Fighting the Bad Fight

There are lots of serious problems out there with which we have gone or are going to war. We need to figure out how to deal with that whole ISIS issue. There is global warming or global climate change or whatever it is. There is pollution and poverty and racism and sexism and ... oh, this gets to be a long list. And most of us agree that we have a war to fight, even if we don't all agree where or how. On the "global warming"^[1] issue, for instance, some will be fighting to end global warming while others will be fighting to end the perception that such a thing exists, but in either case, there will be blood.

I would suggest that in most cases we are fighting the bad fight. We are attempting to solve problems by means that do not solve the problems we are attempting to solve.

Take, for instance, education. Most people believe that throwing more and more money at that problem will solve it. In fact, most people believe that throwing more and more money at most problems will solve them. If the love of money is the root of all sorts of evils, the possession of money would appear to be the root of all solutions in the public estimation. More money will solve education and poverty and child protective services and law enforcement and fire protection and cancer and ... well, now, this list seems to be a long one. If we could just manage to gain those extra funds, we could solve the world's biggest problems. And I would suggest that those who believe this is true have missed just what is the world's biggest problem.

Even we Christians struggle with fighting the bad fight. We know we're supposed to act like a Christian^[2] and we know we're supposed to be good, but we struggle with it. So we find mechanisms and tools to make ourselves better. Or we might find ourselves "wiser" by jettisoning the whole idea^[3] and seeking just to be in the grace of God. (Sounds so holy, doesn't it?) We are commanded, however, to "work out your salvation with fear and trembling" (Phil 2:12), which doesn't seem to fit with "just seeking to be in the grace of God". On the other hand, we are told "It is God who is at work in you both to will and to do His good pleasure" (Phil 2:13), which doesn't align with "find better strategies to be godly". Still we work through pastoral counseling and finding ways to be at peace with ourselves ... and forget to "Put to death therefore what is earthly in you" (Col 3:5). We're not supposed to be comfortable with ourselves. We're supposed to "put off the old self with its practices" (Col 3:9). We're not supposed to improve ourselves; we're supposed to die to self.

It is, thus, my opinion that we as a people are going to pursue courses of action to solve problems that miss the problem -- the nature of man. Going to war with ISIS doesn't change ISIS minds. Throwing money at education doesn't change the mindset problems of the educational system. Outlawing racism or sexism or "homophobia" as the case may be doesn't change the minds and hearts of the people who are violating these "new and improved" laws. And for the Christian, neither trying harder to "act like a Christian" nor giving up entirely to antinomian "just enjoy the grace of God" will get you to the heart of being a disciple of Christ. That, too, requires a changed heart.
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^[1] I put quotes around that so you could fill in "global warming" or "global climate change" or "human-caused global climate change" or "that whole global warming farce" as you see fit.

^[2] Why are we trying to "act like Christians"? Either we are or we aren't. Acting won't make a difference. James said "Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead." (James 2:17). Either we are believers (having faith) which necessarily produces works, or we are not and "acting" won't make that any different.

^[3] This is generally known as antinomianism. It is a dismissal of laws or rules in favor of "just grace". "God didn't call you to be good; He just wants to love you." Nice approach ... except that the Bible, right after we are assured that we are saved by grace through faith, says, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." (Eph 2:10). Tossing out good works tosses out God's purpose for you.