The Lost Church

The Right Way
Look for the unpopular routes to heaven. There are many ways that everyone likes in seeking God’s favor—but they lead to your destruction. Sure, they’re popular, but they are also deadly. But the way to God’s blessing and life is so unacceptable that few will embrace it.
Christianity is not a straight path, it is a smorgasbord. There are as many "ways" and moralities within the broadest definition of Christendom as there are outside of Christianity. This isn’t just denominations, but there are many ways of understanding Jesus and salvation even within a particular denomination. Christianity is the largest world religion on the planet—the largest belief system. More people believe in Christianity than any other belief system that exists, that ever exists. But according to the founder of this faith, that is the biggest indication that there is something fundamentally wrong with Christianity. The belief system that Jesus himself founded, he said, would have few followers. By definition, the broadest concept of Christianity is just plain wrong.
Difference between a Guard Dog and a Wolf
Even so, there are teachers that look great, and are so charismatic, but they are false teachers, leading you away from God. They may look like well-groomed sheepdogs, but in reality they are wolves, seeking to fill their stomachs, not care for the sheep. How will you know the difference between a guard dog and a wolf? By their actions. How do you know if you’ve got an apple tree? If there are any apples on it. If there are peaches on it, it ain’t an apple tree. Even so, a good teacher does good things, but a false teacher does evil things. If an apple tree only bears rotten fruit, then you know there’s a problem with the tree. Even so, every teacher who does evil things is taken away from God's people and is judged. So you will know who are the good and bad teachers by what they do.
So what is wrong with Christianity? What would Jesus say is the biggest problem? He states it right off the bat—the leaders are the problem. Christianity has many teachers, many leaders, and most of them are wrong. Many of them are charismatic, almost all of them teach the Bible, they are all moral leaders and wise counselors. So what’s wrong? How can such wise and knowledgeable leaders get us going the wrong way? Simple, Jesus says, out of all of these great shepherds, we have many wolves. Most of the leaders of the church are not there for the people, but for their own benefit.
But how are we to tell the difference? How can we see the difference between a good sheepdog and a wolf whose only desire is to whet his own appetite? On the surface, they seem so similar. They are so hard to tell apart. But Jesus gave us a litmus test—he gave us one way to figure out who is who. He asks us to examine our leaders—not necessarily their teachings, nor necessarily their looks, nor necessarily their basis of authority. Rather, he asks us to look at their actions and words when they are not "on stage" so to speak. When they are out of the public eye, what do they do? What is their life about? We don’t necessarily need to see them praying all the time or reading their Bible. Rather we need to see if they are obedient to Jesus.
Is the leader that the church depends on actually living out the sermon on the mount or not? In their daily lives, is the leader of God’s church:
Is he or she accepting of persecution, or looking for revenge?
Is he or she making things right with those they have sinned against or saying they are doing nothing wrong?
Is he or she expressing hatred and insults through their speech?
Is he or she lusting after people they are not married to?
Is he or she planning on separating from their spouse?
Does he or she not take their word seriously, or keep their promises?
Is he or she rebellious against authority, or submissive?
Is he or she taking action to harm their enemy or loving their enemy and praying for those who hate them?
Is he or she religious for their own benefit, or are they sincerely acting for God?
Is he or she sacrificially giving to the poor or collecting more stuff for themselves?
Is he or she judging harshly or making decisions about others on the basis of mercy?
Is he or she acting for the benefit of others, or for themselves?
This is the test of Jesus. Frankly, most Christian leaders fail this test. Some of them even try to make excuses for not doing what Jesus’ said in their teaching. But there is no excuse. Jesus says that if anyone fails to obey Him, then they have no place being a leader in his church. There are so many leaders that need to step down. But they won’t. They want the prestige, they want the power, they want the money they get from being a leader of the church. And this is why the Christian church is so far from where Jesus wants it to be.
Saying and Doing
On the last day, there will be many who call me "Lord", but not all of them will enter God’s kingdom. Only the one who does God’s will has the opportunity to enter. Many will get my attention on the final day and say, "My Lord, didn’t I teach your word? And I prayed for people, and they were healed! And I was able to give them spiritual healing!" And I will make my final decision: "I never knew you. Get lost—you aren’t entering God’s kingdom. You are those who did what was evil in God’s sight."
So the leaders of the church won’t step down when they really should. Well, I suppose that’s fine, no one can really make them. Well, one person can. That’s the head of all the church, Jesus himself. And Jesus is patient, even with leaders who in His name disobey Him. But if they refuse to repent, if they refuse to change their ways, then they will meet Jesus—face to face. And they will point out to Jesus all the good things they have done for Him. "Jesus, look at the cathedral I built for you! Jesus, look at the books I wrote for you! Jesus, look at the television specials I produced for you!"
Jesus, however, doesn’t care about any of these things. These things were insignificant. Jesus doesn’t want people’s talents or people-pleasing skills. Jesus wants their heart, their obedience. Jesus will turn to all of these leaders and says, "Who are you? You say you did all these things for me, but I never knew who you were." And Jesus will disown them before all the earth. All the leaders that ignored what Jesus said to do and did something else, they will all be rejected from the face of Jesus for all eternity.
Jesus made it clear that it isn’t enough to just call him "Lord" or "God". It isn’t enough to claim that Jesus is one’s savior. Words just don’t do it. They don’t indicate what anyone really believes. Our faith is not found by what doctrinal statement we sign. It is found by what we do.
Listening and Doing
Here’s my final story: Whoever has heard my teaching—from "How fortunate are the poor" to here—and puts these teachings into practice, they are the fortunate ones. These doers of the word are like a builder who establishes a level, solid, concrete foundation for his house. Floods came, earthquakes came, wind storms came—but nothing could destroy that building, because it was built not just on good theory, but good practice. However, there are many who have heard my teaching and then thinks, "Interesting ideas…" but never accomplishes any of it. That person is like the builder who has gone to school, read all the books, and then said, "Forget it, I’m building my house my way." So he decides sand is cheaper than concrete and who needs to go through all the effort for it to be level? And he builds his house. Let me tell you, the next flood, the next earthquake, the next wind storm—whatever disaster is next on the grid—and that house will fall so hard, you’d need a microscope to find the pieces. This isn’t just another sermon—it is your life and death. Please pay attention and do as I have said.
Jesus is saying this not just to teachers and Christian leaders. He is talking to all of us. He says that we have heard his whole sermon—Matthew 5 through 7. And now it is up to us. We have two choices. We can say, "Good sermon, Jesus" and be entertained by it and think pleasant thoughts about Jesus’ teaching. Or we can do it. We can pray to God and ask for strength to change our lives and do what it actually says.
This is the most important decision we will make in our lives. Deciding to be a Christian is nothing compared to this decision—will we commit to do what Jesus asked us to do or not? Will we allow God to change our lives from the inside out or not. If we do, we have much to gain—God’s whole kingdom. We will gain the resurrection from the dead. We will gain peace and eternal prosperity. We will gain the presence of God. We will gain freedom from our enemies.
But if we choose to listen to Jesus words and take it lightly… If we think that we can get away with not doing what Jesus says… if we thing that God will forgive us no matter how much we hurt other people… if we think that we can give Jesus praise and loving words and he will like us so much that he’ll forget the fact that we filled the lives of those around us with destruction… if we refuse to ingest and live out the Sermon on the Mount—then disaster will overtake us. Jesus is coming. Jesus will cleanse his church. And those who rejected the living out of his words will be thrown out of the church.
Please, it is not too late. Do what Jesus said. Do what Jesus is telling you to do right now. Surrender your life to obedience to Jesus. I know it is hard. This is why Jesus said it is a narrow way. Most people can’t even think about loving their enemies, keeping their promises, being faithful to their spouses, sacrificing for the poor, forgiving those who did them wrong. It seems so hard. And it is. But Jesus will give you his Holy Spirit to help you do it.
But first you have to surrender. First you need to be willing. First you have to repent from your sin. Are you willing to surrender yourself to living out Jesus’ life? Are you ready to confess your sin? Are you ready to love Jesus—not just with words, but with your whole life?
If you are, confess your sin to Him. Ask Him for His Holy Spirit. Read the Sermon on the Mount again. Go to everyone you have sinned against—if you can—and make it right with them. And pray for God to help you to be gentle, to judge with mercy, to always act in the benefit for others, to not be a hypocrite. And God’s kingdom will come to you now.

Do You Hear Voices?

