The Calm Before The Storm
I was going to write this blog about moral relativism and how you should not be that kind of "ist," but I decided that instead of being my long-winded self about that issue, I could easily sum it up quick and do something a little closer to home currently. Moral relativism is basically the idea that, "You cannot judge my actions or principles because what is right for you may not be right for me." Not many people would adhere to this on a person to person basis, but culturally it is a very common concept. No sense beating around the bush right? It is common in numerous West African countries to practice female circumcision. I won't describe it. You'll either look it up or use your imagination. Oh, excuse the ex post facto realization of a horribly crude pun. It was entirely unintentional. A cultural relativist would say we have no right (as members of Western culture) to say that this practice is wrong because it is a difference in culture. I won't spell out the rational argument entirely, but say the People's Republic of China decides it is morally acceptable to nuke the United States back into the stone age. We, being the stand-up cultural relativists we ought to be, have no right to defend ourselves. We must die. Logical flaw successfully demonstrated? Okay, good. Argue if you want, but from a rational perspective, there is no argument. So why do I bring it up then? Simply put, people today like to defend themselves saying, even though an argument is rationally nonexistent, there are cases to which it may apply, i.e. exceptions to the rule. Ooh I just thought of a segue into my other topic, haha. We'll get there. I think that rationality breaks down here. Unless two rational people decide to present arguments regardless of exceptions for the sake of reaching some common ground, human free will trumps rationality at some point. Thus, we must go deeper. As Christians of course, our morality stems directly from God. On a side note, see if you can recite all ten commandments right now...The professor that spoke at our spiritual renewal said that only 7% of his 80+ students per semester in a 300-level theology class could get them correct. I'll bring this up later talking about obedience, but back to my conclusion of the moral issue. If you are inclined to say, "You are taking the example to the extreme," I think that you are naive and in fact, just taking the example to the opposite extreme in being relativist. Saying that female circumcision is wrong does not pass judgement on a people (in the way in which we are commanded not to). It is a judgement on an action, an action like murder or adultery (which we are commanded to do). My two cents: Were the procedures done on willing females in a sterile environment, it is no more wrong that ear piercing. When performed with inadequate instruments, in unclean conditions, or on unwilling females, there are easily morally defensible grounds in opposition. Regardless of your personal feelings, there are intrinsic qualities to life. Without going into ethical theories, my point is this: We are a society of sugar-coating, half-assing, appeasement, and sudo love. Let's face it. How often is the easy way out the best course of action? I'm inclined to say never as I believe in seeking to improve ourselves as we always should be, work is always required.
The Main Event
Okay, so I completely forgot to explain the poem when I wrote the first half of this. It is a characterization of God's relationship with man. The first stanza represents the "human condition" that I so often refer to. The second represents God's revelation of his plan of salvation to us. The third represents the fulfillment of that plan in Jesus. Anyway, I hope this rambling finds you all well. Recently I have been thinking a lot about obedience and how I am really not good at it. I feel like at some level I can trace a lot of issues I have back to the fact that I have a hard time being obedient to God's commands. Being in prayer often, reading the Bible, and loving others how God would love them are three of the things I would say I probably do the least of. I could make excuses of course, but honestly, it boils down to not setting enough time aside to do those things that God says to do. I often think, "Why do I struggle with sin so much? Why can't I be more focused on God?" The answer is, duh, I'm not being more focused on God. An intimate relationship takes making an effort to have an intimate relationship. Not profound, I know, but if it really was simple, the world would look very different. I can religiously do so many things throughout my day. What person over the age of 5 does not have some sort of responsibility to take care of? I mean look at our schedules as adults. Our days are pretty much planned out for us. It is easy to get up and go to class every morning to fulfill our responsibility at school. So why is it so difficult to fulfill our responsibilities as Christians? What's different about the forces behind us on our way to class than the force of God's commands? What consequence is more severe for skipping class than ignoring