The God Option?

Monday, November 07, 2011
The God Option? God has recently begun to open my eyes and burden my heart with the reality of the condition of the Church at large in America. I love this nation as much as anyone, and am thankful that God has allowed me to live here. We have the bravest men and women fighting for our freedom, even as I write this blog this morning. There’s nowhere else I’d choose to live if the choice were left to me. I love the USA.
But it stands to reason that the Church in America isn’t a passionate, on fire church as it once was. There are ongoing debates among different circles of thought as to what the “primary problem” with our country is. Democrats say it’s Republicans, and Republicans say it’s Democrats. Occupy Wall Street says it’s the Tea Party and the Tea Part says it’s Occupy Wall Street. And many among my own “circles” would say it’s the ever declining moral climate of our nation that is to blame. May I submit something to you today?
We shouldn’t raise our fists and blame the moral climate of our nation on the lost among us, church. I dare say it’s not the abortionists that have caused our moral dip, nor is it the gay rights movement. I don’t believe it’s the crowd that wants to remove the Ten Commandments from public places that have gotten us here, nor is it the champions of the removal of school prayer. I believe we’re only blaming symptoms of the real problem, and that will never fix anything.
I believe the fault is lying at our own feet, church.
For generations we have allowed God to become an option in our lives. We have placed as higher priorities in our lives things that don’t deserve to rank higher than Him. Hobbies and recreation, relationships and careers, money and influence – all these things have climbed to the top of the priorities of the “happy American dream,” and God has been allowed to slip in as an option when things get bad.
When we are sick or a loved one is, we call on God. When we can’t pay our bills or our job situation looks shaky, we call on God. When there’s an election coming up and we’re concerned about who might win, we call on God. When there’s a national tragedy and we’re terrified of what’s next, we call on God. Catching the trend?
We’ve compartmentalized our lives, and only “allowed” God into a few areas. We put Him in our little God box and only open the lid when we need Him. Whether we’ll admit it or not, in our minds we’ve turned the God of the universe into a genie. He’s not, nor will He allow Himself to be considered as such without serious consequences.
When anyone puts other things before Him, their lives slip. It’s unavoidable. When He deserves our Sunday mornings but not our Sunday nights, it happens. When He deserves our “meal blessings” but not our life, it happens. When He is allowed to have control over some small areas of our lives, but not all of them, it happens. And as we go, Church, so goes the nation.
So the next time we get upset that God isn’t “allowed” into every area of our national scene or government, we all need to stop and ask ourselves the question, “Is He allowed into every area of my life?” And even more than that, “Is He LORD of every area of my life?” Until we address that, the nation we love so dearly will never change. He must be LORD – not an option.



That’s just a thought, and I welcome yours.
Until next time,
blake

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