I know that I do. Some voices I want to hear, but others I do not. Some voices are for my benefit and the benefit of my relationship with God. But other voices are trying to tear me down, trying to destroy me. Perhaps you might think that I’m schizophrenic. Perhaps you might think that I need to go to a psychiatrist. But Jesus also heard these voices—so did Peter, Elijah, Moses, Abraham and many others. Anyone who has a connection with the spirit world hears voices. A lot of people do. Some of them are on drugs, some of them are very religious, some of them really are crazy. Many of these voices are a way for us to connect with the spirit world.
But we need to understand something important about the spirit world: it is not all good. Some people are impressed just because they have had a connection with the spirit world. They think that they are important because they have had a vision, or because they have seen an angel, or because they hear a voice that claims to be from God. But what many people do not understand is that the spirit world is fraught with danger. It is filled with beings who will deceive humans and attempt to destroy them. In order to make sense of one and another, we need to have clear discernment.
Various voices
We all hear voices everyday. We will often have discussions with ourselves, debating different sides of a decision we need to make, or different moral points of view. Certainly, not all of these voices are from the spirit world. Some are just from our own head, and some are from other people. It requires great wisdom and discernment to distinguish between voices. It also takes time and persistence to figure out who is who. Below are some of the voices that I deal with and they are sometimes difficult to tell them apart from one another. Some guidelines are given that help me to distinguish one voice from another.
The Flesh—The "flesh" is a term in the Bible for the natural human desires we all have. Hunger, sexual desire, anger, insecurity, significance—these are all a part of our lives, and they play a big part of what we want and do not want. However, we need to remember that our desire is just one part of who we are and what we think is ultimately important. There are many other voices that speak to us, trying to convince us to act in their ways. The voice of "the flesh" is interested in self-gratification, and that as quickly as possible. We need to recognize the voice of the Flesh, but also we need to set these desires aside if it is not ultimately in our best interest.
Delusion—Delusion is simple confusion, our minds in chaos. We may try to make sense of things, but our conclusions are not reasonable to anyone else—often not even ourselves. Although people diagnosed as "mentally ill" are commonly seen as deluded, yet everyone deals with a certain amount of delusion sometimes. Often we have to swallow our pride and ask some one else if what we are thinking makes sense. If it does not, then our delusional thoughts we just need to set aside. And if delusion is persistent in our lives, then we will need to ignore it as soon as we recognize it. Ignoring it does not make the delusion go away—but it makes it ineffective in our lives.
The World—The World is society and all the organization of it—governments, corporations, churches, schools, families, peers, etc. All of the "building blocks" of society is what might be called "the World". The World may seem on the surface to be something outside of you, and yet it has its voices in our heads trying to tell us what to do. Our "mother’s" voice may be telling us what we should do for the family. Our "boss’" voice may tell us what to do for the company. And we may have a "patriotic" voice telling us what to do for our country—and on and on. The World has it’s own idea of morality and significance that may be good for you or may not. But the World is distinguished by telling us what we need to do for the group, the organization, the society. We need to do what is right and proper for the group that we feel a part of—this is what the voices of the World are telling us. However, the Bible tells us that we should separate ourselves from the World. We should recognize that God’s morality and the world’s morality come from a different source, and listening to the World and obeying it will ultimately lead to separation from God and our destruction, though it may seem seductively moral.
Evil Spirits—There are a whole variety of spirits in the spirit world that is interested in only one thing—destroying us. These spirits will talk to us, and they make so much sense and they are so convincing that we could meet our needs (the Flesh) or society’s needs (the World), if only we would make some small compromises with God… We all have some basic notions of what is right and wrong that come from God. The evil spirits want us to destroy ourselves by disobeying God and so making it right for God to destroy us. If we worship any God apart from the true God, or if we deliberately ignore the right God wants us to do, then we are threatening our very life. God destroys the rebellious, and evil spirits want to make us rebellious. So evil spirits will try to convince us to worship untrue gods. They will try to spur us on with fear and judging others. They will accuse us, trying to convince us that we are separated from God and that we can never return to Him. And evil spirits will, if they can, try to convince us to do things that will destroy us—making stupid choices or committing suicide. If an evil spirit is speaking to you and trying to attack you—or if it is trying to seduce you into doing evil—then you must tell the spirits to get lost. Don’t be shy—speak against them and let them know that they are not welcome. Basically, tell them to go away.
God—Finally, we can hear God. God has true messengers, called angels; and he has his perfect representative, called Jesus; and he has his power living within Jesus’ people, called the Holy Spirit. God desires us to live for him, and he wants to give us significance, and life, and security and peace. He alone wants our well being AND knows how to give it to us. Sometimes God tells us what we don’t want to hear—he says difficult things. Sometimes God makes amazing promises that are hard to believe—but he expects us to believe him anyway. And God talks to us. Everyday. He tells us how he loves us. He tells us how to be right with him. He tells us what we need to do. We can recognize God’s voice because it is the same as his Son, Jesus. Jesus is the one who best represents God and the Spirit Jesus sends among us is the voice of God that we hear through Jesus. Thus, if we know Jesus’ voice—the things he would say—then we know what God sounds like. And it is God’s voice alone that we should always obey, and always listen to.
It is not easy to hear God’s voice. We have all these other voices in our heads—all of them telling us what to do. Some of these voices are loud, and some demand our attention. God doesn’t often do that. If we want to hear God, we have to go out of our way to do it. We need to take time to listen to him, and to tell all the other voices to shut up. We need to specifically listen to God and to focus on him. He is not always dramatic, and he doesn’t always speak right when we want him to. But if we are to listen to God, then we must ask Him to reveal Himself. And he will—if we ask, we will receive God.

Giving Purity A Facelift

Purity is a necessary, but neglected, part of our spiritual lives. Jesus said that without purity we cannot see God. Without purity, no one can be in God’s presence or even be heard by God. The impure cannot abide in God’s presence, nor will their prayers be heard—except for a prayer requesting purity. The spirit world cannot accept any but the most pure, the most clean things. Any gifts to God must be pure, and this includes our words, our actions, our intentions and our very lives.
Today, purity is no longer considered a benefit. When we think of "purity" we think of chastity belts, frowning aged faces and strict people wearing black hats with a buckle on it. To be pure is to be fundamentalist, to be a disciplinarian, to be judging, and to probably be a hypocrite. Purity in ancient times used to be something desirable, but we have so many negative images associated with purity that even if we love God we probably don’t want to spend much time considering it.
It is time for purity to have a makeover. Not that we need to change what purity means in some Orwellian fashion, but that we need to forcefully steal purity back from the judging and hypocrites. To do this, we must first understand what purity is, what God intended it to be:
Pure focus on God
Because most people understand that God is forgiving and merciful, they put their relationship with God on a low gear, low intensity. Although they feel that their relationship with God could be improved in some vague way, they know that God will overlook their faults and just be glad that they think of him at all. However, God is not content with a casual relationship. God wants us to have a mind that is purely on Him and His desires. God doesn’t need casual friends, he has billions of those. God is looking for a faithful spouse, a best friend, a lifelong companion. God asks for people to be completely surrendered to Him and to His ways.
Pure actions of holiness
The only time we use "holy" it seems is in the phrase "holier than thou". Holiness is either considered a divine prerogative or a façade someone puts on to make themselves seem better than they really are. But God told his people to be holy, to be holy as He is holy. This doesn’t mean that God is wanting his people to look down their noses on others who are not holy. Rather, holiness is a gift that we receive from God to be a people that is distinctly divine, not a card to play to stomp on others. Holiness is simply having religious, sexual, relational, and even clothing differences that distinguish us from "normal" society. But holiness isn’t something we just make up—the holiness code is something given to us from God. God commanded his people to not insult each other, to be faithful to our spouses in action and mind, to follow God’s sexual ethics, to keep our promises, to not get drunk, to not worship images, to do our religious actions in private at times. To be pure is to follow God’s code of holiness, even if others do something different.
Pure intentions of love
Purity, however, is not just a matter of action and devotion but of intent. To be pure is not just in relation to God and his desires, but to others and their needs as well. To be pure, we need to be more than holy. Purity is also an act of love, an act of caring for those around us. Part of God’s holiness code is to "love your neighbor as yourself." If, in our holiness, we attack or condemn others then we have forsaken our holiness. Purity is keeping in mind the weaknesses and misunderstandings of those around us, swallowing our revulsion of their impurity and caring for them as best we can.
Three Is One
To be pure is not any one of these three, but the whole. If one loves God with all of his heart and does everything he can to live rightly, but displays anger and disdain to those around him, then he is not pure. If one loves everyone around them and she does so because of her love for God, but she rejects a part of God’s holiness code for herself, then she is not pure. If one decides to live among the Amish, for example, and truly cares for everyone and lives according to their community code as a good way of life, but has little true devotion for God, then he is not pure. Purity is living for God, living according to God’s ways and living in love—all three without exception. Without all three aspects of purity, one will not be welcomed into the presence of God.
Purity of heart
The most difficult part of purity, however, is our minds. We all know that purity is not just a matter of action, but a matter of the heart. Mind you, one’s actions must be pure in order to be pure, but if one’s heart is not pure, then no matter how many pure actions one does, purity is beyond our reach.
The relationship between intent and action is complicated. One can do some actions, especially in public, and not have the intent behind it. But, ultimately, all of our true intentions come out in our actions. And we are so good at deceiving ourselves, often we do not know our true intentions at all, for our actions deceived everyone, even ourselves. So, if we desire to be pure, how can we truly know that we have achieved purity?
There are certain actions that indicate our true intentions, beyond our conscious desires. Here are a few areas we can examine to see our true intention:
Money—What we do with our money is an often unexamined area of our lives. We think of money to meet our needs, but God’s purity requires us to use our money to build God’s kingdom, for holiness and in care for others. Are we using our money in purity or impurity?
Eyes—What we do with our eyes is a small action, almost unseen by most people. But what we look at often indicates what we are most interested in, and our interest can show our intention. What do we look at regularly that we may not notice?
Careless words—When we don’t mean to be saying anything, really, what do we say? Do we express hidden insults or impure desires? Do we indicate our separation of God? What do our careless words show about our true intentions?
Secret actions—We all have actions that no other human can see. If we think that these hidden actions are insignificant, we might not have a deep relationship with God. Or if our hidden actions are unholy or unloving and we do not repent of them, it is an indication that we are not pure, acceptable before God.
Sacrifice—Everyone has to make tough choices in our lives. Some things have to be sacrificed in certain contexts in order to accomplish the greater good. What we allow to be sacrificed and what we give our sacrifice for indicates the priorities in our lives. If we are to live before God, then we would never sacrifice our relationship to God, our holiness to live before God or our concern and help of others. What do we sacrifice and what do we retain?
Achieving purity
Purity may seem like an uphill battle. To a certain degree, it is. Purity is not easy, and much in our human nature screams against our participation in the spirit world. This is why our flesh and the Spirit are not in communion, but battle one another. But this does not mean that purity is impossible. Many people have achieved it and God longs to have relationship with people. To obtain purity, we must do five things:
Commitment—We must make a lifelong commitment to God. This commitment is often done by being baptized in Jesus or committing oneself to him for one’s whole life. But unless we commit to something, we will never know what it really means or how to accomplish it. The first step to purity is to commit to it. We can pray like this: "Lord Jesus, I commit myself to you and to your ways. I want to be in relationship with God all of my life, without exception."
Longing— Not only do we commit to it, but we must desire it with our whole heart. If we just think that purity is a nice thing that we want to do sometimes, then we will never accomplish it. We must eat, drink, live and sleep purity. We must work on having it be a deep part of our lives.
Prayer—We cannot accomplish purity on our own. It is humanly impossible. But God can make us pure before Him through his divine effort. To gain God’s help, we must ask. Pray this: "Father, I want to be pure before you, but I cannot do it on my own. Please help be to be pure through the power of your Spirit. Help me to desire that purity and live in it all the time."
Separation—There are many things that are driving us to be impure. There are things that tempt us to go away from God, to be unholy to be apathetic to others. If something doesn’t effect you, it doesn’t matter. But if something drives you away from God, if someone causes hatred in you, then it is time to separate from that thing or person. Whatever makes us apathetic or lustful or separated from God, we need to have nothing to do with it.
Community—There are people who know about purity and can live it out. These people love God, live righteously, but isn’t holier than thou, and they are deeply concerned about others. Hang out with these people, learn how they do what they do and try to be like them. These are the people who can teach purity because they learned it from God and others who are pure. Do you see people who meet the three criteria of purity? Then be with them, in this way you will achieve purity yourself.

