“Does he know what he just said? Was there any basis for that statement?” Phrases that have inhabited my mouth far too frequently in our times. The impetus of the day (a’ la Nike) seems to be “Just Do It!” Now there’s a theology to live by. Something you may want to pass on to your kids and grand kids. Well, whether you want to pass it on or not (and I hope you don’t) – they’ll be face to face with it at every turn.
OK, where the heck is this going? Unlike the popular phrase of our times, I didn’t “just write it!” – I took some time to think about it. Back up a little. What recently led to my outburst at the outset of this article was a man on television (a well known man) who made the statement that “I don’t really care what [Name of Politician here] does in private – just as long he runs the country well”.
The man who “just said it” about the president who “just did it” clearly took no time to consider the statement that he was making. If there was even an ounce of scriptural insight behind his sentiment, the thought would not have been found anywhere in the vicinity of his vocal organs. You see, It Is Written that
Luke 16:10
“He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much…”.
In other words, if a man is unable to run his own household, how can he possibly run a country?
This article’s intent is not to pass judgment on any man’s life – we’ll just leave that where it belongs. There’s a much greater issue at peril here. Where are the principles? What feeds the verbiage that is so readily spewed forth these days? The well of biblical truth behind the values that are so readily grasped day by day seems to have run well dry. The overwhelming reasoning behind the actions of so many today may perhaps best be summed up by the following intellectually stimulating phrase (are you ready for this?) – “If it feels good, just do it.” Or the ever popular alternative, “If you believe it with all your heart, then it’s right.” May I respond at the same intellectual level, “Hogwash!” Let me try and give you the biblical viewpoint concerning these two phrases: “If the Word of God says so, do it – whether you feel like it or not” or the alternative, “If what you believe in your heart lines up with the truth of God’s Word, then it’s right. If it doesn’t, change your heart”.
The clear problem with the biblical alternative is that it requires a knowledge of scriptures (as if the Bible could possibly have anything to say about day to day life – you can’t be serious?) Not a lot of scripture based dialog being spouted around the corridors of common thought these days or hadn’t you noticed? I suppose it’s a lot harder to sell sneakers if you say things like, “If the Bible says so, Just Do It”. Well, I don’t know about sneaker sales but I do know that there is very little accountability to the Word of God in our times. Unfortunately, even in many churches, tradition or loosely based scriptural teaching seems to be the order of the Sunday.
Is it so difficult to understand that without the blessing of the God that created the heavens and the earth that the purposes of man are bound to be thwarted? If God’s not in it – get out of it. So many seem to flock to so many second rate causes these days that the main cause gets tossed by the way side. So before you get too emotionally attached to saving whales, realize that they won’t have much to swim for if God and His Word are casually dismissed from daily living. Save the whales? Sure, if you want to, but for heaven’s sake, save the principles.