Craig Ferguson Has Figured It Out

Craig Ferguson has figured out why everything sucks. It has to do with the shift from respect for elders to deification of youth. This clip is from his show on July 21. He's funny but he actually makes a lot of sense. OMG! Comedy that makes you think? On CBS??!!!

Change - But How?

I recently received a link to a video in which a "Reverend" spouted off about how evil President Obama is, and saying that "white folks are going to rise up" the way black folks did in reaction to the Rodney King incident - and this was from a black minister. Moreover, this man practically foamed at the mouth with his hatred for Obama, repeatedly calling him a "long-legged Mac-daddy" (whatever that means) and worse. No matter what you may think of the president's politics and policies, we are told to honor and pray for our governmental leaders, not spout off such strife-gendering rhetoric.

That doesn't mean we just sit back and "do nothing" as pacifists and apoliticals are accused of. There is a very real and powerful stance we are supposed to take, and it's more powerful than any riot, rally or demonstration. The following article by Pastor Chuck Jones is from the June 2009 issue of Focus on the Kingdom. See if you don't agree with the Biblical view presented.

Change — but How?
By Pastor Chuck Jones

I believe that the only weapon we have is the Word of God. There is power there. The word is the Gospel. But it's not meant to beat people into submission. I advocate what Paul said in Romans 14:4-5: "Who are you who judge the servant of another? To his own lord he stands or falls. Yes, he will be made to stand, for God has power to make him stand. One man esteems one day above another. Another esteems every day alike. Let each man be fully assured in his own mind." We are all answerable in the end to Jesus as head of the Church. Yet unity is something to be sought and treasured.

So with that said, here's my point of view. Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world; if it were, my subjects would fight." Fighting as the world fights, boycotts, petitions, lobbying and so on, isn't in Jesus' arsenal of weapons. Nor Christians killing Christians in war. If we learn to fight with the world's tactics, then who are we learning from (or disciples of)? That's one of the dangers I see.

It's been said by some, "The early church, rather than being on the outside, did all they could to get into it, effect change and improve the system." This brings up some questions. One is this: when the Apostle James was killed by Herod, where do we read about "improving the system"? Were there protests or riots? God's justice was that "Herod was eaten by worms." Acts 12 gives a good example of prayer rather than protest. Protest would not have been tolerated at all, but prayer can't be stopped. Indeed the disciples were driven out of Jerusalem because of persecution. Peter wrote about how to handle this in his first epistle. He didn't talk about getting involved with the government. Can your child not pray silently in school?

I hold the view that the weapons we are to use are not according to the world's way. That is to say we don't need to pick up this world's weapons in order to bring about change. "For though we walk in the flesh, we don't wage war according to the flesh; for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the throwing down of strongholds, throwing down imaginations and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor. 10:3-5). I don't think that political action is preaching the Gospel. Did Jesus overthrow Rome or try to?

I will admit that I could be wrong, but I'm convinced of this: This nation isn't the Kingdom of God. Preaching the Gospel is our only tool to make any change, and it is one person (of 6 billion) at a time. This is the only way people are brought to repentance and born again to a living hope (Mark 1:14-15).

I am gaining an aversion to "pressuring people" to do anything I think they should. Part of it is in the first paragraph; another point is in 1 Corinthians 6:10. I'll only highlight one group, the extortioners. These are those who use undue force or legal power or ingenuity to force people to do what they don't want to. Those who practice extortion will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

There was an incident in Grand Rapids, Michigan a couple of decades ago concerning an adult XXX theater. Some believers decided to picket the place with the desire to shut it down. I learned something from the owner. In an interview he said he was glad for the publicity. If he had no customers he couldn't stay open.

The lesson is: it's the individual heart that needs to be changed. That change turns this man's customers into non-customers, and he's out of business. This is what Paul the Apostle ran into in Acts 16. I do not read about protests, letters, lobbying or any pressure put on the government to "change." But I do read about deliverance through Yahweh's intervention. I would also assert that in Acts 17 Paul again ran into trouble because he was preaching the Gospel against man's idea of what is right. It is silly to conclude that the Gospel won't have any effect but man's methods will!