Overcoming Suffering

We all suffer. Every day we might suffer a bit of pain, conflict or anguish. Some days we might suffer a tremendous amount—grief, depression, or horror. And some of us suffer chronically—homelessness, disease or constant persecution. We can all tell ourselves, "suffering is a part of life", but we will still do all we can to avoid suffering. We want to not have anything to do with suffering. And if we can’t do away with it, then at least we attempt to reduce it. This is because, really, truly, we don’t believe that we should have any suffering in our lives. And so we try to eliminate it, as much as possible.
What Causes Suffering?
When we suffer, we immediately determine a cause of suffering, in the hopes of eliminating it. Usually, we come up with an instant diagnosis of our suffering, and we determine the cause. It could be that we have enemies that hate us and want to cause us suffering. It could be someone else who just doesn’t care for us as they should. Maybe it is Satan, that wants to make us miserable. Maybe it is just circumstances beyond our control. But we come up with an almost instant diagnosis, and then as quickly a solution. And almost always, we are wrong.
We are wrong about what causes suffering because most of the time we neglect many of the elements of our suffering. Even if we can say that a conflict is causing us suffering, we neglect to note that the cause of the conflict comes from four sources: the circumstances, the means of communication, the person we are in conflict with and ourselves. All of our suffering is complex like this, and usually not to be found with an instant diagnosis. And we almost always take ourselves out of the equation of causing the suffering. We look all around us, pointing fingers all around, but we neglect to acknowledge at least a minor factor in our suffering—our reactions, our weaknesses, our selfishness. We all struggle with many things—guilt, loneliness, anxiety, depression, anger, hatred, boredom—and we cannot really pin the blame for these feelings on anyone. They exist in us, they are a part of who we are. This is part of the difficulty of suffering—our suffering is completely self-contained. If we lived in a paradise, we would still be completely self sufficient in creating our own suffering.
There is one other thing we do that keeps us suffering—and that is our attempts to avoid suffering. Frequently, we choose releases from suffering that may give us a certain amount of relief, but in the end they cause more suffering in our lives. For a while, alcohol, sex, drugs, medicine, artificial beauty, politics, love, war, friendships, religion, good food, shopping, television, video games, and many other things seem like they really help us. But in the end, when we see how empty our lives are with them, we realize that we haven’t avoided suffering at all, and all we have left is guilt, depression and boredom.
Tools To Reduce Suffering
God doesn’t want us to suffer. In fact, he has made it one of his goals to assist us in our quest to stop suffering. He has given us assistance and opportunities to reduce our suffering. He has offered us a whole array of tools to help us suffering:
Repentance—A way to really get rid of guilt
Prayer—An opportunity to request the King of the Universe to help avoid suffering
Love—Relieving others’ suffering, creating a context without suffering
Fasting—A basic tool for self-control
Obedience—Following the instruction manual for humanity
Knowledge of truth—Understanding what is significant that will help us avoid suffering
Healings, exorcisms—Being released from diseases and spirits that force us to suffer
Ecstatic experiences—Receiving spiritual enjoyment that makes no sense without God
Self-control—The ability to choose not to do what causes us to suffer
God’s people—A social group that actually cares about us
Spiritual gifts—Spiritual abilities to support others
Martyrdom—A political move to replace the world’s rulers with God’s
Future Kingdom—A social revolution, ceasing suffering for all who are ready for it
These tools aren’t just a grab-bag of possibilities, but the basic means God created us with to reduce our suffering. They do not completely eliminate suffering, but they reduce the everyday suffering in our lives so we can endure living, and enjoy living.
However, you might note that almost every item listed above has two things in common—first of all, they all make us face suffering in order to reduce suffering. If we repent, we have to suffer humiliation and get rid of something important in our lives. If we love, we take the risk of being hurt by others—again and again. If we fast—well, frankly, we get hungry! If we obey, we don’t get to do what we sometimes want to. Why would God give us a list of tools that cause as much suffering as it reduces? Because God knows the secret we have a hard time accepting—to reduce suffering, we must first embrace suffering.
This doesn’t mean that suffering is something we just accept in any and every form. Obviously, not all suffering is good for us. Many people have made the mistake of thinking that if they suffer, God will bless them for it, no matter what kind of suffering it is. That simply isn’t true. God won’t bless a person sitting on a pole for months any more than a person who is struck with cancer. For suffering to be redemptive—for it to do any good in reducing our suffering—it must have two elements to it: we must be loving God in it, and we must be doing good to others in it. If they don’t have these two elements, then our suffering is not acceptable to God.
This means that for God, if a tool is to be used, it is not enough that it reduce our suffering. We cannot use these tools selfishly, just so that we can feel good. Rather, we need to use the tools in a way that God gains a benefit out of it, as well as other people. We need to be honoring God in all we do to reduce our suffering and we need to be supporting others.
The Key To the Toolbox
There is one other common element to every one of God’s tools to reduce suffering. They all depend on God’s power, God’s strength in our lives. Not one of the tools mentioned is possible on our own. We just don’t have the stamina to endure in them. Sure, many people can fast, and others can love people for a while. We can all apologize for something we’ve done wrong. But to do these things in the right way, consistently enough so that our suffering—and other’s suffering—is reduced. That’s very difficult for us to do as human beings. We need a touch of the divine to accomplish that.
At this point, it might seem that we want to throw up our hands and say, "Forget it! I am not God, and I don’t know how to depend on God in that way. I guess I’ll just find my own way to avoid suffering." Just hold on there. Remember—God is right there. And he wants you to get rid of suffering out of your life. He really does. So he has given us a way to depend on Him for suffering.
First, God gave us Jesus. Jesus is the one who showed the way of reducing suffering through embracing suffering. And he suffered so that we might live in peace. God sent Jesus so that we can have these tools available to us. Jesus opened up the way to God so that we have the possibility of depending on Him. Jesus is the key to the toolbox. He provides the way to escape suffering.
Secondly, God sent us the Holy Spirit. If Jesus is the key to the toolbox, the Holy Spirit is the power cord. For all of these tools are power tools—they don’t work unless you empower them. The Holy Spirit is God in us that gives us the ability to use these tools rightly. Through the Holy Spirit we can use these tools. Through the Holy Spirit we can use these tools in a way that supports others. Through the Holy Spirit we can use these tools in a way that honors God.
So the first step in reducing suffering is committing ourselves to have Jesus as our Lord and King. The second step is asking God to send us the Holy Spirit in our hearts. Once these two steps are done, we are ready to depend on God to reduce our suffering.

A Platonic Christian Paradigm

This is part of a series concerning different Christianities that exist today. It follows the articles: Conservative Christian Paradigm, Liberal Christian Paradigm and The Christian Moral Paradigm. More articles in this series are forthcoming.

Most people think that there is simply one church, under the one leader, Jesus Christ. Why, do these idealists say, doesn’t the church just get unified? Apart from the different governing bodies that distinguish one denomination from another, there is another significant issue—there is more than one Christian philosophy. Within each denomination there exists a variety of different philosophies—all claiming the name of Christ, but in many ways incompatible. In this series of articles, we will explore different Christianities and try to understand them from an Anabaptist viewpoint.

In the third and fourth centuries, Christianity was coming into its own as a force in the Roman empire. Paganism was beginning to wane as the primary belief system, and it was getting competition from the revised Hebrew religion. But there was another belief system that was gaining popularity as well—Platonism. Platonism was begun by the philosopher Plato in ancient Athens, and held that the spirit world was the prime reality on which all of our physical reality was based.

Some platonic philosophers of this time —such as Ignatius and Augustine— saw quite a bit of compatibility between Platonism and Christianity, and came to believe in Jesus as the human face behind the platonic philosophy. Then these teachers began defending their platonic form of Christianity against those whom they saw as "heretics" and "unbelievers." These became the strongest defenders of Christianity of the third and fourth centuries. Their idea of Christianity became enormously influential and their concept of Christianity continues to this day. Below are some of the main beliefs of a Platonic form of Christianity:

Spirit World is the Real World
According to Plato, there is an alternative universe which holds all the reality of the physical universe we see and feel. It is the Spirit world, and it is not less real than the physical world, but more real. In the spiritual universe, there is the real, pure Apple and all apples of our world are just poor copies of the original. Even so, the real Human exists in that universe, and all of us are simply copies of the true Human—and we are only trying to become like that Real Human.

God is the Primary Cause—Pure Spirit
Aristotle, Plato’s student, followed in this logic concerning God. He said that all things have a source, a cause. If creation came from the earth, then the earth came from somewhere, as did the sun and all of our universe. However, at some point one must arrive at the First Cause, because if there is no origin of all things, then nothing could exist. The platonic Christians hold that the Prime Cause is God, who is pure spirit, being made up of nothing physical, of this universe. God is the perfect being, complete Spirit, completely good, and the originator of all good, pure, spiritual things.

Flesh is Corrupt, Spirit is Good
Because God and the Spirit world is where all good comes from, then spiritual things are the only things that are good. This also means that the physical universe we live in is automatically crippled, automatically prone toward weakness. This weakness is called by the platonic Christians the flesh. The flesh is corruptible, able to drift further and further from the Spirit, which is pure good. Fundamentally, the more physical—the flesh—the more corruption and evil. The more Spirit, the more purity and good.

Humanity is part spirit, part flesh
Every human born, according to the platonic Christian philosophers, is part spirit and part flesh. The flesh, they say, is the body, which is corruptible and imperfect. But every human also has a spirit, which is the human’s connection to God. Between the flesh and the spirit is the soul, which is the basis of the mind and will. The soul is the fundamental part of humanity—neither pure flesh nor pure spirit—which determines the moral direction of the person, whether toward the spirit or toward the flesh.

Morality is based on the control of the flesh and motivation
To be a good human, therefore, we must constantly choose the spirit as opposed to the flesh. The flesh leads us to physical desire, to sexuality, to gluttony, to greed, to anger—all of the seven deadly sins are sins of the flesh, created by the platonic Christians. However, ultimately, humans are judged not on their deeds, but their motivation—that which their souls determined. If a soul chose the good, even though it lead them to corruption, then the soul may be saved though the body is corrupt.

