Fallen Values

It is sad when someone dies. And when someone famous dies the world usually gives an elongated eulogy that enumerates that person’s accomplishments. As in the case of Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, the networks spent much time recounting his impact upon western culture. He was a pioneer in the electronics field and many of his inventions are widely used by people today. He was rewarded handsomely for these innovations.

Lk.12:16And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:
17And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?
18And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.
19And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.
20But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?
21So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

As we can glean from this parable, God always sees and evaluates things differently than does fallen man. The rich man was obviously a capitalist, and it seems a successful business man as well. He had done so well that his problem was a storage place for his profits. He purposed to build bigger barns to house his product. By any western standard he was an industrious man who was successful.

There was no hint of impropriety on his part, and it does not seem that he inherited all his wealth. The obvious implication is that this man was wise and industrious and had accumulated wealth by the sweat of his brow and the business sense he had shown. In today’s culture he would have much political clout, and would be able to attend the $1000.00 a plate fundraisers. And at such events he would be able to leverage that politician to pass legislation that would allow him to build those bigger barns in a zone restricted area. He also would ask that politician to ease his tax rate so he could hire more workers.

But again, God does not see it that way. That rich man had trusted in his wealth and even boasted of it. And just like those who scream for capitalism and prosperity, this man neglected the eternal aspect of his life. He assessed the value of his life through the prism of things. But God required his soul, and that is the eternal implication of this parable. The church today loves prosperity and wealth and success. Even those churches who castigate the prosperity message still accumulate wealth and have large retirement accounts designed to provide trips and cruises in their later years.

But we have deftly created an ecclesiastical scenario wherein we can accumulate treasures upon this earth while maintaining that we are surrendered to God and believe in the eternal afterlife. And while fallen man praises men like Steve Jobs, do you believe at this very moment he would not grasp at a chance to return and do things differently? But the church cannot express moral and spiritual outrage at such hedonism if we ourselves practice it on a more “reasonable” level.

But what is at the heart of our problem? Unbelief, pure and simple. If we fully believed in eternity like we believe in loving our dogs then our lives would be revolutionized. Who forgets to feed their pets? And if a day goes by that we do forget, how bad do we feel? But who forgets to walk in eternity every day? And if we forget about eternity, or of we forget to pray, or if we forget to worship Christ, how bad do we feel? The truth is that we believe Scriptural truths as Scriptural truths, but we do not believe them in the tangible reality that would transform our mundane lives into blazing infernos for Jesus Christ. We somehow have managed to believe truth in the doctrinal abstract, but have refused to let that truth capture our lives and mandate our behavior.

What does it mean to “hunger and thirst for righteousness sake”? What does it mean to “seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness”? You see, so often the thing that differentiates us from the unbelievers are some things we say, infrequently at that. What separates us from men like Steve Jobs? He worked very hard for money and so do we. He focused on an earthly career and so do we. He saved up money and so do we. He desired earthly recognition for his labor and so do we. In fact, Steve Jobs dedication to his passion shames most believers when compared to their dedication to their so called passion.

The church has blurred God’s values and now lives with an earthly construct that is far from reflecting a passionate desire to live and follow the Lord Jesus. We now compare ourselves with ourselves and in so doing we are not wise. Nestled into a convenient and comfortable religious community, we reside unremarkably beside the darkness with a saltless patriotism and with a dry eyed view of lost sinners that is only outraged by who gets elected. If I actually thought that was the will of God I would walk away from the faith today.

But we cannot just point at someone like Jobs, or Hefner, or Trump, or any unbeliever and take solace that we are not like them. When a sinner dies without Christ, we must incline our ears to God’s Spirit and allow Him to correct us, His people. The world has indeed contorted God’s values, but so have we. We must return to our first love, the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the spirit of brokenness and repentance we must surrender fully and avail ourselves of all that the Spirit desires.

The most valuable thing we have is the knowledge of the Lord Christ, and the most valuable way to reflect Him is to serve Him with an unrestrained fervor and an abandonment that refuses to be compromised by earthly influences. And that, my friends, is an endeavor of a lifetime measured by moments.