Amusing Ourselves to Death

In his book Amusing Ourselves to Death, Neil Postman asserts that America will not be destroyed from without but from within. He considers George Orwell’s book, 1984, and Aldous Huxley’s book, Brave New World. Postman wrote, “Orwell warns that we will be overcome by an externally imposed oppression. But in Huxley’s vision, no Big Brother is required to deprive people of their autonomy, maturity and history. As he saw it, people will come to love their oppression, to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think….In short, Orwell feared that what we hate will ruin us. Huxley feared what we love will ruin us.”¹ 

It wasn’t but just a few short weeks ago that I witnessed two young ladies texting on their cell phones. I asked them if they were texting each other as opposed to just speaking out loud. “No, we’re texting our other friends.” Interestingly enough, one of them actually told me about one of their teachers at their high school that actually writes his notes on the marker board in “text language.” It is a totally different language than what you are reading right now in this article.

 

I witnessed another phenomenon. The phenomenon of “gaming” is what I mean. This idea that our children need Xboxes and iPads and Droids and Wiis is beyond anything that I ever saw as a kid. They have all their toys and games that they can carry in their pockets. Do you remember the days when all you had to play with was a stick and an empty bottle? I do! My mother told us over and over again that arcade games were just a waste of money. Now you don’t have to leave the comfort of your own home if you have game boxes and other things. Kids are getting fat because they don’t exercise enough due to sitting and playing games on their TVs in their bedrooms.

 

Then there’s the sporting events. That’s right! You read me correctly! People are willing to spend hundreds of dollars just to go and watch a bunch of sweaty, smelly men throwing a “pigskin” around. Then there’s baseball. We know of people who say they can’t sit in a church service for one hour but they can sit on metal seats at a stadium for a good solid nine innings or even more if it goes into overtime. And what about Nascar? Does anybody realize that Nascar is a bunch of people driving in a big circle? Granted they’re driving 200+ miles per hour, but it’s still a big circle! What about hockey? Well, because it’s my favorite sport there’s nothing wrong with spending a bunch of money and time to watch a game! (I hope you understand that I am joking about hockey!)

 

Let’s face it, friends, we truly are amusing ourselves to death. Whether it’s watching TV, movies, playing games, being involved in sports or anything else, we are a society that seems to love what we have and do rather than keeping our priorities straight.

 

Read what the Lord Jesus says in Matthew 22:37-40: You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets. Our ruin is that we love other things rather than loving God. People are falling apart because we don’t love them as we love ourselves. The society in which we live is becoming more and more dangerous as we love other things rather than loving God and people.

 

So what can we do about it? First, we can get those things that distract us from the Lord out of our lives. It doesn’t mean that we can’t have fun or be amused at times, it just means that we are ridding ourselves of distraction. Second, we can encourage each other to love and good works (cf. Hebrews 10:24-25). Let’s stop amusing ourselves to death and let’s start loving the Lord with all our heart, soul and mind.

¹ Postman, Neil. Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business. New York: Viking, 1985, vii-viii.

"Help! I Need Somebody! Help! Not Just Anybody! Heeeeeeelp!"

We know them as The Beatles. Paul, John, Ringo and George, the English rock band stars that were active throughout the 1960s and on of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music.¹ Now I have to admit, I have always enjoyed listening to The Beatles. They had a sound that revolutionized the music industry. One of the more fascinating tidbits about The Beatles is that they were actually the opening act in England for Roy Orbison, another one of my favorite musicians.

 

One of my favorite songs from John Lennon and Paul McCartney is “Help!”. I believe that the words are quite telling of how people really do need help. Read some of the lyrics from the song:

Help, I need somebody.

Help, not just anybody.

Help, you know I need someone, help.

When I was younger, so much younger than today,

I never needed anybody’s help in any way.

But now these days are gone, I’m not so self assured,

Now I find I’ve changed my mind and opened up the doors.

Help me if you can, I’m feeling down

And I do appreciate you being round.

Help me, get my feet back on the ground,

Won’t you please, please help me.

And now my life has changed in oh so many ways,

My independence seems to vanish in the haze.

But every now and then I feel so insecure,

I know that I just need you like I’ve never done before.

Did you catch it? Here’s a couple of guys who wrote this song and they are crying out for help. Granted, it makes for a catchy tune and I would suspect that neither of them would attest to needing anybody’s help. After all, as John Lennon put it, “We’re more famous than Jesus Christ!”

