C.S. Lewis, in his Screwtape Letters, writes from the viewpoint of a devil teaching how to trap humans into a lifestyle of sin. Speaking of the ‘Enemy’, or our God, one devil writes this:
“The Enemy loves platitudes. Of a proposed course of action He wants men, so far as I can see, to ask very simple questions: Is it righteous? Is it prudent? Is it possible? Now, if we can keep men asking: Is it in accordance with the general movement of our time? Is it progressive or reactionary? Is this the way that History is going? They will neglect the relevant questions.”
Too often I get swept away with how I can approach the general Christian ‘movement’ with a new mindset. I challenge ideas all of the time and sometimes I only toss these things in my head so it will directly relate to our culture and to my needs, selfishly assuming what I need appeals to everyone. Lewis brings up a brilliant point that reminded me of the real questions I should be asking which depend on God for understanding through prayer and reflection.
I happen to be a super analytical person---I do consider it my weakness when it comes to spirituality. I judge my environment obsessively that occasionally I can’t even enjoy the simply encouragements like a sincere worship service. I want my version of Church, and Christianity for that matter, to be continually evolving. Maybe I am missing the point when I wrestle like this, because I forget that God is in fact everlasting and spiritual history as a way of making a point. Rich discernment focused on God’s will appears to be the way to discover how we should evolve, not how the media is reacting to our Time.
Jesus Christ was the ultimate radical who changed the Jewish way of thinking forever. But he didn’t just shatter the law, the old way of doing things; he built on them, keeping the foundation that God placed for his grand plan. Jesus never broke Jewish law given by God (as our pastor pointed out today, for example, the rules for the Sabbath were created by man). His respect for the law, while preaching new concepts (not commandments) gives us an illustration of how to handle change. Accordingly, I long to mirror my thoughts like Christ when it comes to the ‘post-modern’ church or whatever they are calling it these days. In Mexico I saw real love’s timeless power and it makes our arguments over spiritual preferences look ridiculous.
May the American version of church revolve around the solid vision of Christ and not how our wobbly society develops.
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