Jesus was God Incarnate
Platonic Christians speak of Jesus as the Son of God, the human who was God from birth. Since Jesus was born as God incarnate, thus he was not human as we are human. Yes, Jesus was human, he had flesh and he had spirit, but his soul was already committed to the spirit, and so he constantly rejected the corrupt flesh. Thus, he never sinned. In this way, he had perfect faith and lived perfectly before his Father. Because of this, Jesus’ life could not really provide us with a proper example, because he had a different make up than we. So if we fall short of Jesus, that is only because he was God and we are not. Jesus died to give humanity the opportunity to be pure spirit. All of humanity has been corrupted by their flesh, but Jesus died so that such corruption could be left behind with one’s body, while the spirit and soul rises to God.

The highest Christian act is spiritual contemplation
Those of us who are Christians are those who have entered into Jesus death through baptism and the Lord’s supper. As we partake with Jesus, according to platonic Christians, we find ourselves being led by Him to act in the Spirit, and to set aside the flesh. Thus, as we find gluttony, drunkenness and sexuality set aside, we will also partake more and more in the Spirit realm through contemplation of the Pure Spirit—God himself. We can focus on God through meditation, through praise, through singing or through quoting the Scripture. But the focus is to transport oneself out of this world and into God.

The Church is Invisible
Because morality is a completely internal process, we cannot know who is more spiritual than another. While it is true that the most fleshly people would not be spiritually minded, for the most part we cannot tell. Some are spiritually minded and some are not. But the true people of God are invisible—only God knows who they are. The rest of us cannot judge.

Heaven is Living in Spirit
The ultimate goal of every platonic Christian is, therefore, the stripping away of our bodies—our corrupt flesh—and living in spirit in the presence of God. This is heaven—a pure spiritual existence. In heaven God is the continuous focus, and all who enter heaven take full satisfaction and pleasure in adoring and contemplating God, the Pure Spirit, the Source of all Things.

An Anabaptist Critique of Platonic Christianity
Platonic Christianity has tried to walk a wall that borders Platonism and the Bible—and so there are many aspect of their philosophy that reflects the Bible. Jesus himself said that God is Spirit and that we are not to worship him based on the physical. Jesus also recognized that the Spirit world is more powerful than the universe we live in, and that he himself is from the Spirit world. Jesus did die in order to help us enter God’s kingdom. And the flesh can corrupt us into doing evil.

However, the Bible takes a more balanced view of the physical world than the Platonists do. The physical world is created by God who called it "good" not corrupt. The perfect humans, Adam and Eve, were both flesh and spirit, and completely pure that way. There is no evidence in the Scripture that Jesus was not fully human, even as we are, and pure and innocent in that humanity. While the flesh can corrupt, as Paul said, it is not the flesh alone that corrupts us, but our determination to live out of balance with the flesh—to be obedient to our corrupt desires instead of God. God created sex, he created grapes, he created food, and he wants us to live in pleasure with these things. God also created limits so that we can live in the flesh, but in purity—through marriage, sobriety and moderation.

The physical world is the source of our good acts, as well as evil. It is in the physical world that we give to the poor. It is in the physical world that we love our families. It is in the physical world that we bow down and worship God. But most of all, the paradise that Jesus promises us is not a world of pure spirit. Rather, the cornerstone of his future promise is that we will be resurrected from the dead—we will not remain spiritual, but we will become physical again in God’s perfect utopia. In that time, our bodies will be incorruptible, pure, holy and completely physical.

Jesus also made it clear that what our bodies do is a reflection of our spiritual life. Thus, our moral life is not just in our minds, but equally in our actions. It is not enough for us to have the right motivation, even if we do the wrong actions. Rather, our motivation is shown by our actions. Our morality is based on the life of Jesus. Jesus’ life is not just the pie-in-the-sky ideal, but it is the paradigm for our physical life. We can—and should—be as willing to obey God, as willing to trust in God, as willing to surrender ourselves for the needy as Jesus was. This is our goal, and the purpose of our lives.

Jesus leads us to a pure, holy, physical life

Destruction of the World Corporate Structure

Injustice reigns in the earth. Capitalism is corrupt, only granting freedom to the wealthy, while the poor get ground in the dust. The 200 wealthiest people in the world, all heads of corporations, control 40% of the world’s wealth, while the poorest 20% of the world live on 1% of the world’s wealth. The 40 wealthiest Western nations have 85% of the world’s wealth.
Perhaps such disparity in the world today wouldn’t be so bad if the governments and corporations of the world were concerned with justice in the world and providing equity for the poor. Instead, the wealthy of the world use their economic power as the whip on the backs of the oppressed.
The developing countries of the world are required to pay a huge amount of interest on loans, and so unable to pay back the loans, and thus their people starve. On the other hand, the United States has a trillion-dollar debt that they can refuse to pay, if they want. The corporations of the West use Chinese labor to do the menial tasks that the workers of the West find demeaning or that don’t pay enough. Then the Chinese oppress their people, telling them where to work, how to worship, where to live and how many children to have. The world corporations are creating oppression as well in Vietnam, Mexico, Haiti, Bangladesh, Singapore, and multitudes of other developing nations. And all this, while not discouraging them to cease the oppression of ethnic, religious and political minorities.
The governments of the West, especially the United States, are controlled by the corporations, who gain benefits in how much taxes they pay, what tariffs are to be imposed on imports and which developing nations are to be given benefits and which governments are to be destroyed by the U.S. military. And even the nations that receive benefits, they receive it with a price tag that requires them to act in the benefit of the West. Colonization may be dead, but the North American and European nations are controlling the world economically through the UN, the WTO and through their diplomatic carrots and sticks.
In the twenty-first century, economic power is absolute power. And absolute power corrupts absolutely.
The poor are crying out in opposition to the world corporate structure. Protests are happening all over the world. The world press is decrying the controls of the West- although the American press never acknowledges a peep of the worldwide outcry.
What will happen? Will the poor rise up and overthrow their oppressors? Will there be unification among the workers who will overcome the wealth and power of the corporations? Will a great class war happen that will change the economic structure of the world and set all people free economically? Will there be real change in humanity that will provide justice for everyone?
Give me a break.
Let’s look at this historically. Those who were truly poor have never been successful in rising up against their oppressors. From the rise of the Lombards in the 1400s to the Peasants’ War in the early 1500s to the Rebellion of John Brown in the mid 1800s to the ethnic cleansing in Rwanda in the late 1900s, when the truly poor violently rise up against their oppressors, it only ends in tragedy and in the oppressors having an example of why they need to oppress.
Violence and resistance can create an economic change, such as the French Revolution, the Labor Parties, the Communist Revolutions of Russia and China. But the economic benefits are limited to a particular class of people, usually the middle class. Thus, the poor are not assisted at all, but only those who had enough power to enact change themselves.
This is not real change. It is just trading one set of oppressors for another. And this is a summary of the history of the world, for the last 10,000 years.
There is, however, another way for real change to occur. There is a way for the world corporate system to be destroyed and to be replaced by justice. But it requires much more than most people are willing to give. It does not require power, but humility. Not control, but persecution and death.
We need to recognize that the only force that will change things in the world for good is God. God alone has the power and authority to change the world permanently. God alone has the compassion and desire to help the poor, the lowest of the low (Check it out in the Bible- Exodus 22:21-27). God alone, of all the powers that have ever existed, has dedicated himself to helping those who are truly in need (Psalm 146:3-9). And he has promised that any governmental, corporate or religious power that oppressed the poor, he will destroy (Psalm 82:1-8; Revelation 18:1-24).
However, God requires the poor to do one most important thing- to cry out to him for help. The poor must recognize his authority over them and then cry out to him (Exodus 22:23; II Chronicles 7:14; Psalm 18:6-17; Psalm 34:17; Psalm 107). They must turn from the evil things they do- from oppressing their neighbor and do good to all, and then God will listen to them (Micah 3:4; Hosea 8:2-3; Ezekiel 18:27). And those who are poor must ask God persistently for God’s deliverance from oppression and he will give it (Luke 18:2-8). Such humility is required from God to gain freedom from oppression (Luke 18:10-14).
And this way of life needs to be given to others who are poor. Many need to be shown and taught this way of life in order for the oppression of the world corporate structure to be destroyed. If a single person cries out against an oppressor, then that one will be delivered from the one oppressor. If a multitude of poor, all around the world, cry out against the world corporate structure, then the whole world will be changed. This means that we need a multitude of people dedicated to God and to cry out to him for justice to change the world.
But even the humility and the training of others is not enough. We need to prove the oppression. We need to show that oppression really is occurring- for no power overthrows another without proof. This means that we need to put ourselves in the front lines of oppression. We need to show God and the world that the world corporate structure is willing to sacrifice and kill others, but not itself.
How do we do this? Through non-violent, public outcry against oppression. Through standing in front of the violent and haters of the poor, and telling them to stop or they will be destroyed by God. Through praying for God’s justice in their presence.
And then letting them oppress us.
When they want to arrest us, we let them. When they want to punish us, we let them. When they want to hit us, we let them and we do not hit back. Instead, we make a public spectacle of their oppression. We give them an opportunity to show how evil they really are.
And they will be destroyed. By God. By someone God appoints. But the world will change.
Some say, How can you know this? This has never happened before! It can never succeed! Wrong. It has succeeded. And the poor have been released by this very method. Martin Luther King Jr. used this method against those oppressing the black communities, even allowing himself to be martyred. Gandhi used this method, systematically destroying the power of the British. The Anabaptists of the Sixteenth Century used this method- thousands dying for the Truth- and changed the face of Christianity. The Waldensians used this method, and caused there to be a resurgence of concern for the poor, including the powerful Franciscan movement. And all of these successful movements were sourced from one person- Jesus.
Jesus himself came to assist the poor. He brought them freedom and stood against the oppressive authorities that used their power for injustice. But rather than begin a violent revolution, he suffered and was executed as a rebel. And it was because of this that a movement sprang up among the poor that changed the ethical outlook of the world- Christianity. And through Jesus the Jewish government was destroyed and the Roman government was changed forever. And while Christianity has been used for many evils throughout the centuries, the teaching and life of Jesus has been used as an example of the most positive world changers that has existed.
Jesus’ method of world change is just as outlined above-
Do no evil, but do good to the needy according to God’s love (Mark 1:15; Matthew 7:12);
Cry out to God for justice (Luke 18:1-8);
Declare to the oppressors the judgment they will face from God (Matthew 10:7, 28)
Allow them to oppress you to display their evil (Matthew 5:38-48)
Teach the poor the message of freedom from oppression through the way of Jesus (Matthew 28:19-20)
And justice will prevail through the power of God! (Matthew 10:24-27)
The world system will be changed! but only through the way of Jesus.

