Muddled Thinking

How often do you suffer from muddled thinking?  It seems all too common in my life, and clearly visible in the lives of others.

What is the cause of this affliction?  That is an amazing question that, truth be known, probably reaches beyond my ability to answer.  However, I am going to give it a try.

It seems to me that our biggest problem is we too often put ourselves in the place of God.  In so doing we create a situation where we are not in the proper framework or mindset to make the decisions that are best for us.

"Listen to this, O Job;

Stand still and consider

the wondrous works of God.

Do you know 

when God dispatches them,

and causes the light of His 

cloud to shine?"

Job 37:14-15

Truly it is not within us to fully understand all things, no matter how hard we try.  Though scripture tells us we are made in His image, and that we have been given dominion over all living things, it stops short of telling us that we are gods.  In fact in the Genesis account of the fall, the lie that Satan perpetuates is that by eating of the forbidden fruit would make them as God.

A little humility would go a long way to solving much of our muddled thinking and many of the problems facing the world today.  This is a basic truth for each of our lives as we face the daily grind.  So much more this is magnified in the shortcomings of our ever devolving American government.  In the founding of this country there were many flawed men who gathered to chisel out what this country should strive to be.  Each came with differing viewpoints and often from the various divisions and factions of the religious world.  Yet when they were humble enough to set aside their differences and recognize those things upon which they could be unified God's providence shone upon them and this great nation was born.

Over many years the divisions and the lack of humility has crept back upon us.  As I look at the recent grumblings and groanings coming from the District of Columbia, and all multiplied across our extensive and often overzealous media outlets, I find it disheartening that we have become a nation so divided.  However, I find it symptomatic of the divisions we find in the church.  God desires unity among His people.

"Behold, how good

and how pleasant

it is for brethren

to dwell together in unity!"

Psalm 133:1

See also Ephesians 4

If we as the people of God were to have our collective act together most of this upheaval would not be occurring.  Over the course of the 240+ years of our nation's history we as God's people have abdicated much of our responsibility and handed it over to the government, a government which in its purest form (not what we see today), is a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.  

Today I plead with each of you to set your house in order.  Think in terms of humility and unity.  Lets all do a better job of looking to those things which unite us and that we share in common, recognizing opportunity for growth in our differences.  Once our homes are set in order the healing can begin, the groundswell of such a positive force would no doubt sweep us up in a virtual tsunami of unity and clarity for our future.  If we would take this grassroots, Christ-centered approach, rather than a top-down Government-centric approach to living, then and only then, would we gain the fullest measure of the blessings of God and the favor of His divine providence.  This is how we can Make Today Great!