What has been done in the “cause” of religion? Today, as we mark the 10 year anniversary of 9/11 we remember the aftermath of what extremists did to our country. In the cause of their religion they not only tried and convicted, they passed judgment by condemning America for our “sins.” But who were they to pass judgment on us?!
Ten years later, I recall standing in horror as I watched that plane crash into the building and then the collapse of the two towers. And while much of the focus lies there, I know about where Shanksville is and can relate to an area not far from where I grew up, so I continued to comprehend the horror of the planes crashing there and also into the Pentagon. My mind raced trying to understand the evilness that planned that attack on innocent people by a group who didn’t know us, but decided they didn’t like us and that we needed to be taught a lesson. I never grasped the depravity of evilness until that day!
So what, if anything, have we learned in ten years? Have we grown closer to our God, or have we let the extremists have their way by making us abandon our ideals? I believe this to be their goal. See, I feel that many think that this was all just about our American lifestyle they purported to see – greed and decadence and while some of this is certainly true what was at stake was our freedom AND our belief in God. Their evil wanted to displace our faith. Did they win?
Yesterday at church the sermon Derwin Gray preached was all about addictions. The sermon opened with “An addict never suffers alone.” Addictions have everything to do with idolatry, which is placing something, anything above God. Most people think it is a drug or alcohol thing, ok, add pornography and everyone thinks it is all wrapped up in a neat little package pertaining to someone else. Well Pastor Derwin went on to say, what about those addicted to prescription drugs, or shopping or work? Might those addictions seem a bit closer to home to some of us? He continued to comment that “Guilt makes us feel guilty, so we therefore go back to the source of the guilt to try to make the pain stop.” Where does our pain come from? And here is where he said something that stopped me in my tracks…..our pain comes from our lack of faith in a God to provide what it is that is necessary. I don’t remember the exact quote to use, but what struck me about this was when he said something to the effect that the rigidity of the rules that some think religion is about is what has cast us as a society to turn from God and look to ourselves as the answer to the wrongs perceived out in the world. The two operative words in this last sentence are rigidity and rules. Weren’t they the two things that the extremists deemed themselves to be better than us in?
Since 9/11 have we grown closer to God? I don’t think so, but I don’t corner the market on your thoughts, I only share mine. Why don’t I think so? Daily I hear in the name of political correctness that we are afraid to stand up for God. We as a nation have gone soft in keeping God in our schools, in our courtrooms, and even to the point we are trying to change our currency to eliminate Him from the saying on the back of the dollar. That our government officials would say to anyone that they are not invited to the ceremony of the 9/11 memorial because of concern of a particular religious group shows me how fearful we are of incurring the wrath of people rather than trusting that God can somehow turn the evil that occurred that day into something suitable for His glory. Some might look at my last statement and shake their head at my naiveté, thinking how can I say that. God didn’t make that evil happen any more than He makes any of us decide to go down the wrong path to addictions. He doesn’t stop evil from happening, because He gave us free will. He knows the outcome of our choices and waits for us to turn to Him to say “I’ve had enough, I need help.” Then and only then, does the benevolence of God reach through our muck and we start to find beauty from our pain. And if you think I’m a cracked pot, then let me assure you I am the clay jar willing to allow the light of God to seep through me showing my imperfections that allow me to be led to Him.
Another illustration by Pastor Derwin that struck me was when he mentioned how we as parents expect our kids to be perfect. When those report cards come home and we are disappointed in our child’s grades – even when they got 4 As and 1 B. We focus on the B…..why not the 4 As? And should the grades be lower we stand back and parent from a distance, meaning that rather than being involved in their lives, we are working harder so that we can supply our addictions to stuff (bigger houses, luxury cars, designer labels, gourmet dining, umpteen shoes, oh and those other addictions I already mentioned)! If we parent that way why is it any wonder that we deem God as a distant entity? Why are we surprised when our children don’t turn to us, but instead to one another or to addictive behaviors? It is because we aren’t there for them, we’re too busy! We, as people, yearn for relationships. God made us that way, but when He created us that way, the first relationship He hoped we’d have a desire for was with Him. Not everyone finds this true, and in fact, I had to go through some hard times of my own to finally see that light! But I was fortunate to have been born into a family where there was close interaction between parent and child; however I never understood the difference between the rules/rigidity of religion until I started having a relationship with Christ. Unfortunately, the rules/rigidity of religion have turned so many people away from God and they have absolutely nothing to do with Him. The Pharisees and Sadducees were perfect in their ability to make up rules for the people to follow…..as long as they didn’t have to necessarily pertain to them. Wait, that sounds like a familiar theme to today! In their pursuit of their fame, they didn’t even recognize that the promised Messiah had come and in fact they had condemned Him to a torturous death – all in the name of the rigidity and rules that they called religion.
On the tenth anniversary of 9/11 it would be my hope that we in the time we take to pause to remember and reflect that we allow our hearts to be changed like they were that day. In the midst of that evil, I remember feeling that as a country our hearts had been softened and as we worked together to rebuild, we did so with God along side of us. Has your heart hardened back up again? Are you a follower of rigidity and rules? Don’t be fooled into believing that they are for our safe keeping, they are not. They are put in place for the sole (not soul) benefit of the kingdoms those in charge want to maintain. Place your trust in Christ and instead of living for momentary pleasures, live a life of eternal hope that can only happen by following the path of Christ.
My heart goes out to each and every family affected by the events of 9/11. I pray for a peace of mind and the assurance that those who lost their lives that day are now living a life in the presence of the One who only wants joy for us all! God Bless the USA!
Looking up!~
Barb
No comments:
Post a Comment