Few Be The Lovers

What do we desire as Christians? We want the salvation of God, everything that God promised to give us and more. We want the blessing of Christ—healing, joy, satisfaction, eternal life, love of God, forgiveness. What fantastic things await for us! And we also seek the blessing of the flesh—family, acceptance, respect, riches, guilt-free pleasure. This is what we are promised by the church. And, frankly, it is what Jesus offers us as well. That is why we want to be Christians, why we seek God and go to church. To gain what the world may promise us, but will never give us without being damned.
We want cost-free, guilt-free, strings-free salvation. Jesus paid it all, so we have no charge, right? Of course, Jesus did die for our sins. He paid the ultimate price for us. But he never promised us a free ride. Jesus promises us the great life of God, but it is not without cost
We cannot have forgiveness without painful separation from our sin. (Luke 24:47)
We cannot have eternal life without suffering. (Luke 9:23-24;Acts 14:22)
We cannot have a peaceful family without hating our earthly family and friends. (Matthew 12:48-50; Luke 14:26)
We cannot have the pleasure of God without rejecting the pleasures of earth. (Luke 6:21, 25; Mark 8:36)
We cannot have the respect of heaven without experiencing rejection from our loves. (Matthew 10:34-38)
We cannot have acceptance by God unless we give up who we see ourselves to be. (Luke 14:26-27)
We cannot gain healing unless we first experience suffering and humiliation. (Luke 4:18; Matthew 15:21-28)
We cannot gain true satisfaction until we are sickened by the world we live in. (Mark 8:36)
We cannot gain great riches from God until we first experience poverty. (Matthew 13:44-46; Luke 6:20)
We cannot truly gain joy until we live with the utmost sorrow. (Matthew 5:4)
These seem paradoxical—how can one only gain peace and joy through it’s opposite? Yet it is no mystery, but based on four basic principles of life:
We learn what we need only by suffering want
If we didn’t suffer, we wouldn’t know we needed anything. If we never hungered, why would we eat? If we never desired companionship, why would we deal with conflict? Even so, if we never were sick, we would not seek healing. If we were never depressed, we would never seek joy. If we were never stressed or anxious, we would never seek peace. If we were never oppressed, then we wouldn’t seek release. If we didn’t die, we wouldn’t need resurrection.
We do not ask for a gift unless we feel its loss
If we give a child a toy they never wanted, they would throw it aside after a short time of playing with it. They don’t appreciate the cost of something, until they experience the loss. But if a child had and loved a toy and then lost it, then the child will cry until the toy is found again. Even so with salvation. If we have lost forgiveness and security and satisfaction, then we too will cry until we get it. And those who cry to God are those who receive.
We obtain God’s pity only by being pitiful
The rich and powerful, even the most compassionate, look only at the innocent who are helpless. The powerful and famous, the well-to-do and those who have everything "under control" do not stir the hearts of those who have it in their power to offer charity. Even so, God looks for the just who are weak and oppressed—the mourning and desperate—they are the ones whom God redeems and lifts up high. It is a matter of justice—those who suffer deserve joy, while those who already have joy gain nothing from God.
We prove faith through endurance
No one knows whether our faith be true or not unless it be tested. Everyone’s faith is strong in abundance and blessing—it can only be proven by testing and suffering. The one whose love endures through hardship—that is the one whose love is true.
So why do we seek only blessing? Jesus sought the curse in order to obtain the blessing. If the blessing only comes from difficulty and suffering, why do we seek only earthly joy and peace? It is because we do not seek the real Jesus. We have created a fantasy Jesus, a Jesus of our own imagining who promises us everything in this world and the next.
The truth is, many want the promises, but few want to gain the promises through the conditions Jesus offered. Many love the blessings, but few love the cross. The true followers of Jesus are those who take up the cross and follow him. The true lovers of Jesus are ready to follow him anywhere, wherever he leads. But few be the lovers of the cross. We need to love the real Jesus, not the Jesus of our fantasy.
If we are to gain salvation, we are to work hard and love that which Jesus told us to love:
Benefiting others (Luke 10:25-37)
Prayer (Luke 11:1-13)
Commitment to God through Jesus (John 14:21)
Giving to the poor (Luke 12:33)
Rejecting the world’s ways of salvation (Matthew 6:1)
Boldly proclaiming Jesus’ words and life (Matthew 10:32)
And we need to endure in all these acts of love and faithfulness through the crap the world gives us for faithfully seeking God. (Mark 13:13)
Who do we really love? Do we love the real Jesus, looking down on us, ready to endure with us if we are ready to pay the cost (Luke 14:28-30)? Or are we content with only a fantasy Jesus, an image of the true, who will give us what we want without having to endure anything? Let us not love the wealth of this age, the pleasures of the world, the satisfactions of our flesh. Let us be lovers of the cross.
If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel will save it. For what is the profit, if one gains the whole world but loses his soul?
Be a lover of the cross.

A Message To the Churches of the West

Hear the word of the Lord to the churches:
My idolatrous children! After diligently studying my word, you still pursue other gods! I have pleaded with you, commanded you, clung to your feet like a forsaken woman yet still you would not come back to me! Oh, faithless generation! You weep and wail during your lip service to me, but your true worship gets handed to your gods, your false images.
How I have longed to pour righteousness upon you, to adorn you with purity and love. I have wanted to exalt your humility and strengthen your weakness. But you refused. You turned to me and said, "I love you, I love you O God." And then immediately you turned back and groveled before the sewage you live in. I wish you would be true! True to me or true to them. To me you say the right words, but they hold your life.
You say to me, "Who are these gods? We have not seen them, nor have we worshipped any but You. You, O Lord, are our Father. We serve no other but You." I do not know which is worse, the false praise you give me or the self-deception you cover yourself with like a shroud. Do you not see? Do you not understand? Can I even call you children? For you hold my word so lightly.
On Friday you send your children to school to be taught by the ungodly. They are being raised to hate me and my ways, but you have no time to reconcile that. Instead, you must rush off to your work in which you maneuver petty positions, strive to be recognized and inflate your ego. Should you reach a blessed state of lowliness, you writhe and squirm and manipulate until your self-interest has been achieved. You work and strive to please the ungodly, not actually loving them with words that bring them face to face with me, but patting them like a fierce wolf who might turn on you and steal your reward.
And what is your reward? Friday night, you receive your reward for leaving me behind for a third of your day, five days a week— money. Oh, it seems so little to you, yet with it you move mountains. You think of it as sustenance, yet it is the good, the evil, the power, the glory, the whole of your life. It is the medium of choice. I have told you to live an exchange of love, but your love can only be defined in an account book (and how poor your love is even there!).
You take your medium of livelihood and run immediately to the Industry of Perpetual Greed and give them your hard-earned coin. They call it yours, so it says on their screens, but as they hold it in their coffers, they fondle and manipulate it, causing it to bear children. With those children this Industry rules the world, giving or denying permission to build or plant or live or die all over the world. And the profit from their duties they use to glorify themselves, allowing them to live in palaces dedicated to greed. These and those who live like them are your heroes, your imitatables.
When you arrive home you have a feast. Such a feast is no dishonor, but to feast every night? You pay servants to cook up a meal to your taste and you bask in your comfort, unless that night you deem it necessary to badger the servants with your petty complaints. You have achieved your society's goal-- you are king of your domain, completely in control: strong, powerful and unhappy.
After your feast you click on one of the many manifestations of a lust-machine. Such machines have as their only purpose to incite you to obtain. They have at their disposal such words and pictures to assist you to determine that you have not enough. After one hour, you cry "this!" After two, you cry "that!" After three you demand, "more and more!" The lust in your heart is exercised and becomes increasingly larger and larger-- nothing will stop you now. You must have and you will.
Saturday you rise with a gleam in your eye, ready to gather that which is not yours. You climb into your vehicle that allows you to obtain huge amounts of comforts and possessions at unbelievable speed. You dart around the city, avoiding the needy as much as possible, gathering the more and more and more you have lusted. More toys, more comforts, more and more delicious food, more knowledge, more man-made joys, and more trinkets. You are comforted. Your lust to spend has been sated in an orgasmic buying orgy and you yourself are bigger. You have grown larger, absorbing more into your kingdom.
On Sunday you walk in, obese and bloated, with your whole kingdom behind you, with you, in your mind. You sit down on the padded pew and sing half-heartedly: "Lord, I love you. You are the center of my life." You thank me for all I have given you and ask for blessings on your boated, swelling kingdom.
Don't you understand my anger? Do you know my reason for wrath? You unfaithful whore! I have called you to Me yet who do you serve? You serve Greed, you serve Comfort, you serve Ego, you serve Lust. Your petty needs and comforts are destroying the world! You serve yourselves so readily and yet claim to follow the way of love and sacrifice!
Yes, I have given you much. So much, you cannot comprehend. Yet you abuse my gifts. I give to all, some more, some less. To the ungodly I give much and I expect them to abuse it. But to you— my children! How can you act as a heathen!
I gave you children to teach my ways through word and deed.
I gave you trials that you may rejoice in your lowliness.
I gave you people to draw them to me.
I gave you money above your sustenance to provide for the needy around the world.
I gave you feasts to provide for the hungry and the lonely.
I gave you time to serve me through love, attention and sacrifice for the poor.
I gave you a vehicle to rush the hurting to the hospital, the suffering to those who will help.
I gave you a mind to consider how to love.
I gave you a heart to be renewed to me.
I gave you my word to listen to and obey.
I gave you a Sunday to gather together, to encourage each other to love and good deeds.
I gave you all this and so much, much more. How long will you be ungrateful? How long will you refuse my righteousness? Oh, I long to give you the full blessings of my love. I need you to step out and plead me for my love. As I pour out my love to you, so you will be filled with love, longing to love others as I have loved you. You will desire to be below all, so as to serve them better. You will pray for me to do great works for them that my name would be sanctified. You will have compassion that knows no limits, peace that endures loss and joy that grows in suffering.
Pray to me. Ask me for this gift of my love. Ask not in passing, nor in public, nor lightly. Rather in your closet, in your heart, in your soul of souls, plead and beg, cajole and rail, continue on and on. And I will hear. And I will respond. I will put justice in your heart. I will fill you with my Spirit. And you will see a transformation as you have never seen before. You will be a new creature— not just in word, but in every deed. You will be my son.

