Eyes to See

February 6, 2009

Does everyone have the same moral sensitivity? Raising the question is to answer it. Disagreements over morality exist. What one person may find acceptable is reprehensible to another. The question isn’t whether I do things that I think are wrong. All of us experience that. The question is actually over defining right and wrong. In his book  Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis observed:

When a man is getting better, he understands more and more clearly the evil that is still left in him. When a man is getting worse, he understands his own badness less and less. A moderately bad man knows he is not very good: a thoroughly bad man thinks he is all right.*

Isaiah represents a good test case. When confronted with the Holy One of Israel, he cried out, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts” (Isaiah 6:5, ESV)! When God explains his purpose as a prophet, He turns the tables and actually uses result language:

And he said, “Go, and say to this people: ” ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.” Isaiah 6:9-10, ESV

God really did want His people to repent, and Isaiah’s task was a call to repentance (see Jeremiah 18:7-10). The switching of purpose for result was cautionary for Isaiah. It was going to be no easy task. He was living among a people who were calling evil good and good evil (Isaiah 5:20). Although Isaiah was morally sensitive, many of his listeners were not.

Conscience is the faculty of moral sensitivity, so guard your conscience. A healthy conscience helps us to choose good and avoid evil. A working conscience may even lead us to the Good—God. But wrong choices can silence the conscience’s alarm. Hit this snooze button enough times, and the alarm may no longer work. If you allow your conscience to become insensitive, dull, and hardened, then in the moral realm, you will no longer have eyes to see.

*C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, p. 93

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Posted by Russell Holden

While Today

February 5, 2009

The rhythm of life in the United States is fast paced. We hurtle down the Interstate at 70 M.P.H., and we often approach the rest of life with the same breakneck speed. The noise of modern life often drowns out reflection. Television, radio, the Internet, cell phones, iPods, and a host of other electronic gadgets can keep us amused. But is there something more to life than amusement? Is the bumper sticker philosophy, “He who dies with the most toys wins”, correct?

A biblical world view would answer with a resounding NO. Material things as wonderful as they are can never satisfy the human soul for long. Remove God from the picture, and life is like a maze with no opening on the other side, no destination, and no point. Without God, human achievements are fleeting. As Ecclesiastes observed, “I reflected on everything that is accomplished by man on earth, and I concluded: Everything he has accomplished is futile –like chasing the wind” (Ecclesiastes 1:14, NET)!

God exists. God has created our universe. God has revealed Himself through the Bible. The illusive meaning of life is to be found in God. We were created for relationship with God.

  • The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil. Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 ESV
  • But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:33 ESV

A couple of observations follow. If the meaning of life is to be in a relationship with God, I need to make certain that it is my true priority. A Barna poll listed being healthy as people’s number one goal. Relationship with God only came in as number six. We have to check our priorities.

If the meaning of life is to be in a relationship with God, then this life is but the testing ground for the next. This life is for making the decision for God. I have this moment in time, and I’m not guaranteed the next. I need to be responsive to God “while it is still called today.”

P.S. The photo in the header is sunrise taken from Jabel Musa, the traditional site identified with Mt. Sinai – not a bad place to ponder “Today.” The blog will be my place to reflect on faith, culture, and daily life.

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Posted by Russell Holden

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