Tuesday, September 18, 2007

How Can We Be So Blind?

Whenever I aim my thinking towards subjects like Christ, or righteousness, or truth, or courage... REALLY stop and dwell on these subjects, and take them as far in my mind as I can reach with the strength of my intellect, I'm confronted with a puzzling question.

Why isn't our culture obsessed with these topics?? In a world when countless hours and money, time, effort, and intelligence are spent making and watching tv shows and movies, hasn't anyone recognized the untapped depth and potential of these timeless subjects? Why waste so much of our short lives' valuable resources focussed on repeating, predictable plotlines that leave us feeling entertained and self-satisfied and convinced that our best form of living is doing what seems best to us in the moment, when there are endless possibilities...soul enlarging, challenging, eternity shaping truths to be thought about and wrestled through and OBSESSED WITH?

What is harder than following Christ? Trying to train our selfish hearts to put others first? Trying to live by doing the right thing in the smallest moments of each day? Moving against the ripping, tearing tidal surge of culture towards what is true and right and pure? What is more unique, compelling, or fascinating than a pure way of living? How have we ever come to equate that with boring?

Why are the mainstream, normal ways of spending time centered on the trivial, silly, banal, wishy-washy? Why do we think that is so interesting?


How can we be so blind? How can our hearts be so warped, our thinking so skewed? Why isn't it normal to battle against the evil in our hearts, to unite as humanity in recognition of our fallen state and urge each other on to know the superior, the staggeringly beautiful, the dazzlingly righteous Creator who calls us to higher things and is willing to let us know Him?


"But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who
push the truth away from themselves. For the truth about God is known to
them instinctively. God has put this knowledge in their hearts.
From the time the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky and
all that God made. They can clearly see his invisible qualities--his
eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse
whatsoever for not knowing God.

Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn't worship him as God or even give him
thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was
like. The result was that their minds became dark and confused.
Claiming to be wise, they became utter fools instead. And instead of
worshipping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to
look like mere people, or birds and animals and snakes.

So God let them go ahead and do whatever shameful things their hearts
desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each others'
bodies. Instead of believing what they knew was truth about God, they
deliberately chose to believe lies. So they worshiped the things God
made but not the Creator himself, who is to be praised forever.
Amen."

Romans 1:18-25

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