Tag Archives: society

That They May See

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2 Kings 5-7

O Lord, open the eyes of these men that they may see. (2 Kings 6:20)

Are you praying this prayer every day? Our society has been blinded by the darkness of sin. But do we understand that our “society” is made up of individuals: men and women, boys and girls, people of all ages with eternal souls?

O Lord, open the eyes of the bearded man pretending to be a woman, the child being mutilated in the name of choice, the doctor, the parents, the angry teenager and self-absorbed thirty-something. Open the eyes of legislators, teachers, pastors, and professors. Open the eyes of the people in my family and neighborhood.

Elisha didn’t pray for the army. He prayed for the people who made up the army. I think Satan doesn’t want us to pray for the hearts of individuals. We are more removed from the issue if we pray for society, or the Church, or government, or education.

But do you pray for child’s teacher by name? The mayor of your town? Your state’s governor, Senators, Representatives by name? Do you pray that God will open the eyes of Joe Biden?

I’m not saying we shouldn’t pray for the Church or society or the world. But let’s not stop there. Let’s make it personal and, like Elijah pray for the individuals who make up those groups, too.

O Lord, open the eyes of these men and woman that they may see.

(Psalm 36) Who’s To Blame?

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I doubt if anyone (believers and non-believers alike) can look at this world and think things are going well. I doubt the first thing that comes to anyone’s mind when describing society is “love, peace, or perfection.” Why is that?

Most Christians would say Satan is to blame. Or they would point a finger at atheists, Muslims, and the like. But I wonder.

Warren Wiersbe said something in his commentary on Psalm 36 that has me thinking. He writes: “If there were more salt and light in this world, there would be less decay and darkness in society.” (Be Worshipful; David Cook Publisher; 2009; p. 134)

Read that again. Think about it for a minute.

David said this about the wicked in Psalm 36:

Dread of God has no effect on him. For with his flattering opinion of himself, he does not discover and hate his iniquity. (vv 1b-2)

Are non-believers the only ones flattering themselves and not dreading the judgment of God for sin? Are only non-believers accepting sin instead of recognizing it and repenting of it? I’m pretty sure Christians are having difficulty discovering our own sins, too.

Even in Christian circles, we would rather talk about the love of God than address sin. We would rather talk about God as our friend, instead of a fierce and frightening Holy Judge. The result is watered down salt and dimmed light, and darkness in the world.

Yes, I believe the fault of our decaying society falls on God’s people, the Church, we Christians, and NOT on non-believers. Non-Christians will act like non-Christians. We can’t expect them not to.

The truth is you can’t legislate good behavior, no matter how much big-government proponents want us to believe they can. You can’t write enough laws, throw enough money at programs, change history or demand equality enough to solve the world’s dilemma.

Only God can do that. And He has chosen to work through Christians to accomplish His will. Because if we are obedient, if we are holy and set apart, fleeing sin, and surrendered to God, God would do what He longs to do, what Jesus came to do…

save the world!

So to answer the question in the title of this post, “Who’s To Blame?,” the answer is, Christian, you and I.