For the last while, I have felt an extreme dissatisfaction with our American society. I have preached about it, talked about it and blogged about it too. Today I read the following from Paul Tournier and it shed some light on my dissatisfaction while offering an ironic look at today’s church in America.
The criterion of truth is success. Even Christian apologetics is infected with it; it sometimes attempts to prove the power of Christianity by demonstrating its effectiveness, by the victories which it assures in life. This is a theology of success and not a theology of the Cross. All this is related to our Darwinian conception of nature, according to which the strong will always devour the weak and the truth will be destroyed if we are not strong enough to defend it.
Paul Tournier, The Whole Person in a Broken World
What I find so ironic is that those that rail hardest on evolution and Darwin seem to be the most succeptible to its philosophical underpinnings. What troubles me about evolutionists is not their belief that the world is old but their belief that human life is determined by the power of the strong. This fits well with Nietche’s will to power. Might makes right.
While Christians would be quick to point out that they disagree with such a belief system, they unwittingly fall into the same thought patterns. Christian leaders are judged by the size of their church or the number of bestsellers they have written. We listen more closely to the teachings of the rich leader than the humble servant. We revere such men of God as Oswald Chambers, A.W. Tozer and Dietrich Bonhoeffer but fail to realize that they were minimal successes in their day. Are we looking for such leaders today? Or are we satisfied with whoever can write the latest "Be a Christian Success Story"?
Chasing after power and influence are clearly seen in how we try to change our society. We look to politicians for the answers to our woes. Whether it is voting for the next great Tea Party candidate or the liberal agent of change, our hope is in the political system to save our society. What about the inner city missions, soup kitchens, halfway houses and all other kinds of grassroots social programs that are in the church? Do they not offer a more immediate and long-lasting solution to our society’s ills? Change will not come through powerful mandates (though they might be useful), but through humble service to our fellow humans.
Before I get too far off track in my socio-political ramblings, I see this will to power in my own life. When I become angry with my family, when I am dissatisfied with the growth of our church, when my career plans fail, when I track how many people view my blog, I see that I have bought into the power structure. I long to support the weak but too often power is more enticing. I want to help others but my own desires for comfort get in the way.
Lord save me from myself. Lord save us from ourselves.