CHRISTIANITY 101: KEEP THE HOME FIRES BURNING
There was a time when our nation’s economy was booming, hope sprung eternal, and American ingenuity took a back seat to no one. Along those lines, allow me to give you a little quiz designed to take you back to what we might call the good old days. For example, who was the innovator who opened the very first drive-in gas station? The very first drive-in gas station was opened in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1913 by the Gulf Oil Company.
What was the first city to use the dreaded parking meter? The first parking meters were used in Oklahoma City in July of 1935. Where was the first drive-in restaurant? The first drive-in restaurant was Royce Hailey’s Pig Stand, opened in Dallas, Texas in 1921. Where was the world’s first three-color traffic light installed? It was installed in Detroit, Michigan in 1919. What car had the distinction of being General Motors’ one hundred millionth car built in the United States? It was a 1966 Olds Tornado. They don’t even make Oldsmobiles anymore.
Where and when was the first drive-in movie theater opened? It was opened in Camden, New Jersey in 1933. What was the lowest priced American car on record? It was the 1925 Ford Model T, and it cost a grand total of two hundred and sixty dollars. What automaker’s first logo incorporated the Jewish Star of David? That would be the Dodge. And finally, what car was designed on the back of a Northwest Airlines airsickness bag, and released on April Fools’ Day in 1970? That would be the A.M.C. Gremlin. How appropriate is that?
Alas, times have changed. The American economy is not what it once was, and people are having a harder and harder time simply making ends meet. Hope no longer springs eternal, and drug abuse, suicide rates, and depression are on the rise. It’s not like it was in the good old days any more.
A man named George Packer is the author of a new book entitled, The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America. He notes that if you were born in 1960, or shortly thereafter, you have spent your entire life in what he calls the “vertigo” of the unwinding of America. In other words, you have watched structures that had been in place since before your birth collapse like pillars of salt across a vast and tumultuous landscape. Some of the more obvious collapses he mentions are the farms of the Carolina Piedmont, the factories of the Mahoning Valley, Florida subdivisions, and California schools. Some of the less obvious collapses he mentions are ethics in Washington D.C. and integrity on the New York Stock Exchange…along with morals and manners and simple human decency. As Packer puts it, “The norms that made the old institutions useful began to unwind, and the leaders abandoned their posts.”
No one knows exactly when the unwinding of America began – when the coil that held Americans together in a secure and sometimes stifling grip – began to give way. Yet the unwinding did occur, and the country we all know and love…somehow became irretrievably different. Packer then cites a number of human interest stories in an attempt to prove his point.
Tammy Thomas was born in Youngstown, Ohio to a drug-addled mother. Raised by her grandmother, she managed to graduate from college and to land a job in an electric factory. Then Youngstown began to unwind all around her. Street gangs emerged, violence increased, and homes were foreclosed by banks. Businesses collapsed, the population declined, and hope became quite scarce. Tammy Thomas had the values of hard work, saving money, and planning ahead instilled within her – all those quintessentially American values that are supposed to guarantee success in life – yet it all went up in a puff of smoke. Her hopes, her dreams, and her job quickly vanished in the vertigo of the unwinding of America.
Dean Price grew up in North Carolina; the son of a tobacco farmer. His journey reflects the unwinding of America, too. He lost land, business partners, and a restaurant chain he tried to begin. Dean Price reflects on the impact of what he calls “big box” stores that come in and wipe out small local businesses. He says, “If you think about it, the people who ran the hardware store, the shoe store, and the little family restaurant that used to be here…they were the fabric of the community. They were the leaders. They were the Little League baseball coaches, they were the town council members, and they were the people everyone looked up to. Not anymore. We’ve lost that now.”
George Packer convincingly describes the unwinding of America. Yet perhaps he vividly illustrates a dire situation without illuminating it. In other words, he tells us what’s gone wrong, but he doesn’t really tell us what we can do about it. Perhaps we don’t need illustrations so much as we need illumination. What can be done to stem the tide of the unwinding of America? Keep that thought in mind as we move on.
A number of weeks ago we noted how – each and every day – we make decisions that move us closer to a life of virtue, or closer to a life of ruin. Though the past may be written in stone, the future is more like wet cement…pliable, soft, and ready to be shaped by the decisions we make. Our goal is to develop a more godly life narrative. Our goal is to discover what it means to live a life of virtue. Our goal is to seek to discern where our deep happiness may truly be found.
We suggested that our deepest happiness is found in the kingdom of God. We noted that the kingdom of God is not just something we hope to attain in the future. As Jesus clearly stated, the kingdom of God is also a very present reality. Thus, the kingdom of God of which we speak is not a place. The kingdom of God of which we speak is an interactive relationship with God…an interactive relationship that brings us peace of heart and mind.
We noted how many of us will not even consider a more godly life narrative – many of us will not even begin to seek out an interactive relationship with God – until we encounter a drought in life…until we come up against something that we cannot control. So what we did was consider a social problem that appears to be beyond human resolution: bullying in the classroom. We postulated that while we may not be able to resolve all the social ills that surround us, God is able to resolve the un-resolvable. What we need to do is recognize that fact, and be open to the movement of God’s Holy Spirit. That, my friends, is where our own transformation truly begins.
