INTRODUCTION
When things go wrong we tend to want to find out why. What was the cause? In looking at our nation we must grapple with how we have come to a place where God-honoring laws have been replaced by God-defying laws. Instead of our civil magistrates calling for humbling ourselves and commending us to fast and pray, they call for celebrations of debauchery and pride. As Christians, we need to understand the rot in the middle, and faithfully address it in our own hearts and homes.
THE TEXT
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Romans 1:18-23
SUMMARY OF THE TEXT
In Paul’s introduction to his defense of the Gospel, he begins by asserting that God’s wrath is bearing down upon unrighteous men. The thing about truth is that you cannot be indifferent to it. There truth is right there in your hands, and you either treasure it or attempt to push it away. But where can you push it away where it won’t still haunt you? You can’t find a single place to hide from the blazing glory of the presence of the Living God (vv18-19). This is because the invisible God has revealed His nature through the creation of the world; the revelation includes two things: God’s power and His Godhead (v20). To put it another way, nature reveals His works and Himself. Creation reveals the power of its Creator.
This revelation of God unto man through creation leaves mankind with no hideout, no room for evasions or excuses (v20). They are without excuse because they knew God, and responded in two ways: they refused to glorify Him, and weren’t grateful to Him. Instead they opted to chase after impossibilities, and thus their dark hearts got darker (v21). This course led them to think themselves wise, yet in reality they became the poster-children of folly (v22). This was made evident by their worship of bird, beast, and sensual indulgence (vv23-24).
ENVY & DEBT
Our culture is saturated by a greasy rain of ingratitudes. Almost all of the government programs and spendings are founded upon the premise that we can rectify all varieties of inequities (both real or perceived) if we spend enough money on it. This has driven us to turn away from a sound understanding of wealth, to a system that is smoke and mirrors, wheels and widgets. Biblically speaking, wealth is the accumulation of the produce of diligent labor. Our fiscal policy operates on the principle that money printers go brrr. Largely, this is because we have built our current economy on debt instead of work.
Debt is not evil in all cases (Cf. Deu. 28:12). However, Scripture prohibits knowingly giving out loans to those who have no capacity to repay (Ex. 22:25). It warns that debt can lead to enslavement (Pro. 22:7). In fact, Jesus exhorts us to lend (Lk. 6:35), and there is an implication that any profit from such a loan should be gratefully passed along to the lender. But what it certainly does not commend whether private or publicly is a radical addiction to debt as the means of paying for everything. All debt is, in some sense, a fiddling with the future. Which of course can lead us away from faithful trust in God for our provision, and a faithless indulgence of all our current desires while punting the responsibility down the road.
Currently, our national debt is at $36 trillion, which equates to $104k per citizen. Much of this debt has resulted from spending on programs which are fueled by envy and ingratitude. One school outperforms another, and the government decides that rather than figuring out why this is the case, they opt to spend more on the underperforming school. More administrators and iPads will do the trick, right? This rot appears in how we fund our foreign policy, in LGBT ideology, climate change dogma, and in almost every program and department the government invents.
We don’t like our bodies, so we carve them up with government subsidies. We don’t like the mushy brains coming out of our schools, so we demand millions more in funding. We view the planet as a place to be survived instead of subdued, and so we insist on curtailing genuine wealth creation in order to stop climate disasters when it is wealth which has enabled us to actually better weather storms.
TIME AND DISCONTENT
All of this grows out of discontented hearts. And discontent is a spiritual problem. Behind all the madness is a simple fact: we have denied the God who made us and failed to submit to Him in gratitude. If the church would faithfully battle all the madness in the midst of this season of political opportunity it will flow from grateful hearts.
This leads back to an important principle which our older brothers, the New England Puritans, were exemplars of. Standing on the shoulders of Calvin’s emphasis on God’s sovereignty over all things and near presence by the Spirit of Christ, they sought to live so as to redeem the time. God has given you that breath, so turn a profit on it. God gift-wrapped that heartbeat, so invest it in things that are true, good, and beautiful. God providentially handed you that tick of the second hand, do not throw it away. The Calvinist work ethic can be summarized: be thrifty, and work hard.
This disposition is a wonderful cure for the anxiety, envy, discontent, and ingratitude that drives so much of the political and cultural madness. You are here for a moment. You get a few trips around the sun. Your lifespan is about 8 or 9 decades. So give thanks and get to work. That is why faithful worship of the Living God is a battering ram against the gates of hell. Ingratitude leads to the vapor dreams of idolatry. It leads to chasing after sexual satisfaction where it can never be found. It leads to worshipping beasts, and becoming like the beasts. Whereas true service to God, expressed in grateful praise, leads to prosperity both in this life and the next.
A CULTURE WAR
So, the duty of the church remains unchanged. We are engaged in an all out culture war. Here is the fountainhead of culture: worship God. Prepare yourself each week to meet with the Living God here. From here, worship God in your home and workplace. Our nation has grown poor both fiscally and spiritually because of slack hands: He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich (Pro 10:4). Don’t let in fretting about evildoers. Don’t give way to the perversions of our culture. Don’t grow apathetic. Here is the Word of Christ. Here is Bread. Here is Wine. Receive these potent graces by faith, and then go bake and build. Teach and be taught. Plow and laugh. Give and receive gifts. You live in the Light of the Living God, so do not fear the darkness.