 

But this is the tragedy of it all. The Beatles are one of the most famous musical groups to ever grace the world and they truly did need help. No, they didn’t really need the help of a manager or producer. I believe they would have figured things out on their own as far as the music industry is concerned. The true help they needed was from the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the Lord Jesus Christ that Lennon was mocking, for that matter, all of The Beatles.

And this is the cry of the world! “Help! I need somebody! Help! Not just anybody! Help! You know I need somebody! Heeeeeeelp!”

 

There was another fellow that was seeking the same kind of help. His name was Nicodemus. You remember him from John 3:1-21. He was seeking to know who the Lord Jesus was and the Lord revealed Himself to Nicodemus. We find later in the Gospel of John that it was this same Nicodemus that helped Joseph of Arimathea tend to the body of the Lord after He died on the Cross (John 19:39). Nicodemus needed “somebody” and it wasn’t just “anybody” that he needed. He needed the Savior of the world—the Lord Jesus Christ! In fact, all of us need the exact same Helper!

 

As we come into the Christmas season, let’s remember that there are many who crying, “Help!” And as we remember those who are crying for help, let’s remember that we have the responsibility to tell them to Whom they should turn to for help. Our responsibility is to tell them, For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him, should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

 

¹ Unterberger, Richie (2009a). "Biography of The Beatles". Allmusic. Retrieved 15 September 2009.

Sitcom Heaven!

World Magazine is reporting in its November 5, 2011 issue that there is a “comedy revival”¹ that is taking place in America. It is taking place through the sitcom craze that is suddenly hot again. Now remember that “reality” TV has been the hottest thing since sliced bread. It all started with Fox Television with the series Cops. It has aired since 1989 and it has had a huge following since it first started. Right after Cops we had America’s Most Wanted that aired on Fox Television for over two decades. Now we have America’s Got Talent and American Idol. Reality TV has been huge.

 

But the reality of the crises that we are facing here in America today are taking its toll on us. The seriousness of people losing jobs concerns everybody—even those who are still working because they have seen co-workers laid off. The reality of the economic issues that we are facing is equally disturbing. For those who have invested heavily in the stock market or in mutual funds they are seeing their retirement go up and down, up and down. For the most part, because of the world economy, we just don’t know what’s going to happen next. Then we have wars and rumors of wars. We used to have enemies that we simply knew as enemies. Now we’re not sure if our next door neighbors are actually friends or terrorists. The wars for which America is involved are slowing down and even coming to a supposed “end”, but the casualties are still rising and uncertainty in those regions is growing.

 

So comes the comedy—the sitcoms. Now that everything has become too real, we need a little entertainment to take our minds off of the reality of what’s happening around us. An interesting idea about these modern-day sitcoms is that they are geared toward families once again. No, it is not the “Leave It to Beaver” or the “Ozzie & Harriet” types of families that we are seeing. Rather, we are seeing the “new” families. The Modern Family is a huge hit on ABC but the families they portray are not how the Bible speaks of how the family ought to be. There is a homosexual couple who has an adopted daughter. Another couple shows how a man and a woman just seem to get along life’s journey but without much order. Again, these families are not portrayed in the Bible and they are not as they should be.

 

“What is that supposed to mean?” God’s view of “family” begins in Genesis 1:26, 27 when He desires to create man in His image—both male and female. In Genesis 2:21-25 He describes how the man is alone and that He desires for him to have a helper. God creates a helper for Adam and Adam names her Eve. God charged the new couple to “be fruitful and to multiply” in order that they may subdue the earth. He blessed them with the ability to have children. Moreover, see how the family was structured: one man, one woman, to bear children. Even the New Testament (cf. Ephesians 5-6) describes that an intact family consists of one man, one woman and their children. Over and over again we see how God has established the family.

 

But is the sitcom really something in which we should participate? Is reality TV something in which we should participate? The reality of these shows—both sitcoms and reality TV—will eventually guide your thinking if you’re not cautious. What humors us most may hinder us most. Let’s study God’s Word to learn how to deal with the daily issues that we face.²

1 World Magazine, November 5, 2011, Comedy Revival, www.worldmag.com/articles/18769.

2 We will be sharing other Scriptures in the coming weeks of how the family is to operate. Be looking for the upcoming issues of A Note From the Pastor.

To Whom Shall We Turn?

