Is anyone in their right mind?

The reality in my life today is that it’s a bright, beautifully sunny day here in the Houston metroplex. From this cursory observation I’d have my confidence boosted that God is in His heaven and all is right with the world. And yet, the news headlines of any given day might perplex me – in a passing sort of way. But let’s face it…until things begin hitting us right where we live…rarely are we inclined to give them much thought. Am I right?

In a not so distant blog entry I quoted former U.S. President Ronald Reagan’s campaign quip, “A recession is when your neighbor loses their job. A depression is when you lose your job. And a recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his.” I noted that, far from any truth in the comment, that this certainly was top notch speechwriting. As it turned out, Jimmy Carter did lose his job, RR got it, and in due course things did start looking brighter here in the old U.S. of A. But as 2009 has started out slapping many of us upside our heads with the reality of those economic doomsday woes that began in 2007 with the first indications of a crashing housing bubble. This was later intesified by the variety of financial institutions that started collapsing like houses of cards last year, and we Americans again started looking for a change at the top by electing Barak Obama because essentially his big promise was “America needs change.”

Well, as the headlines report another 65,000 American jobs were lost this week, the economic realities began for me, earlier in the month. I was notified, in lieu of an end of the year gift, by the contributor of 2/3 of the regular support for this internet outreach, that due to economic issues of their own, they will have to stop sending in their monthly contribution. (POW!) This past week I also learned of a friend whose son has been laid off from a job he’s worked at for several years (BAM!) and, to top it off, where my wife works, a significant portion of that company’s labor force had to be let go. (SOCKO!) Even as Gena dodged that bullet…it certainly was a sad set of circumstances for all concerned. All these are only a few more instances of how bad things really have become in our world today. But let's get down to the real issue, who is to be blamed?

I read yesterday about President Obama’s meeting with the new Secretary of the Treasury and the top guy at one of those bailed out banking institutions. He heads up one of those joints that used federal dollars to pay bonuses to their top executives last year and, get this, had been seriously thinking of spending 50-million of these “free” dollars on a new corporate jet (until B.O.’s balking and squawking put the kibosh on those plans)! I’m now confronted with a serious concern over whether or not any of these “fat cats” even care what anyone else thinks of them.

This all brings to mind a response to a question posed to former Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan. In October last year, before a committee of the Congress of these United States, under the standard circusesqe environment that precludes any of these proceedings, Greenspan acknowledged that he’d made a “mistake” in believing that banks, operating in their own self-interest, would protect their shareholders and their institutions. He went on to add “I am in a state of shock and disbelief,” saying that there is “a flaw in the model…that defines how the world works.” Oh really?

During the same hearing Mr. Greenspan would also respond to a query (from California representative Henry Waxman) wondering if he, Greenspan, felt any blame. In a somewhat surprisingly frank response Alan Greenspan said, “Partially.” He would go on to add in further clarification upon additional badgering by Waxman that, “Remember that what an ideology is, is a conceptual framework with the way people deal with reality. Everyone has one. You have to – to exist, you need an ideology. The question is whether it is accurate or not. And what I’m saying to you is, yes, I found a flaw. I don’t know how significant or permanent it is, but I’ve been very distressed by that fact.”

So, while I’m on this quotations kick, here are a few more from a literary favorite of mine, the Bible. In the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes, King Solomon wrote, “Everything is so weary and tiresome! No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content.

“History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new.” (Ecc. 1:8,9 NLT).

Furthermore, let me point out a couple of comments made by the Apostle Paul in his strikingly brilliant writing to Christians in Rome. In chapter 1 he really gets to the heart of the matter by referencing in verse 18 that people have a distinct knowledge of God in their hearts but they have chosen to suppress this. In verse 21 he adds, “Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship Him as God or even give Him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. The result was that their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they became utter fools instead.”

In as much as we who believe in God and know that He has the power to save all who have placed their faith and trust in Him, it will come as no surprise then to read Paul’s concluding remarks regarding what has always been an overriding issue among humanity. In verses 21 through 32 of Romans chapter 1, Paul clearly lays out the inevitable downward spiral that a person makes in abandoning the essence of what comprises their conscience. As people first reject their innate knowledge of God they begin coming up with all manner of ideas about what a god should be like, what a god should be doing and how they ought to benefit from this, or even if a god exists.

If it all stopped right there that would be one thing. But, as the folly of an individuals mind takes them into the ever increasing realms of personal self-indulgence and the subsequent efforts to make it all seem justifiable, they aren’t content in having personally become a jerk. No, they eventually begin to hate the very notion of God and wind up encouraging others to do the same.