Political Involvement-- Like Jesus!

The followers of Jesus follow Jesus as their political ruler (i.e., Lord), and the Kingdom of God as their nation. That doesn’t mean that we aren’t involved in the nations we are born in and live in. We are deeply concerned about them, and we recognize that our current welfare is tied to the welfare of the nation we live in. We want peace in our nation, and we want everyone around us to have well-being. This means that we are involved politically. Some of us, by our convictions in following Jesus, do not get involved in partisan politics, or even vote. This doesn’t mean, however, that we are passive. Rather, because we follow the way of Jesus, and that way is the way of political involvement.
Jesus was very involved in politics. He was so involved that the political rulers of his nation—the Sanhedrin of the Jewish nation—determined that he had to be killed. But Jesus never voted, nor did he gather up people to depose the existing rulers. Nor did he participate in making himself well-liked so that he would be declared ruler, nor did he gather an army together to take over the land he called his own. Yet he was very involved—he called himself the King and spoke of his kingdom deposing the evil rulers. In the same way Jesus was politically involved, so his followers are—to this very day.
Political Context: The Unheard Underdogs
Before we discuss the ways Jesus was (and we should be) politically involved, we need to understand the context of Jesus and of Jesus’ followers in the political world. Jesus came from a backwater of Israel, where no one of political significance hailed from. He proposed an unpopular, idealistic platform. He also gathered around him as his party a group of ne’er-do-wells, whom no one with any clout paid attention to. Jesus spoke for those who would never be listened to, and proposed changes that would bring the lowest of people to rule over the highest. Finally, his political strategy for victory was to be persecuted, and so win the favor of only one person—God himself. Although this political context was extremely unorthodox, it worked for him.
Over the centuries the true followers of Jesus obeyed the same context and followed the same political strategy. They were unknowns, representing the weak and helpless, with only God on their side. They had idealistic platforms—the same as Jesus’, actually—and remained unpopular to the majority of people. Nevertheless, they were significant enough to be persecuted by political leaders and to be hated. And in this way, they created political change. Some of the communities who enacted this strategy are known today—the Waldensians, the Franciscans, the Anabaptists, the American Civil Rights Movement. Their strategy was direct and effective—without voting, partisan politics or military might.
How can it be done?
How can such a strategy succeed? How can the unheard of nobodies, even with a charismatic leader, make political change? They follow the method of Jesus’ political involvement, as follows:
Kingdom teaching
Jesus began his ministry with this statement: "The kingdom of God is near—repent and believe in this message" (Mark 1:15) In saying this, Jesus was proclaiming to all current rulers and authorities, "A new nation is about ready to invade. The current rulers have been declared inadequate, and a new rule will start." This upset the rulers, but it also gave hope to the people that the oppression they were suffering under was about to end. And Jesus was offering this new, just, rule to anyone who repented from their injustice and believed in him. Even so, political change is right at the door—for whoever depends on God to believe in Jesus and to do righteousness.
Call to Personal Transformation
Jesus enacted his political change, not by creating a huge social movement, but by dealing with people one by one, calling them to a moral transformation by the power of God. Jesus called people to freedom and well-being, not by the salvations of the world—economics, authority or human laws—but salvation by the power of God (Zechariah 4:6). Jesus said that those who followed him would not only have lives pleasing to God, but also pleasing to themselves—they would have righteousness, peace and joy, all handed to them by God (John 16:20; Romans 14:17). Thus, those who follow Jesus could all truly say, "I am better off than before I followed Jesus."
Speaking against injustice
Jesus made it clear that the rulers of his age were oppressors of the needy, and opponents to those who do good. He pointed out again and again how their laws did nothing but support their personal interests, and cause difficulties for the poor and lowly (Matthew 22-23). This speech did little by itself—the rulers did not listen to Jesus and change their ways, rather it entrenched them in doing their evil. But it displayed them before the people and before God as evildoers, unwilling to change before the word of God.
Prayer
Most people think of prayer as a religious act, but it is actually the most powerful political weapon that exists. God is the king of the universe, and the Bible says every ruler gains authority or loses authority on his say-so (Daniel 5:21). God is very involved in human politics, and those who can have God listen to them have the greatest political power on earth—greater than any vote, or army. Through prayer, rulers can be set aside, nations can be thwarted and political powers can be overthrown—all by the power of God.
Righteous suffering
The difficult question is: who does God listen to? Does he listen to presidents and prime ministers, or popes and cardinals? Not at all—rather he listens to the lowly who obey his commands. Those who are truly submitted to God and who chose to depend on him, although they have other options available to them—they are the ones God listens to (Matthew 11:25; I Corinthians 1:26-31). Those whom God listens to especially are those who suffer for the sake of following him—he will make changes more readily for them than anyone (Luke 6:22-23; Revelation 6:9-11). And so Jesus—and his true followers—will accept the way of suffering and death in order to make the world a better place for the lowly in God.
Healing and Exorcism
Again, most people understand healings and exorcisms by the power of God to be in the realm of religious power. However, in the ancient world, those who had power over spirits were seen to be politically powerful. For this reason, Jesus’ enemies tried to discredit him (Matthew 12:22-24). You see if Jesus had authority in the spirit realm, that meant that he deserved authority in the earthly realm and would gain it, eventually. Even so, today, as the followers of Jesus heal the physically and mentally ill by the authority of Jesus, it shows that Jesus has greater power than doctors and psychiatrists, and that the whole basis of the health care system is shown to be wrong. That is a powerful political statement—and one that is demonstrated, not just spoken about.
Community example
Finally, Jesus established a community as an alternative nation. Jesus created communities of the lowly, with leaders who seek humility instead of power, with a law of love displayed to all, with people doing good to their enemies instead of perpetuating hatred and everyone giving to the needy in their midst (Acts 2:42-47). He did this for two reasons—first of all, it would show the nations of the world how much better a society ruled by Jesus is than by the powers of the world. But also, he established the communities to take over leadership of the world when his kingdom arrived. When the power of God takes over the world, the lowly people of Jesus, living in peace and benefit to everyone, will take over leadership, while the corrupt rulers of the world are thrown out, forever. (Matthew 5:3-10; Luke 6:24-26)
Use Your Political Clout—
Be Like Jesus!

The Entertainment Revolution

What is the entertainment revolution? (A Brief History)
Entertainment has always existed. Humanity was created for various kinds of pleasure, and when pleasure was difficult to find, or when there was nothing to do, they created diversions to keep them occupied. Most of humanity in the ancient past didn’t need such diversions—life was exciting enough. There was a long day of trying to survive, and collapsing into sleep was enough for the day-to-day existence. For the common people there was storytelling, there was sex, there was wine (usually quite weak) and the occasional festival or wedding. Games were invented for children and adults, usually simple requiring little or no supplies—some string, a stick or just a friend. Board games, novels and music were almost exclusively reserved for the wealthy. What professional entertainment that was not patronized by the wealthy almost always included gambling and prostitution with it.

The entertainment revolution began at the turn of the twentieth century when three inventions revolutionized the world: the motion picture, the phonograph and the radio. Suddenly storytelling was taken to a whole new level, with visual signals more realistic and powerful than any book with pictures, and with sounds that made the drama all the more real. Quality and popular music was suddenly available to the populace—not just passed from town to town in a slow evolution by travelers, but available to everyone, every place where a radio could be heard. And over time even the poor could save up money to purchase copies of their favorite album—even if they had to go to a friend’s house to listen to lit.

By the same time the entertainment revolution was in full swing, advertising responded with a revolution of its own. The entertainment had to be paid for, and since the radio signals were free, businesses found that they could peddle their products between stories, or in the midst of them. The more entertaining the ad the more people would pay attention to it, and so they would have the most entertaining performers proclaim the benefits of their product. Entertainment and advertising were wedded, never again to be completely separated.

In the late 40’s, as disposable income became more prevalent after the war, television boomed, and soon it became commonplace for children to be raised on stories that they hear and see in their own living rooms. By the late 60’s movies had to become bigger and more edgy to draw people away from their televisions. Popular music in the 60’s also was pushing the edge of what could be called music, and diversifying greatly. In the 70’s movies made a break with conventional morality, glorifying sex and violence in a way never before seen, and yet remaining popular. Novels also became more popular during this time, mostly because of the way that publishers began to focus on longer versions of pulp fiction.

In the 80’s another revolution occurred—video games and personal computers became available to masses of people, especially to teens with disposable income. The computers were originally thought to be business machines, but when it was found that you could play games with more intense competition than with the family at home, then the computer became an entertainment icon. In the 90’s internet capability was opened up, which allowed role-playing games to be played by hundreds—even thousands— at the same time in vast virtual realities. Instead of just watching fights, shootings and flirtings, on television or movies, we can participate in them with no danger to our physical bodies.

In a mere hundred years we have become a culture of entertainment—where our entertainment choices display who we are more clearly than what we do, mostly because what we do relates more to our entertainment than does our work or our relationships. Entertainment has become so blended with our lives, that it is no longer a pastime—our entertainment of choice has become so complex and detailed that any aspect of it—from a music groups called the Beatles that only existed for nine years, to the six movies called Star Wars—could completely consume a person’s life, and it often does. The revolution has come so quickly, and has so much for us to see and experience, that we have only been able to evaluate it on a basic level—do I like this one or not, do I think that this one is immoral or not. We have very rarely been able to evaluate what the entertainment as a whole is doing to our lives and whether we want it to happen. Following is a brief critique of the entertainment revolution, from a Christian standpoint, in the hopes that we can better determine what we want in our lives.

The Entertainment revolution makes us feel as if our desires are met, but they are not
The ER began and is fueled by meeting people’s desires—pleasure, significance, peace. If what we see or hear does not meet our felt desires, it is exchanged for something else. However, it only has the semblance of meeting our desires. Just like someone who has eaten a magical meal, they can enjoy all the flavors and feelings, but in the end they feel hungry. Even so, the ER does not meet our real desires—and yet we still look to it, because its promise has not yet been fulfilled.

a. The entertainment revolution encourages us to spend our lives in pleasure
Pleasure in and of itself is not wrong. God created us to feel pleasure—it is, in fact, one of the major desires of humanity that God created is with. Those who do not experience pleasure in normal way are called clinically depressed, and they experience lack of energy and a generally negative viewpoint on life. Jesus encouraged his people to experience pleasure, and promised that the coming kingdom of God is one in which pleasure would be experienced.

