are in need or at least talking with others and listening to them, what good are we? If we're not willing to meet with the lepers and help them as Jesus did, how are we helping the "lepers" of this world? Jesus did not intend for us to live Christian life in a bubble isolated from the world. He calls us to go into all the world and preach the Good News. He calls us to do unto others as we'd have done unto us. He calls us to be the Good Samaritan and help those in need. He calls us to love our neighbour as ourselves- and even to love our enemies and pray for them! He calls us to show love to all and especially "the least of these". Feed the hungry. Give water to the thirsty. Welcome the stranger and house him. Heal the sick. Visit the prisoner. (See Matthew 25) All of these are tangible ways to show we truly love The Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. 

     And these two ideas really work well in tandem because as we do these good works God made us to do all along (Ephesians 2:10), it gives us all the more opportunities to share The Gospel, which is ultimately the only thing that will truly bring change to the world. As Jesus said in Matthew 5:15-16, we are in this way like a candle on a stand that brings light to all- a city on a hill that reflects the light of God which cannot be hidden- and that causes people to glorify God our Father in Heaven. "For God who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness', has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." (2 Corinthians 4:6)

   Our lives should preach the Gospel as the evidence of what an encounter with The Lord Jesus does to a soul who puts faith in Him and follows Him- he is transformed into a new creature! (2 Corinthians 5:17) It is Jesus' death to pay for all sins and His Resurrection that gives us forgiveness and salvation when we ask Him for it in faith. He produces in us a changed life that "spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere." (2 Corinthians 2:14) We're the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and those who are perishing- the smell of life to the one and the smell of death to the other. (See 2 Corinthians 2:15-16)

    So put a hand under your mouth and check your breath. Take a whiff of those underarms. Is that B.O. your M.O.? There's going to be a smell one way or the other but let's not be a stench in both the world's nostrils and God's. (Isaiah 65:5) It's God's kindness that leads people to repentance (Romans 2:4)- and He often uses us to show it to others. So to combine those two metaphors, go out to the world full of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18) like an incense burner that lights up the night and leaves a sweet savour in the air and leads people to Jesus the Saviour who burns away our sins and restores us to the design He had for us all along. God is still reconciling the world to Himself and He wants to use us to help bring in as many who will come into His kingdom of love and light. (2 Corinthians 5:18-21 and John 3:16-21)

How Now Shall We Live?

     How do you separate church and state? If The Bible and all other religious books are not utilized to form or at least inform law, then what moral basis is used? Who even defines what morality is and if it's a good thing? Perhaps immorality would be better? Perhaps some things religion has called moral are really immoral and vice versa? Who can say?

    I think President Obama was right in recognizing that America does still have a very large Christian population, but there are also Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, and other faiths- and people of no faith.

   Yet the thing that America has to recognize in its history is that many of its laws in place echo the commands of religious texts, primarily The Bible because there were many Christians who helped found the country, alongside Deists and others who at least had a general respect for The Bible and Christianity, even if they themselves were not Christ followers.

   (This is not to suggest that America has had a good record of consistently following The Bible in its decisions because all are sinners and fall short of God's glory. In any case, I don't like the term "Christian nation" because a nation can't follow Christ- only individuals. One of the main points of America's founding is freedom of religion, which allows for anyone to worship God in any faith they choose or to not do so at all. It is always a voluntary choice- never forced upon people by government. In that sense, separation of church and state certainly exists.)

    That said, it must be clarified that here I am speaking of people forced to follow a religion, of which there are a number of countries that practice this, with harsh penalties in place for anyone following or promoting anything other than the state religion. Thankfully, America does not have this system in place. Yet there are some laws that certainly comport with Christianity's tenets (along with a number of other religions) that inhabitants are compelled to follow or face consequences.

    Laws against theft and murder would certainly resonate with religious texts- should these laws be overturned because of their religious nature? The main value behind such laws is a respect for human life and property of human beings. Why do we regard human life with such supreme value? For the Christian, it's because human beings are made in the image of God and are the pinnacle of His creation. God commands us to respect and value human life because He loves us eternally and holds us in a status of infinite importance in His kingdom. To steal from someone or murder someone would not only be a grave evil to the person, it would also be a besmirchment to God and His creation.

