Proverbs 8:13 (KJV)
The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way,
and the forward mouth, do I hate.
Perhaps
it was because I hadn’t been married very long at the time, and the world was
my oyster! Perhaps it was because I was the lone Caucasian person in a
university classroom of 250+ people. Maybe the root was stemming from the
largest riot of my time, but certain elements from the Rodney King case
embedded into my memory and my sub-conscious permanently. The jury’s verdict of
“not guilty” sparked over one billion dollars in damage. Eventually, 12,000
people were arrested. As best I recall, over 60 people were killed as a direct
result of rioting.
But
what came back to my forefront in light of the Baltimore, Maryland riots this
week, was Pastor MacArthur of Grace Church, who was spokesperson and pastor back
in 1992.
As
adults we didn’t have the Internet. There were no laptops. A smart-phone was
considered push button instead of rotary. There wasn’t Google ® or 24 hour access to news
media. It was primarily the newspapers and network television that we used to
gain information.
I
vividly recall a female reporter reading the following quote from Pastor
MacArthur. (It took me quite a while to find this message online, but I did
find it!) “The problem in our city is not lack of
opportunity or lack of education. The problem in our city is not too much possessions,
materialism. Those are only symptoms of a problem! The problem in our city is
the problem of the wretchedness of human heart. And nobody escapes it.”
Wow!
Profound! I remember the reporter’s shaky voice. She quickly dapped away tears
as fires blazed through broken windows; cars sat empty and broken like cast
away carcasses on the Serengeti of the city. Gray smoke slowly crawled skyward
in the horizon, leaving smut and rubble among crowded sidewalks. It was, in
essence, scattered ruins, the remains of humanity.
“It knows no race. It knows no color. It knows no location. It is
pervasive. Sin is the degenerative and damning power in the human stream that
pollutes every man and every woman and every part of life.”
What
could I possibly say that would better capture where America is at this time? (Remember,
these words were spoken back in 1992) Where Baltimore stands? Pastor MacArthur went on to say, “We live in a city with
churches on every street corner. But most of them don’t make any difference, any
impact in their community at all.”
Oh
the sting! Those words hurt! But, maybe he’s right! I hope you begin to search
your heart. Your home. Your faith in a sovereign God. Do we really make such an
insignificant impact on the world around each of us?
As
I stated in yesterday’s blog, “It starts at home!” But MacArthur said it
better. He alleged of the problem, “It doesn’t come
from the outside in, it comes from the inside out!”
So,
I leave you with some very simple “Best Practices.” (A term I learned about 15
years ago through an employer).
1) Hold yourself AND your family accountable! You
don’t have to be mean spirited about it. But in loving-kindness’…do what’s
right!
2) Using a
buffer is still good! Just because you think it, doesn’t mean you say it! Don’t
be rude. Utilize some sensitivity. And by ALL means, don’t let someone else’s
bitterness carry over to you!
3) Literally BE the example of humility. Of
faithfulness. Of strong ethics. Of God-pleasing actions.
4) Pray without ceasing! (I
Thess 5:17)
5) If God
Himself can love the unlovable, forgive the unforgiveable, pardon the
unpardonable, and set free those in bondage, then surely WE can also
demonstrate compassion!
Wouldn’t it be
terrible to live in a land without laws and without authority figures? We’ve
seen a taste of what would happen just this week – sinful man would turn upon
itself!
The ONLY hope for
society in my opinion is the hope of Christ Jesus. He gave us equality, mercy,
freedom, and uniformity at the Cross of Calvary.
My heart strives to
get back to the basics! “Faith, Family, Forever” as my church
proclaims it. Let’s put down the iPhones, the iPod’s, the pornography, the
filthy language, the addictions, the selfishness, the competitiveness, and our
critical natures. Let’s TURN TO GOD! Less of SELF = More of Him!
In the meantime,
thanks for reading, and let’s do…
Look UP my
friends!