It is necessary to rest and give us an opportunity to experience pleasure at times. But we also need to balance pleasure with other aspects of our lives. Entertainment teaches us that we deserve pleasure, and that everything in our lives should be conformed to the granting of pleasure. Commercials show us that practical tasks from putting on deoderent to mopping a floor should be a pleasure. And none of our food, we are taught, should be mundane. We should be able to take pleasure in everyone and everything—and if we do not have pleasure, it is not our fault but the fault of what we have. If we don’t have pleasure, then we should exchange the things around us with something new—a new car, a new home, a new toothpaste, a new spouse, a new job.

The fact of the matter is that we do not gain pleasure over time, if we look to the ER to give us pleasure. They can only give us pleasure by granting us new varieties of pleasure. And eventually, we feel we have seen everything, done everything and heard everything, and we haven’t even left our couch. The ER fundamentally leads to perpetual boredom.

God, on the other hand, teaches us contentment and endurance. We should have contentment, for the situation we are in was given to us by God for our own sakes. And we should endure through difficulties, for although they are not pleasant, they make us people who are able to stand up to adventures, to exciting travels. The person who does not endure is the one always wanting to say the safe thing, because they do not want to face difficulties. The one willing to endure through difficulties will eventually gain the greatest adventure in the world—the kingdom of God, where they will never be bored.

b. The Entertainment revolution gives a false sense of significance
The mediums of the ER often have us focus on a hero who goes through many adventures and learns important things about him or herself and the world surrounding. We see and hear things through the eyes of that hero, and we have the sense of learning through that one’s experience. The reality is, however, that we have learned nothing. The hero gained the medal, or the love or the justice that was sought after, but we, who identified with that one, have gained nothing. We leave our hero with a feeling of significance—but also of emptiness. Fundamentally, we wish we were like that hero, but we are not. We wish we could be brave and wise and compassionate and good-looking—but because we are not, we feel inadequate.

Jesus also is a hero in much the same way. We can read about him in the Gospels and we see that he does marvelous works for God, and says wise things, and is a moral example, and struggles through difficulties, even through death, and yet God allows him to come up on top. We look at him and we say, "I wish I could be like him…" But the difference between Jesus and the ER is that he really can make you like himself. He can help you to be really significant. Not just an actor on a screen, or a singer in a band—not just empty fame—but significant in reality. For those who follow Jesus, he promises to send the Holy Spirit. And those who have the Holy Spirit will do works just like Jesus—and even greater than Jesus. (John 16) Jesus isn’t just in the department of looking good, it is his task to make others like himself. (Matthew 10)

c. The Entertainment revolution gives a false feeling of rest
The ER promises to give you rest. After a long day at work, the television (or CD player or movie theatre) looks good. There is nothing to do, just turn it on and it will entertain you and give you rest. It will please you, it will make you cry, it will make the final hours of the day interesting.

After hours doing nothing but basking in the light of a screen, you should feel rested. But, often, you do not. You can finish a time being served by the ER, but you are not rested, you want more. So perhaps you will stay up later with the ER to gain more rest. But the longer you remain in the ER, the less rest you actually have.

The ER encourages us to be passive, but God has not built us to be rested just by being passive. So many people feel that the Bible teaches that the "day of rest" is a day of doing nothing. But Isaiah 58 teaches that the day of rest is a day of setting aside one’s own pleasure, and seeking the pleasure of God. Jesus used the day of rest to do activity for the poor and needy. Rest is not passivity, it is actively doing something different than pursuing your normal actions. But the ER can never teach that.

d. The Entertainment revolution is a substitute for real communication
If someone wants to get in touch with the world, they will typically turn on the radio, or the TV or read the newspaper. They want to connect with the real world outside their window, and so they find out what the president is doing or saying or what disaster happened in the last 24 hours or what scandal is going on. And in this way, a person feels like they have connected with society.

However, what is a person’s real society? Who makes up one’s community? Is it found in Washington D.C., or in the disaster on the other side of the world or the scandal in local politics? Rather, community found in one’s family, one’s neighbors, ones friends, ones co-workers—with the people that one actually sees and talks to. Perhaps community could be built over the internet, but even then, it is missing a vital component—non-verbal communication. Misunderstandings happen more often on the internet because we cannot see facial expressions or develop true trust for others ("Is she really a girl?").

Our need to connect with society cannot be accomplished through the ER. We can hear what the president says about the latest crisis, but he won’t give us advice about our garden. The folks on TV aren’t really interested in our lives.

And now, instead of spending time showing our concern or care for others—showing our love—we have shown that we are interested instead in the ER, not people. Jesus taught us that it is our responsibility to love our neighbor. But because we have spent so much time with the ER instead of our real, physical neighbor, we don’t know how to respond to his need. In fact, anyone who comes in contact with us is a challenge, a difficulty. Almost as if dealing with human beings—even those who live in our house—is like living with an alien. They don’t say the right things, they aren’t polite like they should be, they don’t use the right language.

But if we are to love people, as Jesus says, we are to deal with their quirks, and eccentricities. Even when they are not entertaining. Even when they are irritating. And we are to respond to them with gentleness and with patience. How can that be done? Well it takes the Holy Spirit. And a lot of practice… which the ER takes us away from.

Virtual Values of the Entertainment Revolution
The Entertainment Revolution (ER) has grown over a century. It is a revolution allowing everyone to have access to music, video and computer entertainment, anytime, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It began in the United States and Europe and has since expanded to every place on the globe. It is a form of an American Utopia—paradise through virtual reality. However, a virtual reality encourages one to live out virtual values.

As Neil Postman once observed, "The medium is the message." With every medium comes its own values that it communicates. Books carry with it messages of the print media, for example, the necessity of clear verbal communication. Art communicates messages of visual media—to be able to see what one cannot see in reality, for example. Even so, the Entertainment Revolution has its own values that it teaches, just because of the media it uses. Not all of the values are bad—visual observation, for example. But there are some values that the ER teaches that do not support Christian values and ideals of community love. Below are a few:

The Entertainment Revolution teaches impatience with real life
In the media of the ER, the greatest sin is boredom. Everything must be interesting, and if it is not interesting, then it is not valuable to the media of ER. To be valuable, something need not be good, nor does it need to be beautiful—but if it is boring, then it is worthless. And since the ER has been invading so many areas of life—education, job training, raising children and so many others as well—then it sets as the lowest common denominator the one value—it must be interesting. Mathematics is practical, but for ER it is worthless unless it is interesting. Philosophy is important, but for ER it cannot be discussed unless it is interesting.

Even so, we and our children are learning this ever important value. We aren’t interested in learning something that is important for us, unless it is interesting. Our lives may be many things, but it must be interesting. And if it is not interesting, that’s fine—we could always watch a movie. Vocarious interest will replace real interest, if necessary. But if we are bored with our job, bored with our spouse, bored with our children, bored with our life, then we need to find a way to make it more interesting. Maybe a new job, some pornography, some new hobbies or a new babysitter for some more freedom—maybe that will make life more interesting.

Another area we are learning from our ER is about speed. In ER, interest is increased and it is done immediately. It moves quickly from one interesting item to another, as if one was at a jewelers’ on a conveyer belt. The pace of images on television has sped up to such a degree that often we can’t keep up with all that we see. But there is so much of interest that it doesn’t matter if we miss something. But the pace is set high on all the media of ER—movies, radio, CD’s. And, of course, computers. If our computers are not fast enough then the answer is clear—we need a new computer. And if our internet service isn’t fast enough, then that needs to change as well. And for many, DSL is a necessity.

But what is the necessity, really? Speed. Things need to be faster. It isn’t just the ER anymore. We need to find something interesting and we need to find it now. Never mind that most worthwhile things require time, practice and patience. If it isn’t interesting now, then it isn’t worthwhile enough to us. We need to hurry and be interested.

And so this means that we have become a culture of impatience. We are frustrated if we have to wait a few minutes, if our phone has poor reception for a minute, if our children take too long to get ready, if the electrician takes a half hour when she said it would only be twenty minutes, if there is traffic on the freeway, if we are following a bus on the way home. We are impatient with life. And yet, in Scripture, slowness is a virtue. At least being slothful toward anger. And angry is the very thing we are in a hurry to be, it seems. We certainly flare up with irritation every time someone or something makes us wait. Especially if we are bored.

The Entertainment Revolution teaches Passivity
Computers are interactive, and they often encourage one to provide at least a minimal amount of input. DVDs are beginning to allow those who watch them to mold and change what they see. But the far majority of the ER media has a "silver plate" mentality. The extent of choice is "which station?" Once that choice is made, all the rest is given to one, as if one is the wealthy king, waiting for the servant to peel the grapes and to drop it into the mouth.
We begin to get used to servants, and though human ones are garish in our society (not to mention expensive), so we will be satisfied with electronic ones. Perhaps a microwave dinner does require a small amount of work, but it is a service as opposed to making oneself and one’s family a full meal.

Life is more and more feeling like "too much work". It is not that we are lazy—oh no. But we are mentally tired, and just not used to going out of our way and it is just easier to… well, perhaps we are a bit lazy. And we would really like to exercise and we know that we would feel better if we did, but it just seems so difficult… and so on and so on.

We are just becoming more used to being passive. And we don’t really see why we should work more. After all, we work at work, and so why should we do it at home? Of course, if that is our attitude, it is no wonder that obesity is becoming the number one preventable cause of death.

The Entertainment Revolution increases desire for acquisition
In the 80’s the Cosby Show was the number one rated sitcom in America. Many were impressed at how a black family could be shown as so "normal". Of course, for most of America, "trailer trash" shows like Rosanne or the Simpsons were better indicators of their living standard and the upper middle class Cosby Show just had folks drooling for the life that they wished were theirs. This is common in television and movies or any of the visual media of the ER. Show people wealth they don’t have and drop hints that communicate, "this is normal; this is how you ought to live; this is how most people live—why don’t you?"

