Tuesday, February 10, 2015

How Christians Should Respond to Social Debates

I've determined that every "social" debate in our current day comes down to the same bottom line.  We don't trust God enough, and because of that mistrust, we test Him in areas we shouldn't.  Just to name a few specific examples: 


Vaccines:


God created us, and we are wonderfully made.  Some argue that we should take vaccines willingly because our immune systems were made by Him and therefore can take them.  Well, that also means our immune systems were made to fight disease in the first place.  So we don't trust His creation to work as it should, but we trust that MAN will come up with the solution to fix what God did not create "very good" enough.  In essence, we are testing Him to protect us from something we don't have faith to believe He will protect us from in the first place!  We need to trust HIM when He said we are "very good"! 


Foods:

He created foods for us, in the form of animal meats, fruits and vegetables.  He created foods that are specific for our bodies to digest.  But instead, we eat foods that MAN makes and packages neatly for us.  Sure, it looks nice in the pantry, but it doesn't help our bodies to function at their created ability (see #1 above).  Let's eat what He made for us to eat, trusting that the Creator knows what is best for those whom He created. 




Breastmilk vs. Formula:

Babies are all born with the same created bodily functions as the rest of us.  They also have food created by God for them...it's called breastmilk.  It is the only food that their systems were created to digest.  Formula was created to be a supplement--it was NOT created to be the main source of nourishment for human babies.  The breast was the ONLY source of feeding babies, even if it required a "wet nurse" (before there were pumps and bottles).  Now, though, we rely on MAN to create a food for our babies, which (in my own personal experience) can cause more harm than good--such as eczema, respiratory issues, more frequent sickness (due to baby not getting the antibodies from breastmilk), and so forth.  Formula is not as good as breastmilk because of one BIG reason:  it was not the design of God, but the design of man. 




Politics:

We keep trying to find a politician who is "fit" to lead us.  Well, there isn't a MAN fit to lead all of God's people.  Israel once begged for a King and this is what the Lord said:  "This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots.  He will appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties, will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots.  He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers.  And he will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants.  He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants.  And he will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest young men, and your donkeys, and put them to his work.  He will take a tenth of your sheep.  And you will be his servants.   

"And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the Lord will not hear you in that day."

The people responded, "We WILL have a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight out battles."  So the Lord said to Samuel, "Heed their voice, and make them a king." (1 Samuel 8:11-22)

We keep voting and looking for a man to do in our lives what we should be looking for God to do:  to be our KING.  He is the One for whom we should vote.  He is the One for whom we should put signs up in our yard to show our allegiance.  He is the One whose "office" needs to be more respected than it currently is.




ALL of these issues, and others, come down to "we of little faith".  
Do we trust that He is with us, even in the storms of this life?

Do we trust the WAY of the Lord as much as Mary did when she said, "May it be to me as You have said." (Luke 1:38)  She was not just accepting a pregnancy and baby, but was accepting the death penalty--which was the custom at the time when a woman was found to have had sexual relations outside of marriage. 

What if the way of the world becomes one that takes our life or the life of our child?  Do we trust Him enough to know that this world is temporary?  Do we believe that story we've been hearing since we were kids in Sunday School class?  Do we believe there is a heaven, and that our faith gets us in?  Are we so sure of what God has promised us eternally that we are torn, as Paul was, between our life here on earth and our eternal life with our Lord?  Do we trust Him enough to long for heaven, no matter how we get there?

But while we are here, do we trust Him enough to choose what He says is best?  For everything from our foods, what we feed our babies, what we do with our time (such as being busy at home or busy making money), to staying married even when it's hard.....God has told us His way. 

Do we trust Him enough to take up our cross and follow Him in the way we should go? 


So how should believers respond to these debates?  We should not be conformed to this world, that's for sure.  And the way we do that is to:


"Trust in the LORD with all your heart 
And do not lean on your own understanding.  
In all your ways acknowledge Him, 
And He will make your paths straight."  
Proverbs 3:5-6

4 comments:

  1. Fabulous post!!! I agree 100%. Thank you for taking a strong stand on these volatile issues. They may not be a matter of eternal issues but they sure are issues of wisdom, in my opinion. Everything God created is good and we need to stick to His ways. Bless you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Melissa-I appreciate your comments but God also gave us intelligence and the ability to create things for our use. I would assume that you don't oppose other medical care besides vaccines. I respect your choice to not vaccinate but don't paint my choice to vaccinate as judging God's work as not "good enough". My choice to vaccinate is not a lack of faith nor would choosing to treat myself or my child for an illness indicate that I'm not fully trusting in God.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Brava! This was a bold post, and I salute you for writing it.

    ReplyDelete

Love hearing from you.