Could Your Convictions Convict You?

This is my 700^th post since starting this blog late in 2008. I remember writing several in advance back then, in case I ran out of ideas. Didn’t want to be a one-week blogging wonder.

To commemorate this “milestone” (hopefully you don’t see it as more of a millstone!), I debated what to write about. For whatever reason, the subject of “convictions” came to mind. Our local newspaper is unusual in that it features two facing op-ed pages – the one on the left appropriately taking a liberal slant, the one on the right holding to conservative views. It’s amazing how they can discuss identical topics and espouse totally opposite convictions.

But having convictions isn’t strongly encouraged anymore. In deference to “tolerance,” people with strong convictions are often shouted down or ridiculed as narrow-minded, bigoted or worse. So I have two questions: What convictions do you strongly embrace? And based on what you say and how you act, would there be enough evidence to convict you for having those convictions?

I write from the conviction that the Bible isn’t an antiquated, irrelevant book with no meaning for 21^st century life. To the contrary, I’m convinced that just as the owner’s manual shows how a car should be operated and maintained, the Scriptures comprise God “Owner’s manual,” designed to tell us how to live and act.

Years ago someone became the first to proclaim, “There are no absolutes!” Which is ironic, since that statement sounds absolute. And if that’s true, couldn’t something else be equally “absolute”? These days there’s a strong trend away from matters of conviction, absolute beliefs. Instead, we’re told, “live and let live,” and “to thine own self be true.”

Churches and even denominations have acquiesced, abandoning the Bible as unquestioned foundation for what they believe and teach. In many quarters, ministerial leaders utter more palatable messages in their quest for a larger “market,” or to enhance their “brand.” Instead of the Ten Commandments, “Thou shalt not offend” has become the edict of choice.

But the Scriptures present many examples of unwavering, uncompromising conviction. It starts in the very first verse of the Bible’s first book, announcing, “In the beginning God….” Then it tells how He created all we see and know.

When Moses encountered God in the burning bush and was instructed to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, he asked who he should say sent him. The Lord responded, “I AM who I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you’” (Exodus 3:14). He didn’t say, “I was,” or “I might be.” He said, “I AM,” declaring His omnipresence and timelessness.

Jesus announced, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6), He spoke with conviction – and unwavering certainty. He addressed His followers with authority, as if to say, “To know God and have an eternal relationship with Him, there aren’t multiple options.”

We see a similar level of conviction among those who carried on His work. The apostle Paul, whose persecution parade ended when he literally “saw the light” en route to Damascus, later said, “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).

Paul also explained his motivation: “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died (to our old life)” (2 Corinthians 5:14). His conviction was to tell everyone about what Christ had done for them – and the importance of receiving His gift of forgiveness and salvation.

Today we seem like the ancient Israelites, described in Judges 21:25. It says, “in those days there was no king is Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Having dispensed with the Judeo-Christian consensus that helped to shape American society, now it seems everyone’s intent on doing what’s right in their own eyes.

But this doesn’t negate the Bible’s claim about itself: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

If this isn’t true, we have every reason for doing whatever’s right in our own eyes. But if the Bible is indeed God’s Owner’s manual – entrusted to us for teaching, training and guidance – then we should study to understand what it says, not just for religious or spiritual gatherings, but also for any and every setting in which we find ourselves: Work, play, family, community, even the world.

Because as Colossians 3:17 admonishes, “whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus….” It becomes a matter of conviction.

The Day Everything Changed

The day many of us will never forget.

With this post appearing on September 11, it seems right to use it to reflect on that day 13 years ago when it seemed everything changed.

For most of us the morning began quietly enough, but before long we began having one of those “you’re not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy” moments. We started hearing about a commercial jet slamming into one of the World Trade Center towers. “How does that happen?” we all wondered. When the second jet rammed the other tower, we knew.

As the day unfolded we learned more and more about the causes and effects of those horrendous, unimaginable acts of terrorism, not only in Manhattan but also at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. and in a lonely Pennsylvania field. It became one of those “where were you when…” events, like the assassination of JFK, the passing of Elvis, and the Challenger explosion. It’s interesting how tragic, unexpected deaths create for us mental and emotional markers.

That, of course, was in 2001. We’re now in 2014, and the world we knew then has changed dramatically, irrevocably. From long security lines at airports to the unending wars in the Middle East, from memorials that remain for the thousands who died on that day to the unfortunate profiling of Muslims because of a small minority of deranged terrorists, life is very different today.

It would be nice to conclude we’ve learned some things from that day. Well, we have, but many of those things haven’t been good. Terrorism remains an ever-present threat. Hatred across ethnic, ideological and racial lines persists, perhaps stronger than ever. So far the answer to the question, “Can’t we all just get along?” seems a resounding, “No!”

Some people far more optimistic and idealistic than me continue to espouse the belief humanity is “evolving,” and eventually we’ll become more loving, more accepting, kinder, and more (and I hate this word) “tolerant.” But where’s the proof? Show me the evidence.

More than ever, our nation – and the world – seem encamped at starkly divergent, irreconcilable ideological poles. At this rate, the word “compromise” will probably soon be eradicated from dictionaries due to lack of use. The polarizing influence of news reporting and the dart-throwing of opinions on social media only feed this growing malaise.

Violence in many forms hasn’t abated. If anything it’s escalated, and contrary to what some believe, I don’t think the solution is simply more stringent gun laws. When people are hell-bent on mayhem, if they want guns they’ll find them. And if they can’t get guns, killers will use knives, explosives, hammers, sewing needles, or their bare hands if they need to do so. Didn’t the terrorists at the Boston Marathon use pressure cookers?

Years ago we often heard the declaration, “There are no absolutes!” Many seem to have bought into this philosophy, and now we’re reaping what we’ve sown. In the Old Testament, Judges 21:25 states, “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.” Regardless of your view of President Obama, it seems everyone these days is intent on doing as they see fit – what is right in their own eyes.

So where are we, 13 years after the grim, unspeakable events of 9-11? What have we learned – for the better? If we’re determined to insist on “my truth,” as if we find Truth served on a buffet table so we can select whatever appeals to us at the moment, it seems foolish for us to expect any positive change. As someone has said, “If you stand for nothing, you’ll fall for anything.”

Does that suggest we should despair? Not at all. Despite the events of 9-11, and everything since then, we have the assurance God hasn’t changed one iota. As the Scriptures assure us, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8).

I’m confident God is busily at work, even though He might not be doing things in the way we think they should be done. But that’s why He is God – and we’re not. He doesn’t need our advice. The depth of His love, grace and mercy defy our comprehension.

So as I observe the continuing, escalating turmoil around us, there’s not much in what we see to inspire hope. But then I’m reminded, “we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7).

It also helps to reflect on days when thoughts of God were alien to our minds, and then “remember at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near” (Ephesians 2:12).

So again on September 11 we pause and think about the past. But those that are followers of Jesus Christ can also look ahead, filled with hope and anticipation for the future. Our U.S. currency, to the chagrin of some, still proclaims, “In God We Trust.” Today’s a good day for doing just that.