True Bible study is needed in the church today. There are fewer and fewer people in the church today that spend very much time in prayer and study of the Word of God. However, statistics show that those who read and study the Bible are more likely:

• To give generously to the church.
• To be active in a small group or Sunday School class.
• To share their faith more often.
• To spend greater time in prayer.
• To attend worship services regularly.
• To be involved in local ministries and international missions.¹

Isn’t that interesting? Could these statistics be the reason for so many who have fallen away from the study and reading of the Bible? Could these be the reasons why so many people have fallen away from the church in America? After all, the “preacher” keeps asking us to “give, give, give” when it comes to tithing. Our time is filled with so many different events (such as sports, birthdays, holidays, hunting, etc.) that to add just one more thing to our schedules like small group or Sunday School class puts such a strain on us. Not everyone is going to welcome the Gospel of the Lord Jesus so it’s better not to be disappointed by a rejection so we just don’t share the Gospel. Prayer is a good thing—when we’re getting our own way, but when the Lord says ‘no’ to our petitions it’s just aggravating. As long as we regularly attend ‘a’ worship service (not necessarily every week, but perhaps 2-3 times a month) then we’re doing pretty well; that’s enough to get us by until the next time we think we need to make an appearance. Local ministries and international missions sounds great, but as long as we’re giving a cent here and there we’re involved, right?

The fact of the matter is that the above paragraph is how so many people think when it comes to facing the truth of where they are. And the sad thing is that people don’t seem to be convicted about any of their thinking. When we read and study the Bible on a regular basis it causes us to think and many of us are just plain tired of thinking. That’s why we watch a bunch of television; it takes our minds off of what’s going on in our lives. Or that’s why we lean heavily on entertainment because it helps us to have a break from the ‘real world.’

 

The sad reality is that too many people in the modern church today just don’t think that God and His Word, the Bible, are all that important in the scheme of things. It should come as no surprise to anyone that the church is wanting in today’s culture and society. It has become a behemoth that needs to be eradicated in the minds of humanists and secularists around the world. The ideas of the Christian church are passé and should just be set aside altogether. But to whom shall we turn? Turning to ourselves only means a bigger mess than what we have today. To whom shall we go? With this great turning away, we say with Peter the disciple, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God (John 68, 69).

1 Rainer, Thom S., Initials. "From My Perspective." Facts & Trends, Fall2011, lifeway.com (accessed October 18, 2011), 4-5.

Elijah's Challenge

The challenge was great. There were 450 prophets against one. It is the story of Elijah—you know, when he challenged the prophets of Baal. Now these prophets had some major backing. What I mean is that these prophets belonged to Jezebel who was King Ahab’s wife. She was a pretty rough woman with which to contend, but Elijah threw no low punches. He went right to the heart of the matter.


Elijah challenged the 450 prophets to call on their gods and he would call on his God and the one who answered by fire would be the one that was to be worshiped. The prophets set up their altar and began to call on the names of their gods. They called...they wailed...they began to cut themselves and bleed...and all the while Elijah the prophet sat there and watched all of this take place. Then, after a while, Elijah began to mock these prophets. After all, they had been going through their exercise for quite a long time. He began to hurl insults at them: “Hey! Why don’t you cry out a little louder! Maybe Baal is still in bed!” or “Hey! If you cut yourselves some more maybe he’ll respond to you better!” Can you see it? He’s up on Mount Carmel making fun of these guys.

And then it was Elijah’s turn. He built an altar and placed a bunch of wood on the altar of the Lord. He dug a trench around the altar and had the people fill up the trench with water. Then he told them to pour a bunch of water over the sacrificial bull. But he didn’t stop there! He had them pour even more water over the altar to the point that the bull and the wood was soaking wet. Wait! Elijah had them do it even a third time to ensure that it would not spark and catch on fire if he was trying to start it himself.

Read what Elijah then said: LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that You are the LORD God, and that YOU have turned their hearts back to You again” (1 Kings 18:36, 37). A simple request with a simple recognition of who the LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel is. What was God’s response? He came down in fire and consumed all of the water, the bull, the wood and the stones that were placed around the altar of the Lord (18:38, 39).

It’s an amazing story, isn’t it? It never ceases to amaze us to read stories like this from the Scriptures. But something gets in the way of realizing that the LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel is the same LORD God of us today. For some reason we forget this to be our reality. What is it? For what reasons do we forget? Perhaps what we ought to do is read these stories and make those simple requests of the LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel and give Him the recognition for who He is—who He has always been. As Elijah, what we ought to do is to seek to give Him the glory in everything. After all, He is the One who has made it possible for us to do anything for Him in the first place. The last time I checked I didn’t just happen to have the ability I have apart from His gifting or His blessing or His provision or His righteous choosing to bless and have compassion and mercy. Let’s be thankful to Him for the great things that He has done...is doing...and intends to do in the future.