our Father? There isn't one of course, but yet we let it slip our minds and get up in the morning without giving God what we promised we would when we became Christians. As I've talked with Sam and others about God's character and how our culture has lost accurate knowledge of God I realized that we are the ones depriving ourselves of that awe. We can't just blame the culture. We can't blame anything. We have direct revelation through the Bible, direct conversation through prayer, and direct contact through the Holy Spirit's work in our lives (something like, but not limited to our consciences). So what is the opposing force that keeps us from beholding the glory of God? I think spiritual warfare is probably a decent argument, as is our selfishness and fallen nature. But to be honest, I attribute most of it to laziness. We automatically gravitate towards activities that we see direct benefit from in the near future. There isn't any comparison to our achievements in this life when we think about the nature of our inheritance in heaven, but we are still more concerned with the here and now. All of the big decisions I hear people make tend to be coupled with, "I really just felt this strong will of the Lord that I [insert decision here]," or "I really feel like this is God's plan for me." We are always waiting for a prompt. We are reactionary. What would a life look like that was built on a search for God? If you believe God has a plan for your life, but that it is a plan of you waiting for an invitation from him to act as though you want to be part of that plan, I say think again. Our proclamations of faith are like whispers from our mouths as we incessantly refuse to do what we say we are. Moreover, our actions are worthless for their lack of faith. God is peddled to people today falsely as little more than an invisible hippie who loves us and only wants everyone to be happy. We can quote all we want about his justice and righteousness, but which one of us really knows God. If this seems pointed and a bit vehement, realize that it is the articulation of a self-examination, not a holier-than-thou moment. God has been God for all of history. The God that gave us the Bible is not Bob Dylan.
I suppose this is an appropriate time for an aside. I think the concept of "the fear of God" is an interesting one that is often brought up and then politely discarded even among Christian circles. This isn't a shaking-in-your-boots fear (though I propose that would be a great deal better than the popular alternatives). One of the greatest and most constant descriptions of God throughout the Bible is an equation of God and provision. God is THE source. Forgive my math references, but he is the anti-derivative and the universe in its entirety is derivative of God, the source. Our worship and respect, the sources of our worldviews, and the reasons for our actions are so often dictated by our environment, the "street-smart" we gain while living our lives here on earth. We forget what we're told in the beginning of Proverbs. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge." If we derive our lives from God, the source of wisdom, what area of our lives would be lacking? What more would we want? The fear of God is the realization that he is the ideal, he is our model that we should take after. We fear our world and its consequences very well, but it is something special to fear God.
Okay, back to what I was saying. I long for a relationship with God that is as he wills it. God's will and God's plan are two separate things (again, credit to Sam). I don't think we ever need to be "afraid" that we are not following God's plan, especially if we make that distinction. Our goal shouldn't be to keep our feet on a "path" as it is defined most commonly. Our goal should be what we committed ourselves to as followers of Christ, as children of God. If our eyes are on God, if we are seeking him, how then would our feet slip? If we are truly beholding the glory of the Lord, how could we bear to turn our eyes away? God longs for us to adhere to his will the way we adhere to our readiness to jump on command. I really don't enjoy being equated to a jack russell terrier sitting, waiting for the next "roll over" so I can get a treat, but I'm really good at bouncing up and down like one, begging for some direction. God's plan is on his terms and as such, we are really not in a position to comprehend it, but that's okay. No really, it is. Let me know when you have lived your life in search of God and have been filled by his knowledge and wisdom. I would stake my reputation to say that at that point, you will look back and say, "I walked the path," and you'll know that it wasn't the steps you took; you can always look back at your steps in hindsight. So, metaphorical approximations aside, seek God's will and learn about his character. How? Through prayer, reading the Bible and attention to righteous action. Obedience and the fear of God will bring you closer to him. We have the luxury of control over our actions. So, to quote the great bearer of tall, long-footed people to great heights, "Just do it."
