A Sunday WAKE UP Thought - Round 3
The last two Sundays we've interrupted our usual summer Sunday quiet and comfort with a look at the rather harrowing Isaiah 34. We left off last Sunday with verse 11-12:
So what is that place, No Kingdom There, of which Isaiah speaks? Could it be our own dear country?
After all, the U.S. governement virtually pioneered legalized abortion with the Supreme Court's "Roe v Wade" decision in 1973 and so many legislative and court decisions supporting "abortion-on-demand" since then. And, without compiling a laundry list of immoral laws, let's just give honorable mention to the recent U.S. v Windsor - the Supreme Court decision that opened the gates for the states to legalize homosexual marriage without any possible legal opposition - our reaction to which started us on this series of Sunday thoughts.
Wait, that's the government, isn't it? And the government isn't necessarily us, is it? No, it's not. In fact, it's good a exercise in disciplined thinking to remind yourself that the U.S. government - any government in fact - isn't the country. That's why you can love your country and at the same time disagree with or oppose actions by your country's government. Opposing Roe v Wade or U.S. v Windsor is, of course, not treasonous. But it's important to understand that it, and any other sincere criticism of the government based on a clear understanding of right and wrong, good and bad, etc., does not betray a lack of patriotism.
But even if we make this important distinction and establish the fact that we don't agree with government decisions we believe to be wrong, more importantly those which are, in fact, immoral, it doesn't let us off the hook. Because too many of us, in fact, wallow in the very culture which we've agreed has taken a turn for the worse.
I don't know about you, but if I read these words - slowly and thoughtfully - my immediate and urgent reaction is: Get me out of here! If this is where our world is headed, it's not a place I want to be.
Well, perhaps this won't make for a peaceful, easy Sunday, reading these harrowing words. Then again, taking God's word at face value and being determined to follow His Holy Will - even in the face of a world gone bad and mad - will certainly in time provide the basis for true peace of mind and soul. The choice, now, is ours. We may not be able to change this world of ours today, tomorrow, or perhaps anytime in our lifetimes. But we can change ourselves.
But the hawk and the porcupine shall possess it,
the owl and the raven shall dwell in it,
and the plummet of chaos over its nobles.
They shall name it No Kingdom There,
and all its princes shall be nothing.
So what is that place, No Kingdom There, of which Isaiah speaks? Could it be our own dear country?
After all, the U.S. governement virtually pioneered legalized abortion with the Supreme Court's "Roe v Wade" decision in 1973 and so many legislative and court decisions supporting "abortion-on-demand" since then. And, without compiling a laundry list of immoral laws, let's just give honorable mention to the recent U.S. v Windsor - the Supreme Court decision that opened the gates for the states to legalize homosexual marriage without any possible legal opposition - our reaction to which started us on this series of Sunday thoughts.
Wait, that's the government, isn't it? And the government isn't necessarily us, is it? No, it's not. In fact, it's good a exercise in disciplined thinking to remind yourself that the U.S. government - any government in fact - isn't the country. That's why you can love your country and at the same time disagree with or oppose actions by your country's government. Opposing Roe v Wade or U.S. v Windsor is, of course, not treasonous. But it's important to understand that it, and any other sincere criticism of the government based on a clear understanding of right and wrong, good and bad, etc., does not betray a lack of patriotism.
But even if we make this important distinction and establish the fact that we don't agree with government decisions we believe to be wrong, more importantly those which are, in fact, immoral, it doesn't let us off the hook. Because too many of us, in fact, wallow in the very culture which we've agreed has taken a turn for the worse.
Thorns shall grow over its strongholds,
nettles and thistles in its fortresses.
It shall be the haunt of jackals,
and abode for ostriches.
And wild beasts shall meet with hyenas,
the satyr shall cry to his fellows;
yea, there shall be the night hag alight,
and find herself a resting place.
I don't know about you, but if I read these words - slowly and thoughtfully - my immediate and urgent reaction is: Get me out of here! If this is where our world is headed, it's not a place I want to be.
Well, perhaps this won't make for a peaceful, easy Sunday, reading these harrowing words. Then again, taking God's word at face value and being determined to follow His Holy Will - even in the face of a world gone bad and mad - will certainly in time provide the basis for true peace of mind and soul. The choice, now, is ours. We may not be able to change this world of ours today, tomorrow, or perhaps anytime in our lifetimes. But we can change ourselves.
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