I spend an inordinate amount of time in developing nations. Relationships there with marvelous people are exquisite. So likewise, is cuisine! Sometimes, scenery. However, I can’t help but observe the general order of disorder. Nothing functions. Still, they make it work: remarkable tribute to human ingenuity. Yet, when in that impoverished world, one quickly encounters perilous roads, insufficient sewage, broken machines, burnt out lights, tainted drinking water, choking pollution, and ubiquitous fluctuating electricity. Sound systems for visiting speakers squeal with ear-piercing predictability. Buildings sit either half-finished or half-fallen; hard to tell. Please, pick up just some rubbish! Privately (I really mean that), I ponder, “Why doesn’t somebody do something about this?!”
One day in my spartan quarters, while unceremoniously grousing and coping, a personal thought flashed. “They can’t fix it, because they don’t really see it.” Failure and chaos are so pervasive, it is normal. They learn to live with it. It’s all they know. Hear me now; “It would be for me, if this were home”.
God created the world in pristine condition. Sin is perversion from His original design. When it entered the human experience, a serious wrench was thrown in the gears. It trashes everything. Sin is dysfunctional. Reference rebellion, racism, adultery, substance and spousal abuse, criminality, corruption, and cruelty; to name a few. Live in that realm, and limp through life. In the small town where I formerly pastored, I regularly drove past the Court-House, which sat across the street from my church. Over the years, entangled with the Law, the same faces regularly assembled outside enjoying a smoke on the lanai between legal sessions. Inwardly feeling frisky, I wanted to lower my window and ask, “How’s this working out for ya?” …Better judgement prevailed.
Scripture succinctly sums: “There is a way that seems right unto a man: the end therein, is death.” The New Testament is more terse: “Sin brings forth death.”
Beware when we grow accustomed to living outside God’s design and surrender Eternal truth. After while, you adjust to darkness, it becomes the new normal.
Later, a complimentary insight dawned. Those of us fortunate enough (I really mean that) to dwell in advanced nations, frankly get used to efficiency, precision, and comfort. Example: in Japan trains run on time; every time. Europeans have mastered the fine art of leisure inactivity. Western Democracy is a luxury. In my idyllic island home, we feel aggrieved when a stop light takes too long! Heaven help us if our microwave goes on the blink! Could you even imagine taking a shower in cold water? Moral: appreciate when you have it good.
Perhaps that is why when a sinner first turns to Christ, (I recall when grace found me) they are completely amazed and on fire with enthusiasm for Jesus. They have lived amidst brokenness, bondage, and darkness so long; that this new life, liberation, and light, is absolutely awesome. They can tell the difference!
…I presume you can discern the distinction, too?…