After the recent riots a number of people amazingly sympathised with the rioters. They approved of the lawless element that had caused wanton destruction and misery to countless innocent victims. They seemed quite happy to stand in front of microphones, take the moral high ground and defend these outrageous acts. They appeared to have a distorted idea of what was right and what was wrong.
In the course of a ministry you meet many social misfits and hear their stories. If you check out the facts, these stories often turn out to be far from the truth. I hesitate to call it "lying" because often the misfit is simply totally confused. The boundaries between true and false, right and wrong, have become completely blurred. In his twisted mind, he may believe he is telling you the honest truth.
But the problem is not confined to those who are at the margins of society. I once had to bear the anger of a neighbouring couple, a respectable pair. They had done me a good turn. Somehow they believed that gave them the right to park their vehicle on my drive when my back was turned! Naturally I protested and asked for it to be removed. To my astonishment and frustration they took great offence.
The apostle Paul fearlessly exposes the process of untruth that sets in when humankind refuses to acknowledge God. "For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. … therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts …" (Romans 1:21-24).
Keep close to God in Christ. This will help you see clearly how to distinguish between right and wrong.
Monday 22 August 2011
Sunday 14 August 2011
Trivial?
As the rioting situation began to develop in the capital, I was attending a local neighbourhood forum here in Lancashire. The subjects under discussion were a world away from what was happening in Tottenham: traveller camps, flower displays, pharmacy opening hours and so on.
Many would feel exasperated by time spent on such issues at the moment. Words like "narrow" and "parochial" would be bandied about. Yet are we right to get hot under the collar when small matters arouse big passions?
I attended a training college where there was a huge range of views among the students. Often there were discussions and debates and strong disagreements. There was a tactic which students would often resort to in order to put each other down. They would complain, "Why waste time on that? It's not important. The church should spend its time dealing with much more pressing matters."
Of course, it was frustrating to have that said to you, because to your way of thinking the truth you held was important. The other person was putting you down, making you seem petty and foolish.
But should we really stop caring about getting small things right? To my mind it would be very worrying if every time someone had a local concern they were silenced. "Compared to the riots, your concern is nothing, and you should simply live with it."
No! Decent citizens should be given a respectful hearing when something local upsets them. Jesus listened patiently to a woman by a well while she mused about the differences between Jews and Samaritans about worship. Finally He used her concern to lead her to the important point: "True worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth" (John 4:23).
We may well be in a fight to save this country from social breakdown and its streets and people from loss and destruction. But if that means that our eyes are taken off the local, day to day, quality of life issues that concern our citizens, the rioters will have won.
Many would feel exasperated by time spent on such issues at the moment. Words like "narrow" and "parochial" would be bandied about. Yet are we right to get hot under the collar when small matters arouse big passions?
I attended a training college where there was a huge range of views among the students. Often there were discussions and debates and strong disagreements. There was a tactic which students would often resort to in order to put each other down. They would complain, "Why waste time on that? It's not important. The church should spend its time dealing with much more pressing matters."
Of course, it was frustrating to have that said to you, because to your way of thinking the truth you held was important. The other person was putting you down, making you seem petty and foolish.
But should we really stop caring about getting small things right? To my mind it would be very worrying if every time someone had a local concern they were silenced. "Compared to the riots, your concern is nothing, and you should simply live with it."
No! Decent citizens should be given a respectful hearing when something local upsets them. Jesus listened patiently to a woman by a well while she mused about the differences between Jews and Samaritans about worship. Finally He used her concern to lead her to the important point: "True worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth" (John 4:23).
We may well be in a fight to save this country from social breakdown and its streets and people from loss and destruction. But if that means that our eyes are taken off the local, day to day, quality of life issues that concern our citizens, the rioters will have won.
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