Then we wrestled in turn with overcoming anger, lust, lying and the law of reciprocity. We took a stab at defeating vainglory, avarice, worry and judgmentalism. The theory behind such an endeavor is that abiding in the kingdom of God is different than abiding in the kingdom of this world. Those who abide in this world ask, “How can I get more?” Those who abide in the kingdom ask, “How can I do without?” Those who abide in this world ask, “How can I find myself?” Those who abide in the kingdom ask, “How can I lose myself?” Those who abide in this world ask, “How can I win friends and influence people?” Those who abide in the kingdom ask, “How can I truly love God?” Ladies and gentlemen, there is a profound difference between abiding in the kingdom of this world…and abiding in the kingdom of God.
For those of you who’ve been paying attention in this series of sermons, you know that what we’ve really been doing is dissecting the Sermon on the Mount. In today’s gospel lesson, we encounter the grand finale. Jesus tells us to enter by the narrow gate, to beware of false prophets, that not everyone who calls upon him will enter the kingdom of heaven, and to hear his words and do them. What Jesus is really talking about here is forming a relationship with God.
As we’ve seen so far, there are a lot of false narratives out there about God and the Christian faith. Perhaps there is no bigger false narrative out there than this: How does one attain eternal life? The answer most commonly given is this: To attain eternal life, one must believe in Jesus Christ.
Now that would not be a false narrative if we acted like we really knew what it means to believe. The problem is that not everyone knows what it really means to believe in Jesus Christ. You see, belief is more than mere mental assent. For example, I believe there’s a sun, but that doesn’t really impact the way I live my life. I believe gasoline’s too expensive, but that doesn’t seem to affect my character. I believe that at the end of this sermon someone’s going to tell me that I completely missed the mark, but has no bearing on what I try to say. To believe in Jesus Christ is more than to merely assent to his existence. To believe in Jesus Christ is to actively seek to form a relationship with him.
Dr. James Bryan Smith, author of The Good and Beautiful Life, states that he believes that people who are close to Christ and his kingdom are the exception, not the rule. In fact, he estimates that only 10% of Christians are actively trying to develop their relationship with God on a daily basis. Why? Too many people don’t really know what it means to believe in Jesus Christ. They believe things like prayer, Bible study and worship are merely add-ons practiced by zealous and over-achieving Christians. Those kinds of things are seen more as luxuries than they are as necessities.
Perhaps the only way to nurture one’s relationship with Christ is to set one’s heart and mind on the kingdom of God. And the only way to accomplish that is to work at it daily…not just for one hour a week or whenever we have the time. Those of you who attend here regularly know the secret to forming a relationship with God. The secret to forming a relationship with God is found in the seven covenants of a disciple of Jesus Christ. You know: Worship regularly, pray daily, study diligently, live faithfully, serve joyously, give generously…and witness boldly. The seven covenants are not mere add-ons for zealous Christians. They are not mere luxuries for over-achievers. They are absolute necessities for building a relationship with God.
Let me try to show you what I mean. There was a time when Americans did not have gas or electricity available in their homes at the flick of a switch or the turn of a dial. To warm the house or to heat up water, someone had to get up and start a fire. Then, throughout the day, someone had to stoke the flames. Someone had to pile on fresh logs. If they didn’t, the fire went out. Someone had to invest a lot of time and energy to keep the home fires burning.
Could we go so far as to say that our spiritual lives are a lot like that? Perhaps we need to begin each and every day in devotion to God. Perhaps we need to pause at various times during the day to lift a prayer or two to God. And perhaps we should go to sleep at night with the Lord’s Prayer on our lips. It’s not that God requires this of us. Rather, it’s that we are weak. We have a tendency to relapse. We get so caught up in the moment that we forget who we’re supposed to be on the inside. Worship, prayer and daily devotions are how we keep our spiritual home fires burning. For when one neglects a fire, it tends to flicker out.
So what on earth does this have to do with the unwinding of America? What on earth does this have to do with collapsing economies, increased violence, and the influx of despair? I think it has everything to do with those things. Because forming a relationship with God completely transforms who and what we essentially become.
Think about it. A Christian could not move his entire business production overseas because he could never devastate his community like that. A Christian could not harm another human being because he knows that he must love his neighbor as he loves himself. A Christian could not step on another human being in an effort to get ahead because she would see that person in a whole new light. A Christian could not take from the system because Christians see themselves as givers, not takers. A Christian could not hoard their possessions unto themselves because Christians are not consumers; they are producers.
I could go on and on, I suppose. But do you see what we’ve accomplished in just a few simple statements? By forming a relationship with God we’ve already eliminated violence, pride, vanity, entitlement, avarice and greed. So you see, faith in God has to do with more than squeezing a few wretched souls into heaven. It has to do with transforming the very world in which we live.
I know, I know, I’m just a lowly preacher. What do I know? You know what they say about preachers, don’t you? They’re heavenly minded, but of no earthly good. Honestly, though, I think Jesus himself would say that if you can find a better way to draw near to God – or even a better way to run the world – by all means, take it! So keep the home fires burning. You’ll find that it transforms you, and in the process…it just might transform the world, as well. Amen.
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