If it is true in television shows and movies, it is certainly true in advertising. Advertising has almost perfected the art of causing covetousness. In a matter of weeks, a product that was unheard of and was totally unnecessary is now in hot demand and everyone wonders how they lived without it. And half of those products will be unnecessary again in another month.
How many Americans know the tenth commandment? How many would be surprised to find that greed is counted in the Bible as a sin of equal depth as sexual immorality? If we live in a culture of entertainment, we just as strongly live in a culture of covetousness and acquisition. And it will send us to hell just as quickly as homosexuality and drunkenness.

The Entertainment Revolution encourages moral nihilism
We all know that television, movies and radio have gotten morally worse over the years. It is a cliché—"I just can’t believe what they allow on television." Or the movies. Or the radio. Or the internet. Everyone agrees—it has certainly gotten worse. And most people, it seems, are appalled. If that is the case, then who are the ones who are tuning in? The ones who just want to see or hear just how bad it is?

Probably not. The ones who are listening or watching the "apalling" behavior or words probably have other cliches to quote—"It’s not that bad"; "It’s not like it’s real." "It’s only television." These are the modern dualists, the anti-gnostics who believe that as long as it is in the mind, but not the body, then it is all right. The mind and the body are completely separated, and never let it be said that what enters one’s mind would ever find its way out into words or action.
Well, that is what Jesus said. That what was in one’s mind would eventually work its way out. Perhaps, he said, the evil will come out in only a small way—a mere look, a quiet insult. But it will come out in action. And that action will be evil—perhaps not as evil as the action seen on the screen, but still evil.

It is a moral spiral that begins with the evil that we see or hear about in the ER. We hear the interested deny the reality of the entertainment. Then we hear that some form of evil "isn’t all that bad." And next we hear the protest, "But I only did this."

Our actions are based on thoughts. Our minds can bear evil, as long as we recognize it as pure evil. Evil acts are described in the Bible, yet clearly described as evil. It is when evil is used as a point of interest or entertainment that moral decay begins. The thought comes in, "I’d like to do something like that" and it develops into a temptation. Not to do what was on the screen—of course not that. But perhaps a few steps away from it. Not killing, but getting even. Not an adulterous affair, but lusting. Not a street fight, but a good blow in the stomach… Jesus says it is not the size of the action that matters, but the action itself that indicates the evil desire. And indication of the evil desire is what destroys us. It is only worse if we can excuse the action in some way, for then we have no problem to do it again.

We need to remember that morality begins in the mind. And what we place in our mind is what determines our thoughts. Our thoughts, especially what lingers, is the basis of our actions. And our actions determine who we are. Are we good people, or evil people? If we our good, our thoughts will be good and so display good actions. If we are evil, our thoughts will be evil and so display evil actions. If we desire to be good, then, why practice evil thoughts? For we are what we think…

The Entertainment Revolution is cultural streamlining
There is much talk about diversity today. It is an important word—cultural and racial diversity is significant in our society today, and the ER wants to play its part in the current vogue in political correctness. Of course, ER was involved in a certain amount of diversity before it was politically correct—glimses of the 60’s Star Trek and the 70’s Mod Squad show us that. Since then, the ER has taught us about some cultural aspects of American Indians, Hispanics, Chinese, Japanese and much, much more. Also other kinds of diversity—the blind, deaf, developmentally disabled, homosexual, Hindu and Muslim have all gotten their spotlight in the ER.

If only the world were so narrow. Although the ER has purposed to expand in diversity, it has strict limitations. Unless there is a special station, English is still a limitation. CBS wouldn’t be caught dead with an entire show in Spanish, even if it could be shown them that the ratings would be decent. And what about Australian aboriginees? Or Bangladeshi peasants? Some speech has been given about the Kurds in Iraq—why not give them some prime time?
Of course, it isn’t practical, nor is it cost effective. It is a difficulty inherent in the system. Diversity is fine, as long as it is limited to a narrow degree. Broad diversity is impossible. Limited diversity is difficult, but managable. And the main rule in the ER is: only rock the boat if it can be shown to be popular.

"What then shall we do?"
The Entertainment Revolution (ER) has become all-pervasive over the last century. It is hard not to make a comment about some aspect of the ER—television, movies, radio, video games or computers— in the course of a normal conversation with a friend. Not that we try hard not to, at least its something to talk about. And really, with all of the difficulties stated above included, is it really so bad to watch a movie every once in a while? To have a favorite TV show? To have the radio on as background noise? Not in and of itself. But there are cautions:

Jesus warns us that a life of pleasure keeps us away from God’s kingdom
Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets. But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full. Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. Luke 6:22-25

The real question is—what should be consuming our lives? Before the entertainment revolution, people were offered a choice—should we choose work, or family or education or God or what? Now that choice is made for us before we are old enough to control ourselves—we will have entertainment. And that becomes the center of our existence. If we have work, we must have entertainment. If we have family, we must have entertainment. If we have God, we must have entertainment.

Jesus said, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?" Mark 8:34-36

But Jesus does not call us to follow him in a context of entertainment. Rather, he calls us to follow him in a context of self-denial, of taking up the cross. To follow Jesus, we will have to give up lifestyles of entertainment to have lifestyles of self-sacrifice. Jesus even says that the comforts and pleasures and concerns of the world will be something that would cause us to fall away from the truth of his teaching. These are the some who have heard the word, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity. Luke 8:14

But realize this, that in the last days …men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, …lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power—Avoid such men as these. II Timothy 3:1-2, 4-5 Have we become the very people the word of God has told us to avoid? Have we surrendered ourselves to pleasure, when we should have surrendered ourselves to God? Are we more interested in our entertainment than in our faith and devotion to God?

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all your provision will be added to you. (Matthew 6:33)

The reality of Jesus, the reality of the kingdom of God is to not be distracted by entertainment, but to have our whole focus be on God and on his kingdom. This does not mean that pleasures will not be included in the kingdom of God—they certainly will! God wants us to have joy and pleasure. But if the life in Christ is characterized by self denial and love of others and taking up the cross, it means that a life focused on the pleasures and comforts of entertainment will not allow one to enter the kingdom of God.

We need to Constantly evaluate our media and the content of what we are ingesting
If a stranger on the street handed you a hamburger, and said, "Here, eat this" would you do so without some careful evaluation? Probably not—after all, you need to determine if it should be put in your body. Even so, strangers are handing you things every day, every hour and asking you to intellectually ingest it. At least if you are going to accept it in your mind, evaluate it as you are doing so. Constantly ask yourself—"What am I doing? Is there something more worthwhile I should be doing? What am I ingesting? What is the moral content of what I am ingesting? Since God is participating with me, what is he telling me about this?" If you watch television with your family, make it a habit to make snide comments of disbelief or disgust when something unrealistic is said or shown (Yes, this will begin as an irritating habit, but it will result in an evening of fun group participation!).

Also you need to evaluate how your habits of ingesting the ER effect your life. How does it effect your relationships (if you don’t have any relationships, perhaps it is time to adjust your ER time)? How does it effect your activity level? How does it effect your energy? In what do you find pleasure? How easily are you bored? Ask yourself as many questions as you can about your participation in the ER. And be brutally honest with yourself—don’t allow yourself to deny the elephant in your living room (the giant screen there might be a clue).

Live your life, don’t let it be lived for you
The only way to find life is to live it. The ER does not provide life—it provides diversion. It is a detour away from the path of life, and while the occasional detour may not be bad, no one wants to live for a detour. But many may ask, "if I don’t focus on the ER, what will I do?" Believe it or not, life holds many options other than participating in the ER.

What to do if there is nothing else to do:
Volunteer at a soup kitchen
Go to a church service
Talk to folks in your neighborhood
Visit folks in a nursing home—talk to them, offer to read something
Read a non-fiction book
Make a craft and give it to someone
Ask someone to tell you a story
Clean up after someone else
Read the Bible
Play a game with friends or family
Take a walk
Pray
Call a friend on the phone
Write a letter
Make a list of what you are grateful about
Knit or sew

The secrets to living life—first of all, participate, be active. Don’t just sit, do something yourself. Secondly, be active with other people. People are exciting and stimulating. Just because they can be irritating, don’t discount them. Thirdly, be active with people in love. Do an act of service or kindness for another. Last, be active with people in love for God. Don’t do it just for yourself. Don’t even just do it for others. Do it for God’s sake, in God’s way. That way, you will gain greater rewards than any TV game show could offer.

The only real substitute
There is a real life to be lived. It is strange, but it is an adventure. You never know where you will go or what you will do. You will never get bored. Yes, sometimes it is uncomfortable, but it is constantly worthwhile and you know that you are significant if you do it. Perhaps it is a radical notion for you. It is obeying God through Jesus.

Complete and total devotion to God involves following Jesus and doing what he says. You will give away a number of your possessions to the poor, and you will talk to people about things you never thought you’d say.

If you listen to the Holy Spirit and do whatever he says, then you never know what you will come up against. Perhaps you will gain rest and peace one day, and perhaps you will be speaking to a large crowd of people who don’t speak English, telling them about Jesus. Sound strange? Well, all I’m trying to say is that anything can happen. You just don’t know. And that’s part of the excitement.

And then there is serving God. Doing the activities that God wants you to do, for the sake of other people, that is the real life. There is true adventure there—for nothing is more interesting and potentially irritating than dealing with people, especially if they know you are there to help them.

And the most provocative of all is being persecuted. People will reject you and hate your for the sake of Jesus. If you haven’t been rejected straight to your face, you haven’t lived! There is nothing that will make you feel more alive. Because the one who is fully devoted to obedience is never bored.

The Christian writers before the Renaissance knew this. They would tell magnificent stories of these people who were sold out for God—and these stories were the popular novels for a thousand years! St Francis was the Superman of the 13th century—there were many versions of him, and there was always a new story about him, but each was fresh and exciting because he was a fool for Christ, a madman for God—who knew what he would do next for Jesus? Perhaps he would talk to a wolf, perhaps he would pray for forty days and nights, perhaps he would strip off all of his clothes, perhaps he would sing a song in front of a bishop—who knew? But this was interesting, this was real entertainment.

And those who were tired of just reading about Francis and the rest of the saints could decide to become one of them. After all, the stories were super, but any mortal could do the acts of Francis and the saints—they were only human, except for the ones who were purely legendary. But it was possible. And then one could live a life of adventure themselves. They wouldn’t have to live it through someone else. They wouldn’t have to just watch someone live. They wouldn’t just have to hear about someone’s experiences. They would have experiences themselves. And perhaps they could be the next one to tell their story.