Love, Love, Love

“What the world needs now is love!” You remember the old song that has those words, don’t you? The song was written by Hal David and composed by Burt Bacharach. It was first recorded by Jackie DeShannon and was released on April 15, 1965. The song itself has been recorded by over one hundred different recording artists. Read some of the lyrics of the song:

What the world needs now is love sweet love,

It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of.

What the world needs now is love sweet love,

No not just for some but for everyone.

Lord we don’t need another mountain,

There are mountains and hillsides enough to climb,

There are oceans and rivers enough to cross

Enough to last until the end of time.

Lord, we don’t need another meadow

There are corn fields and wheat fields enough to grow,

There are sunbeams and moonbeams enough to shine,

Oh listen, Lord, if you want to know

What the world needs now is love sweet love,

It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of.

What the world needs now is love sweet love,

No not just for some, oh but just for every, everyone.

Interesting song! David and Bacharach wanted to get the message out that it is love that is truly needed in our world today.

The Bible tells us of a love that surpasses every other kind of love. Read how the Lord Jesus Christ said it in John 3:16-18:

For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world that He might condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. Anyone who believes in Him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the One and Only Son of God. (HCSB)

What our world needs is the love of God through the Lord Jesus Christ! David and Bacharach missed what has already been given to everyone in the world.

We Have the Technology - So Study!

In Williamsburg, Iowa, Kinze Manufacturing has invented a new tractor system for farmers. What used to take hours for one person to plow a field may only involve a few hours of programming the system and to watch the tractor and the farm implements do the job on their own. The way the system works is that the tractor will plow rows and make turns in a field with the help of GPS (Global Positioning System), sensors, and a computer programmed to stop the tractor if it encounters a fence, pickup truck or animal. Representatives from the company have not yet set the sale price or the date of release for this product.


The World Magazine article went on to say: “Farmers have been using GPS guidance to reduce overlap and to work at night for years, but it has required a driver in the cab. If cost and safety hurdles are cleared for autonomous tractor systems, they could enable farmers to take advantage of good weather days by doing 24-hour planting—or to automatically run a grain cart alongside a combine during harvest.1

Isn’t that just amazing? Man has achieved so much in the last 150 years as far as modern-day technology. The United States of America has led the world in technological advances and much of the world has benefited from all of the various inventions and patents. If it wasn’t for these inventions men, women, boys and girls would not be wearing clothes that fit properly nor would they be able to keep in touch at the touch of a button on a cell phone, nor would they be able to be fully protected in a car accident. Years ago people only dreamed of some of these things; but now these things have come to fruition.

The issues that we face today are not that we don’t have enough technology. On the contrary, we have plenty of technology that has crippled many people. For instance, the invention of the television may have been a marvelous thing, but now it has crippled communication amongst various families who watch on average five to six hours of television a day. Another example is the internet. The internet was created originally for the State Department and for our Armed Forces but it quickly developed into a world wide web in which anyone from anywhere could be “online.” With this online capability people have been so engrossed that many of them have forgotten how to have a “face-to-face” conversation with someone else because of the anonymity of the internet and the various chat rooms. What about food technology? We have huge freezers full of food while many around the world are starving for just a morsel.

But what is even more distressing is the fact that we have all sorts of modern ways to study the Bible, yet, unfortunately speaking, many do not delve into using these tools. There are websites from where you can read the Bible in just about any known language. There are Bible study tools online and even that one can purchase for their computers, yet, for whatever reason, they are hardly ever used. One can download books on a computer notebook or iPad, but what is downloaded more than books? Movies, music and such things that are merely distractions like computer games.

And what of the Bible itself? We have Bibles that have study notes in them. We have Bibles that you can read that are large print or regular print or small print. You can buy a Bible that has the Greek and Hebrew texts along with the translation of both language. You have Bible studies and videos and Christian music. And yet we find that there are very few people relatively speaking that spend much time in the study of the Bible. When life serves up a bowl of lemons, to whom do people generally turn? Believe it or not, many still turn to the Church for answers. And what do most churches do? They generally turn the away to some other organization that can help them.

The fact of the matter is this: If you have access to the technology of our day that allows you to study the Bible and to learn how to really live life to its fullest, what’s holding you back? God’s Word says very clearly in 2 Timothy 2:15:

Study to show yourselves approved to God, a worker who doesn’t need to be ashamed, rightly teaching the word of truth.

We have all of the tools that we’ll ever need to know the Lord Jesus through His Word. Why not stop, pray and pick up your Bible and read it out loud for a while. You’ll be amazed how God still speaks even in a world that is full of devices and distractions.

1 World Magazine, Auto Farm, September 24, 2011, Vol. 26, Num. 19, pp. 63.