I've been meaning to post about this for several weeks, but I am very much behind on my personal to-do list. It relates back to a message that Pastor Doug preached a few weeks back. His message was awesome, but it was not new revelation for me. In fact, I had prayed for awhile to hear this preached and was happy to see that prayer answered. And today was a picture of that message.
Let's start with a definiton. Relativism: The doctrine that knowledge, truth, and morality exist in relation to culture, society, or historical context, and are not absolute.
I get in these conversations all the time. I have a friend who I hang out with frequently and when we discuss certain things he will say "that's just not reality." He is usually right - its not reality. But the funny thing is, we weren't discussing reality, we were dicussing right vs wrong. We were discussing truth.
Today I had a conversation with someone and it was downright sad. Heartbreaking. I can almost feel the heart of God heavily sighing and shaking His head and saying "this is not what I intended". I could also almost picture the enemy getting a good hearty chuckle. When I mentioned my saddness over this, it was said that my ideals don't agree with reality. There were a couple funny things about that. First... they werent my ideals. God was saying "um, excuse me..." Even funnier though, was the notion that reality dictates right and wrong. Let's see...
Human trafficking is reality.
Abortion is reality.
Racism is reality.
Orphans are a reality.
Poverty and child starvation are reality.
Rape, violent crime, discrimination,... all reality.
Need I go on? All those things are how things really are... but are they right?
Let's talk about less obvious things... the receptionist works harder than the CEO but gets paid less than a quarter of what he does - reality, not right. The most difficult job I have ever worked in my life - McDonalds. Paid minimum wage. Reality - not right. We have communities surrounding Pittsburgh that people are afraid to drive through - reality - not right.
And lastly - relativism itself - a painful reality - but not right.
I was so defeated and discouraged as a drove home today. Stressed, personal to-do list getting longer, didn''t have time to stop at grocery store and was mentally unprepared for a meeting at 6. (all that was my reality - but it wasnt right). I didn't feel qualified to help a new believer with a Bible study, but that is exactly what I was about to do.
God ended up using a Bible study that I am not even a part of (I just help my friend prepare for their Bible study) to confirm me and encourage me.
The Bible study started with the fall of man. And the first page of the Bible study said that "all the ills of the world stem from one source - man's desire to be autonomous from the One Who created them. The fall of man was not about two people eating an apple. It was about folks who wanted to do it their way. They wanted to decide for themselves what is right and what is wrong. They wanted to call the shots and run their lives. God, being the gentleman that He is, said "okay, have it your way". This was the birth of sin, the birth of humanism, the birth of relativism - and the birth of the consequences. The consequences of death, sickness, suffering... oh a look at this from Genesis 3... When God told Adam and Eve what would happen as a result of their newfound autonomy...
“Cursed is the ground because of you;
through painful toil you will eat food from it
all the days of your life.
It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
and you will eat the plants of the field.
By the sweat of your brow
you will eat your food
until you return to the ground.
Hmmm.... God was planning on providing all our needs, but we wanted to decide right and wrong for ourselves. So now we work - and our toil is painful.
The next part of the study was in the book of Judges where is said that everyone did what was right in their own eyes. The result - they lived in oppression.
Before this gets too depressing... the last part of the Bible study was about grace. It echoed the sermon that Kent preached last week. It talked about the Gospel message and Christ taking our shame and paying the price for our sins. It talked about who we are in Christ. It ended with that Scripture "and you shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free".
I felt validated. I know the truth - its not relative. Its a Person. And reality doesnt dictate what is right and what is wrong. Absolute truth is absolute eternal truth. It was absolute in the Garden of Eden, it was absolute during the time of the judges, it was absolute in 1776 when our country was founded by Christian men, and it is absolute in 2013.
Unfortunately for me, I cannot stop there. I was feeling good about myself - in fact, a little too good. God was not going to let me stay on my high horse. He reminded me of what Doug said when he preached on relativism. He told us not to take the time to find it in other people - but to recognize it in ourselves. That caught me off guard. There are sooooo many lessons and sermons that I just dont measure up to.. I fail, I fall short. I didnt think this was one of them.
So in my time with the Lord tonight, I asked Him to point out relativism in me. I think He was glad I asked and happily honored the request. He began softly and tenderly - "yes, Raquel.. you know the truth and the truth has set you free, but you cant get angry at those who do not know the truth and who are not free. I want your heart to feel sorry for them, as Mine does." Of course, I have to argue with Him... I said but Lord, some of these people... they know how to pray to you when they want something. If they need healing or their friends or family need healing - oh we are going to talk to God and ask Him to heal. We are going to pray and ask for His help. But they have no desire to know His heart. They can care less what makes Him happy or sad yet they want His hand to heal and bless and help. We can pray and God can answer, but His thoughts on a certain topic - well, they just arent "reality" I guess.
I think at that point God pulled out a mirror. He told me that I need not be angry. He isnt even angry. He is saddened. He is saddened when folks want to use Him as a vending machine to get their prayers answers but that's all they need Him for - like a good luck charm. But you know what makes Him even sadder - when one of His children, who know the truth, who know what makes Him happy or sad, acts in the same manner.
Like I tend to do. He showed me some areas where I apply relativism. (oh, yeah, the Bible says it - but does it really mean it literally, for today?) He showed me how I have not taken Him seriously when He asks me to communicate with Him about everything - yes everything. He showed me how I get upset because His will is not being done on earth as it is in heaven, but I am not making sure His will is done in my life, nor am I praying for His will to be done in the circumstances I face.
I am so wrapped up in my circumstances (or my REALITY) that His agenda is off my radar most of the time. In fact, I have been known to get upset because He hasnt made my reality what I want it to be. Isnt that the same as praying for healing but not caring about what He thinks??
So its a been a long day. I have been stressed, angered, delayed, inconvenienced, validated, encouraged, reassured, corrected.
But at the end of the day - I had a conversation with the Master of All Things - and He is my Daddy. And even when that conversation includes correction, it is comforting. We live in fallen world. Reality is far from right. And I am far from right in many ways. I need to be more concerned with my fallen self than with the fallen world. But He is the author and perfector of my faith and I will continue to rely on Him.
Until the trumpet sounds...
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