When I was a youngster I grew up in a very different New Zealand. I know I have mentioned before that it was a place virtually without crime where people left the keys in the car and the door of the home open when they went out. The wallet on the front seat of the car and the windows open on the main street of town.
A time where people loved to talk to people not mull over cell phones in personal contemplation. When children got together and a whole street would go to the park, or a vacant lot, to play together. Every child walked or biked to school. A neighbour would call in and if you weren’t at home would leave a little offering of garden produce on the kitchen table. Mum or Dad would know who it was from the composition of the gift and would give them a call to thank them and apologise for missing their call.
You know most of these people were not overtly Christian. If you spoke of religion to them they would probably have said that they had their own beliefs or felt you should keep you religious views to yourself. They would most likely have gone to Church occasionally or kept the major festivals like Easter and Christmas. Yet they had strong Christian morals and values and it made a huge difference to society at that time.
They were godly people and these were lovely times. Every adult was an uncle or aunt and would step in and discipline a child if necessary. Mum or Dad would have a quite chat with any youngster and offer sage advice where required. Everyone cared for everyone else.
As a rule they lived by the last six commandments encompassed by “Love your neighbour as you love yourself.” However most would have had no problem with the first four commandments under the great commandment “Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, all of your soul, with all of you mind and all of your strength” By this I mean many of these dear folk believed in God even if they didn’t attend a church regularly.
Today we live in a secular world where moral compromise is often mistaken for love and tolerance. Just because a person seeks to get close to an erupting volcano to understand more about volcanism doesn’t mean that we should allow them to do so. No matter how upsetting they find it if we deny them the opportunity to get close to the volcano it is our moral responsibility to protect them. We are being loving and tolerant by implementing restraint in not consenting to allow them to enter a dangerous situation no matter how emotionally damaged they may feel they are by that decision. So it is in regard to LGBTQ rights or euthanasia or, for that matter abortion. The moral responsibility out weighs emotional consequences to the person involved.
So it was that when we had a Christian moral majority we had laws in society that prevented immoral practices. Today however, that majority has been eroded and many Christians have surrendered their devotion to the Word of God and the moral precepts found therein. Secular values have supplanted Christian values throughout society. We live in a time of shadow and where as described in the book of Matthew there is a Great Turning Away. But do not despair there will be a time of testing but Jesus Christ is coming soon.
Take heart for as the apostle John said “God is love.” As I shared with you earlier in this piece I grew up with folk who held sound morals and values and behaved in a Godly manner. They believed in giving good advice to the young and living good lives by example. They weren’t particularly judgemental and possibly weren’t overly religious but lived a form of practical Christianity that I believe is a good model for those who are lost in this era. My advice is to follow that model. To seek to share Christ Jesus with those who will listen. Without being excessively overzealous or filled with judgement and condemnation. Rather being loving and helpful, giving wise counsel from God’s word and in the power of the Holy Spirit. To be gentle and compassionate, a light yoke and breath of fresh air. Behaving as the Savior Himself.
I heard recently that in China that Christians standout as being much more hard working and honest and trustworthy as well as having relationships that last and children who get into less trouble with the authorities. Apparently the state knows this all to well but are unwilling to acknowledge it because it would make Communism seem somehow less effective. It would also give credit to Christianity which is something no atheist would do.
My final point is that as Christians in New Zealand we want to standout for the right reasons. Complaining about secularism and atheism has its place but a far more efficient way of garnering attention to the value of Christianity is to let Christ Jesus shine in our daily lives. Be as the Chinese Christians are and stick to hard working, honest and trustworthy Christian values based in love, joy and peace combined with compassion and understanding that underpinned our parents lives and were staples of that generation.
Food for thought?
No comments:
Post a Comment