The Mainstream media, today is filled with commentary and predictions on the direction of our nation. We continually hear from those on the right and those on the left. “The new vibe” has the observers wondering about what the shifting sands of social, political and economic trends mean for our life together. Whose narrative will shape our cultural imagination.
But I keep wondering about our foundations. Will they last? Jesus’ words regarding the wise and foolish builders are a warning. “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock.” (Matt. 7:24-5). Of course, a house built on sand will collapse.
Carl Trueman counsels, to being cautious with the moral significance of the new vibe. “Our morality is not the function of a vibe. Our truths are not the expression of cultural taste. We must heed Paul’s call to meditate upon things that are above. These heavenly realities are as true today as they were when President Biden was in charge or, indeed when Charlemagne was crowned Holy Roman Emperor. Only then can we act with discernment and with Christian fortitude wisdom and love in the context God has placed us.”
Before becoming Pope, Karol Cardinal Wojtyla, gave a warning to American bishops in 1976. “We are now standing in the face of the greatest historical confrontation humanity has ever experienced. I do not think that the wide circle of the American society…..realizes this fully. We are now facing the final confrontation between the Church and the anti-Church, between the Gospel and the anti-Gospel, between Christ and the Antichrist.” Joseph Ratzinger, who later became Pope Benedict noted, “The face of God is noticeably disappearing. ‘The death of God’ is a very real process, which today extends deep into the interior of the Church. God is dying in Christendom, so it seems.”
In our public discourse, little attention is given to the moral and spiritual foundations of our nation. The prophet Isaiah warned the people of Israel, who were acting “with pride and arrogance of heart” (Is 9:9). They were disregarding God’s warning. “Things aren’t that bad, We can handle anything that comes. If our buildings are knocked down, we’ll rebuild them bigger and finer. If our forests are cut down, we’ll replant them with finer trees” (Is. 9:10 Message).
We must be careful not to believe as the Israelites. “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth.” (Deut 8:17). God reminded them, “But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth.” (Deut 8:18). “It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take possession of their land: but on account of the wickedness of these nations.” (Deut 9:5).
Isaiah later warned Israel’s leaders not to hide their plans from God. “Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plans from the Lord. who do their work in darkness and think, ‘Who sees us? Who will know?'” (Is. 29: 15). In the process they were turning thing upside down. “You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘He did not make me’? Can the pot say of the potter, ‘He knows nothing’?” (Is. 29:15b-16).
I wonder if the dominant narrative has it wrong? Have we turned things upside down. Men, we are not in charge. We are clay and the Lord is the potter.
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