    I think most would agree, regardless of their religious status, that these are good laws that should stay in place. I recognize some would offer vastly different reasons for valuing and upholding such laws but we would still be agreed on their worth and need to be in place. Is that the solution then? Should we establish laws by consensus? Perhaps within the election cycle for leaders there should also be moral surveys in place to determine the nation's general consensus on morality.

Otherwise it could just be left to each individual to determine what is right in their eyes and live accordingly.

(Of course, at least one society did that for a while in history and it didn't work out well for them. See Judges 17:6 and 21:25 in The Bible.)

   In the end, it comes back to the question, "How should we live?" We must then address the question, "Why should we live that way?" Who is the ultimate authority in governing the affairs of men and women?

In order to build a building, you must have a foundation. If the foundation is not sure, the building falls. The same is true for nations.

Some Are (story)

* I wrote this in response to a prompt for a writing contest.... (that I didn't actually enter, but I thought someone might enjoy reading this anyway. :-))



Some Are

               A somber silence settled on the school room as the bell chimed the students’ dreaded death knell. It was now 8 AM on another Monday morning and the fall term had begun. As the teacher began writing the first assignment on the board, the children stared in numb shock and listlessness. Once the ominous omen had been read, the odiferous pungency of its directives consumed the olfactory senses of the slaves now firmly refastened to their stocks for another grueling seven hours of torture. A collective groan escaped from the lungs now tainted with the putrid air of forced education. Yet amidst the gasps of horror and despair, on the back row of the Coliseum of death, two small grins emerged.
                It had been a wide open world of wonder at first in the golden days. The sweet release of freedom rang loudly in the air with the rush of a thousand voices singing with glee. This is what real living was meant to be- a walk in the park or a day on the beach with none, no-never, nary a care. The possibilities were endless and so were the days it seemed. Oh, the expeditions to be mounted- the explorations to be endeavored! The pursuits of a myriad of activities lay stretched before all the willing participants of the intoxicating allure of such holiday pleasures. Time was a loyal and trusted ally then.
                Somewhere between the fanciful flights of the crimson marred streaks of light and the subtle creeping of the nomenclature of learning’s renewed siren call, a change came over the terrestrial ball and its congregants. It came with its share of hints- a rustle in the breeze, a purple haze at close of days and a baleful rooster’s crow in the morning. Somehow the signs were missed by many and the adrenaline rush drenched the world with energy but not perspicacity. “Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,” came the old refrain from which many did indeed refrain. The days left unseized by unseasoned had been seized by another.
                Then it was that distant doldrums came, beating out their rhythm of quiet despair and gathering gloom. Whence came the mourning mist that envelopes everyone everywhere in the midst of halcyon heights marked by a barefoot blazed trail? The gleam of gold wanes as a maze of gazes questions the questions in the malaise that travails upon their travels. Oh, the eternal paradox of the vernal equinox! All the time in the world available for the asking but nothing to do in the days passing! The strawberry fields are ripe for but a short stretch of Father Time’s arms. The fields are plentiful in harvest, but those who would be workers work hard in flittering frivolous pursuits.
                So the story begins as it ends. No matter how tenuous its hold amid enchantments of warm star-lit nights, the clarion call rings true in the end with the experiment house in session once again. Oh, the cruel tests of inhumanity to be wrought upon an unsuspecting class of young pupils- it’s too much for the eyes to take in. Look and see, hear and be amazed! Yonder light still shines from golden shores in those who boldly face the entrenching entrapment with a lion’s roar. No vanity in the lion’s pride, but an informed hope that spans the ages enraptures each soul with an unthinkable delight. Through conniptions aroused at the cavalcade of crosses and bars set forth from the teacher, the cavalcade becomes the calvary that keeps the summer sun rays glowing with the joyous thought of the glory coming.