TEMPTED TO TURN AWAY

Nehemiah 9:22-10:39; 1 Corinthians 9:19-10:13; Psalm 34:1-10; Proverbs 21:13

“They took over houses full of good things, with cisterns already dug and vineyards and olive groves and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate until they were full and grew fat and enjoyed themselves in all your blessings. But despite all this, they were disobedient and rebelled against you. They turned their backs on your Law, they killed your prophets who warned them to return to you, and they committed terrible blasphemies.”

“If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.”

“I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears. Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces.
 In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened; he saved me from all my troubles.”

For Holy Week, Newsweek’s cover story was entitled, “The Decline and Fall of Christian America.” The story’s major point was that a smaller percentage of America’s population than ever identify themselves as “Christian.” It went on to add, however, that about the same number of people overall still claim to be “spiritual” - despite a complete lack of any recognizable faith. Two wrongs do not make a right. That’s just another way of saying that more Americans than ever before are resisting any form of recognized spiritual commitment. The verse from Revelation comes to mind: “Because you are neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.” It appears Americans are not yet ready to give up altogether on God; they just want to keep all options option. What a cowardly and intellectually dishonest way to live that is! Rather than being content to float in the cesspool of indecision, we ought to at least have the moral integrity to declare allegiance to something, or not. Get real. There is no such thing as a multi-faith (or non-faith) spirituality. Spirituality without faith in God is just wishful dreaming. It has no rational basis or foundation. In fact, we cannot hedge our bets. Aim at nothing and we’ll surely hit it (as I believe I’ve mentioned before). Consistent with that idea, the article concluded, somewhat depressingly for those “spiritual” beings among us, that America’s situation mirrors the prelude to the affirmative non-spirituality found in Europe today. It did not come out and say that religion is passé, but it got right up to it.

If one had no memory or history, it might, in fact, be tempting to believe there is no God or, at least, no divine plan for good. At this precise moment, one need only look to CNN to know the few bright spots are mostly manufactured. However, what has become painfully obvious in the last nine months is that they are no more manufactured than was the supposed “prosperity” of the first half of this decade. I don’t think it’s much of a stretch to say that God had little to do either with yesterday’s prosperity or today’s recession. We need to take responsibility for our own actions (and omissions). When are we going to grow up and quit forcing credit and blame (take your pick) on God for things over which we allow Him no control? That kind of “spirituality” is nothing more than hypocrisy. Yet still, many are quick to deny the existence of God and the potency of the Holy Spirit when things don’t go according to human desires, even as they happily “praise” Him for any perceived blessings, however mundane or secular they are.

The simple fact is that those who reject any long term perspective or delayed gratification have been claiming disillusionment for generations upon generations. Their story is pretty much the same now as it was in Old Testament times. As long as things are going their way, nebulous spiritists are happy to accept the concept of a benevolent and loving God. But let times get tough and require anything that resembles self-denial, and faith is among the first of the “baggage” to be jettisoned.

Let us be clear. Present times need to be viewed in the guise of the temptation that they are. Adversity is, at its worst, a temptation not to believe in Christ (or a God of any sort, for that matter). It may equally be a temptation to give up on ourselves. Either reaction is misguided and inappropriate, and we do well to remember that.

We do not have to fall to adversity any more than we have to grow fat and inconsiderate from abundance. The temptation to turn away from God can be resisted from either end of the spectrum. More importantly, it should be resisted from every point on the spectrum. In the end, only God makes sense, and only Christ can reunite us with Him despite our sin. Ever since Adam and Eve ate the apple in the Garden, humans have been trying to fix what is wrong with them, right down to manipulating our belief systems when it suits us. However, what is wrong with us is that we consistently deny the Holy Spirit the opportunity to cure what ails us. Satan’s plan is insidious in its simplicity: just keep us from any real reliance on the Spirit. If we never allow ourselves to experience His Power, eventually, more likely than not, we will convince ourselves there’s no reason to even believe in His Power. Instead of whining about God’s failure to act, then, what about initiating a strategy that will test whether He can act or not? Give Christ a chance. At least, we will then have a basis for our lack of belief. Or not.