Not Enough

You don't have to be particularly brilliant to recognize that there are troubles in our world. There are Muslim extremists (who, apparently, Muslim moderates and our president don't seem to acknowledge) and terrorists of various stripes. There are economic woes and educational worries. There are political messes and religious confusions. There is crime in the streets from both criminals and those who are supposed to deter them. There is moral decay either recognized by or coming from the church. Either President Bush and the conservatives or President Obama and the liberals are the cause of gross errors that are tearing this country down. Every good thing we have, it seems, is tainted with a problem. The Internet is good, but carries a boatload of threats for invasion of privacy and identity theft. It's nice to have credit cards for emergencies, but these are sinking people in debt and false charges. As one author put it, "Everything has a worm in it."

What is the solution? What I find almost amusing is that anyone would try to offer a single answer to that question. As if, given the magnitude of the problem, "All we need is this to fix it." Not gonna happen.

What solutions are we offered? Well, there is the political solution. Vote for the right guy (or girl, depending on your bent) and all our problems are solved. Okay, maybe not one person. The right party? Yes, we know, the party (whichever one you care to mention) is fractured. So the "right thinkers". But in America, Congress can barely function even with a majority of "right thinkers" (assuming, for the sake of discussion, our most recent election achieved such an anomaly). And the president, whoever he/she may be, can only accomplish so much given the checks and balances of the Executive and Legislative branches. No, I'm afraid even the right president won't get it done.

There is the economic solution. For some that means disassembling the nation's Free Enterprise system to steal from the rich and give to the poor, chopping down the "1%" as if that's the problem. You know, if you just strip off all the wealth in this land and give it to that poor mother of 4 trying to earn a living at McDonalds, everything would be fine. For others it's shoring up Capitalism and defending the very rich, as if that fixes something. For some it was "Occupy Wall Street" without, as it turned out, much in the way of plans or demands, but just being really, really angry about, you know, everything. I don't think we're finding solutions in economics.

There are even those who suggest a solution in giving national rule to the Church. As if that makes sense. Which "Church"? The Catholic Church? The "Liberal Christians"? Oh, I know, how about the Joel Osteens of the world? Surely they can get our "best country now". As sure as I am that the Bible is right and God's principles are correct, I don't actually see a solution to today's problems in giving control to the Church.

There are a growing number of people who are quite sure the answer is in education. A lot of homeschool advocates might suggest that teaching your own kids, getting them out of the public (or private) school system is the answer. Teach them the proper worldview and you've got the solution in your own home. Really? How many kids, trained diligently by loving parents, have discarded their avidly-held Christian worldview when they left home? How many can I count who were acting as careful Christians in their youth only to end up militant atheists in their later years?

Now, mind you, I favor voting for the right people. I am in favor of economic sanity. I even prefer biblical rules as the law of the land over making them up as we go. And I'm certainly in favor of parents bringing up their children in the way they should go. Not a question. But I wish to go on record as saying, "These are not the answer."

All of these solutions address problems, but they address them like a bandaid addresses an infected wound. It covers it, perhaps, maybe even aids in some ways, but doesn't solve the problem. The problem in our world today is the problem the world has always faced: "the creation was subjected to futility" (Rom 8:20). The problem is "the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth." (Gen 8:21) Until your solution fixes that problem your solution is only a bandaid on a flesh-eating virus. The solution is Christ and Christ alone. We can offer and preach and encourage toward Christ, but none of our political or economic or educational solutions are enough to solve the problem of sin. I would urge you not to forget it and lose sight that we are sent as ambassadors for Christ (2 Cor 5:20), not lobbyists for a better way. By all means encourage improvements, but understand they aren't solutions. That rests in God's hands alone.