It is time for us to give more serious thought to serious matters.
After being released from prison, Jake Blues visits the boarding school he attended as a youth along with his brother Ellwood.
They learn that the Archdiocese is about to sell the school unless the Education Authority receives $5000 in taxes. They feel God has called them to save the school.
Jake and Ellwood put together their old blues band and miraculously raise the money after evading police and delivering a stellar live concert performance.
They are 106 miles from Chicago, must continue to evade the police, and get to City Hall before it closes. As they sneak out of the concert venue via an underground tunnel, a woman confronts them and opens fire with an M-16 rifle.
She turns out to be the woman Jake left standing at the altar years ago. Jake instinctively knows what to do. He rises, slowly approaches her, and then falls to his knees and proclaims: it wasn’t my fault!
Jake then fires off a list of unbelievable excuses as he pleads for his life, and it works. She has compassion on him; they embrace; then he drops her in the mud with no remorse, and begins the journey to Chicago with Ellwood. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4U9Yl5CXvcQ
Some people are skilled at the art of deception. I have fallen victim to them, but I am not as gullible as I used to be.
Casablanca ranks near the top of the list of greatest films in history. It is one of my top three films. There is a famous line in the movie that serves the purposes of this article.
Claude Rains plays Captain Louis Renault, the corrupt French prefect of police who serves under Nazi supervision. Whenever criminal activity takes place in Casablanca, he directs the police to “round up the usual suspects.”
Rounding up the usual suspects directs activity against scapegoats rather than the real criminals. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXuBnz6vtuI
Last week, I read an article in which a prominent Christian minister said he predicted coronavirus ahead of its arrival. He said God told him that the virus was God’s judgment on America for allowing abortion and gay marriage.
I am pro-life from conception to the grave, and I believe that marriage is between a man and a woman; nevertheless, I would like to ask him a question.
Does he believe the rest of the world is suffering from COVID-19 because of abortion and gay marriage in America? I love America, but she is not the center of God’s universe.
To be clear, I do not believe this man nor most Christian ministers intend to deceive like Jake and Captain Renault, but there is a fundamental problem.
For decades, a small but influential group of Christian leaders have presented a short-list of root-causes for current and pending judgments on America.
Millions of American Christians, including myself, subscribed to their list and their logic. I should have thought more critically.
The Bible teaches us that there are many things we do not see clearly in this present age. (1 Corinthians 13:12)
One day Jesus passed by a man blind from birth. His disciples assumed his blindness was the result of his sins or the sins of his parents. (John 9:2) They based their assumptions on Jewish cultural and religious norms, among them the widely held belief that you always reap what you sow.
Jesus corrected the disciples and told them that neither the man nor his parents sinned. The man was born blind so that God’s mighty power could be seen in his life. (v. 3)
After the 9/11 attacks, I heard prominent and influential Christian leaders place part of the blame for the attacks on pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays and lesbians, the American Civil Liberties Union, People for the American Way, and so on.
I don’t want to be disrespectful, but that explanation sounds more like something Jake would say than seasoned Christian leaders.
It became clear to me that, similar to the disciples, their short-list was shaped by cultural and political norms. That is simply the way they saw things. Unfortunately, they used their position and influence to persuade millions of others to see the world through the same lens.
It is time for us to give more serious thought to serious matters.
I have taught the Old & New Testaments to undergraduates since 2005. God is concerned for the needs of the poor, the foreigner, and the outcast, and he holds leaders accountable to address their needs.
The religious leaders I referred to never added neglect of the poor, foreigners, or outcasts to their short-list.
Having the usual suspects served to me for so many years has left me weary. I’ve made up my mind to think more critically.
On that regard, I believe the Holy Spirit has identified a clear and present danger to our nation that is neither from Democrats nor Republicans. The clear and present danger is from an apathetic and lukewarm church.
God is calling my home church, Bethel Temple, Hampton, VA –and perhaps other churches in America- to repent and turn back to Him. Consider what God spoke to the First Century church in Philadelphia:
But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches. (Rev 2:4-5)
If we were to put this message to song lyrics, it might sound like MJ’s “Man in the Mirror:”
I’m starting with the man in the mirror. I’m asking him to change his ways. And no message could have been any clearer. If you wanna make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and then make a change.
The church in America is complicit with many of the problems in our nation through our infighting, apathy and indifference.
It is time for us to give more serious thought to serious matters.
Come let us return to the Lord and He will restore us to sure foundations. Time is of the essence because the storm winds are blowing. God Bless! Press On!! Kevin
Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. (Matthew 7:24-25)
Mind blown…so true. We often see through a narrow lense and dont realize how much we are influenced by our own personal culture. God see all and understands all. I pray we allow Him to open our eyes to His truth.
Insightful and extremely thought-provoking. We must think critically regarding theories and propaganda being thrown at us from every direction. Hold on to Jesus! The Holy Spirit will give us discernment so that we don’t fall for any old thing. Peace and love.