Interestingly though, Paul points out that God hasn’t caused any of this. It all begins when someone first decides to reject God’s authority…invariably so that they can live anyway that they choose. Sadly the end result of this, from Paul’s perspective, is that when a person refuses to acknowledge God, He, in response, abandons them. God simply allows their corrupted minds to now have free reign over them and to pursue all those activities that they certainly should know better than to do. But instead, at the pinnacle of it all, they seek to find a rationale for a behavior that only becomes increasingly more outrageous and despicable. Just like today’s bankers have not only baffled the former Fed chair, but also our newly elected President of the United States. Any of us might conclude there is an audacity to these actions. Did you hear that? It’s me howling that these behaviors are outrageous and may even begin to cross the line of demarcation that distinguishes something as being flat out insane.

A good many of us, myself included, will admit to having traipsed down a similar path of self-delusion during our lives. Certainly I’ve never been an investment banker…which we should probably all thank God for…but if I had back then, I’m not all that sure that I wouldn’t have been capable of perpetrating such outlandish atrocities. Somehow, somewhere along the way, we’ve all gone against that internal barometric thinking and started fooling ourselves into thinking that we’re really getting ahead of the other guy, making progress or, doing what’s best for us and our families. At the very least, somewhere in there we bought in to the notion that “I’m okay, You’re okay.” And hey, remember if what I'm doing isn’t harming anyone else…how bad can it really be? (I won’t even dignify the subject by taking the time to go off on this whole blasphemous politically correct nonsense.) If the past behavior of the politicos, the Wall Street moguls, and other CEO types hasn’t hit home yet…then, I fear, you may have already lost all your ability to recognize the “ideological flaw” that seems finally to have dawned on Alan Greenspan at the age of 82. And don’t miss what he said regarding this, “I don’t know how significant or permanent it is, but I’ve been very distressed by that fact.” Without question, Mr. Greenspan has one of the finest economic minds that is only further enhanced by a first-rate education. Then what’s the problem here, Al?

As you read on in the book of Romans Paul later pens the statement, “Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” From this the question might naturally arise…what are we being saved from? It’s not my place to rain down “hell-fire and brimstone” all over this page. I couldn’t care less at this juncture whether or not you’re inclined to consider what the Bible describes as the coming wrath of God upon all unbelievers, the prospects of heaven or hell, or if you just want to continue to dispel the whole God notion entirely, but, I would contend, you might do well to consider the point Paul makes in a statement about calling on the name of the Lord to be saved. I know for a fact, it all begins with you being saved from yourself.

In hindsight we might conclude that Alan Greenspan experienced a semblance of a personal epiphany before Congress. However the emotional charge that can arise from witnessing the bad behaviors of others (when the spotlight shines on them) should remind each of us that, in actual reality, none of our individual insanity occurs instantaneously. (Temporary insanity notwithstanding). Whatever cadre of adult-level, anti-God, nuttiness we have amassed had to be built up over time. That’s why when you read Paul writing more to the Roman Christians in Chapter 12 you see this admonition, “And so dear brothers and sister, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice – the kind He will accept. When you think of what He has done for you, is this too much to ask? Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect His will really is.”

It’s also important to remember you didn’t get to whatever attitude you have about God all by yourself. Some of it certainly came from your individual desire to rebel against authority, but it has also come, to greater of lesser extents, from what you’ve been taught over the years by people you respect. In addition peer pressure plays its part, but just as you have been gradually transformed away from believing in God, (Can anybody show me a four-year-old who is an atheist?) it might take you a long time to get back into some semblance of right thinking about Him. (Nobody has all of it all figured out anyway.) But this is where you have to make a choice though. Are you inclined toward having your mind transformed? Like the man at the pool of Bethesda that Jesus asked, “Do you want to get well?” Well, do you?

In one form or another we’re all victimized by a “flawed ideology.” Jesus makes the statement though, “And you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” My closing question then is, is that a true statement? And if it is, what truth is Jesus purporting?

If you have any interest in reading more about these topics, certainly reading about Jesus in the gospel of John is a recommended start. If John looks too daunting, then give the gospel of Mark a quick read (it's shorter). To get the gist of what the Apostle Paul has to say on a broad range of subjects, naturally the book of Romans is hard to beat, but that too can seem intimidating, so may I suggest the six chapters that comprise the New Testament letter to the Ephesians? Go ahead…none of this reading is going to kill you…and what's it cost? Nothing. But a warning label should be attached...it certainly has the potential to begin transforming your mind.

Until next time, I remain ever yours regardlessly,

mike