Monday, November 3, 2008

The light of a lamp will not shine in you anymore, the voice of a bridegroom and a bride will not be heard in you anymore, because your merchants were the great men of the earth, because with your sorcery all nations were decieved. In Her Was Found The Blood Of Prophets And Saints And Of All Who Were Slaughtered Upon The Earth. Rev. 18:23, 24..

The injustices of Babylon are many(Rev. 18:1-7) and her doom, therefore, is sure. But an even greater tragedy lurks in all of this. Those who identify with babylon in any way preish with her(verse 4). Many, like the kings, merchants, and sailors of this chapter, are not committed to Babylon's agenda in their hearts. They cooperate with her simply because they hope to better their own short lives on this earth(verses 9-19).

The choice is foolish but understandable. We simply want what is best for ourselves and our families. Yet the consequences of even casual praticipation in "Babylon" are catastrophic. Is it enough to live queit and simple live? Or do we need to "come out of Babylon" in more significant ways?

At its height the West Indies slave trade employed 5,500 sailors and 160 ships. It was a massive and socially accepted practice. But William Willberforce and his allies, acting out of Christian conviction, fought in the British Parliament until slavery was abolished throughout the British Empire. In America the voices of abolitionists gave legitimacy to efforts to free the slaves in the South.

While our ability to transform our nation's behavoir is often limited, that is not true of our capacity to change our own behavior. Jesus told His disciples not to value possessions. As Christians we should be ever ready to give them up (Luke 14:33). James tells us that failure to care for fellow Chrisitians in need may indicate a lack of saving faith (James 2:14-17). Paul's central mission was preaching the gospel, but he did not forget the needs of the poor (2Cor. 8"13-15; Gal. 2:10).

Sometimes our hearts are hard until we have firsthand exposure to human need. Tony Liston, a young pastor from Oklahoma, spent two days in a private hospital room in the Philippines at a cost of $47. As he entered the hospital he barely noticed a beggar woman near the outside entrance. When he left two days later, he saw her naked corpse stuffed into a nearby dumpster. She had died of the same affliction for which he had just received treatment. "She had died of the same affliction for which he had just received treatment. "She had no money," the nurse replied in a matter-of-fact tone. The experience so shook Tony that he has never been the same since.

Lord, help me prioritize my resources according to what matters most to Your heart.

The surrender of the will is represented as plucking out the eye or cutting off the hand. Often it seems to us that to surrender the will to God is to consent to go through life maimed or crippled. But it is better, says Christ, for self to be maimed, wounded, crippled, if thus you may enter into life. That which you look upon as disaster is the door to highest benefit(TFMB 61).