God or No God

I will honour those who honour me, and I will despise those who think lightly of me. 1 Samuel 2:30 NLT

The UK was once known as ‘Great Britain and Northern Ireland’, but something has changed because we are no longer ‘Great’, and you could argue that we are no longer ‘United’ either. What happened?

I believe the answer lies in the way we have treated our attitude to God. Other countries, who were once poor, third world nations, have taken over. One of the certain differences is how they approach the question of God. Not only do they believe in God, they practise that belief too. They have honoured God, and so God has honoured them in return.

The rise of the third world countries who have honoured God, has been slow, and the fall of our once proud, Godly (no, that’s not a contradiction) nation has been slow, but sure too. I am no longer proud of my country as I once was, and the downfall is clearly seen by the dishonour shown to God. The Bible is relevant even today, and when it says God will despise those who think lightly of Him, that has meaning and repercussions to place and people alike.

The question arises as to how we can ever get back to our once Great British Glory. I wish I had the answer, but one thing I do know is that our leaders and politicians do not care, and are not making plans or changes which will bring us back to God. Sadly, our national church leaders are not trying either. Oh, there are some small independent fellowships who care and would love to promote the thought, and certainty of God, but they are overwhelmed and drowned out by the sheer number of those who do not have any place for God in their lives.

I suggest we are left with this thought and associated action. Live our lives as though God really IS the most important person, and in some way we may make a small difference to those around us. It might not change the direction of our nation, but it certainly will make a difference to our own life and how it is lived, plus it may very well make a change in some of the lives of those who stand by and watch. I believe we have a bigger influence in the way we live than we realise. This is better said by Shakespeare.

Quote: “The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones” - Shakespeare

The Pendulum

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do. James1:5-8NIV

A double-minded person is unreliable, unhelpful, or as James puts it, ‘unstable’. Jesus’ half brother links that unstable mind to doubt, and warns that they should not expect God to work on their behalf. It would be a sad curse indeed if we could not expect to receive anything from the Lord because we doubted that He was capable of help.

In the same way, a pendulum will swing from one side to the other, never finding the truth in the middle, or rest long enough to sense or feel it. When the pendulum in my living room clock stops swinging, the clock stops too and becomes useless. Who needs a clock that doesn’t tell the time?

I am old enough to remember society having a set of moral and ethical values which were considered as ‘normal’. It wasn’t that we walked around with a set of rules in our pockets, we seemed to be wise enough to know right from wrong. Fast forward a short two generations, and that pendulum has swung to the other extreme. We are double-minded and unstable, but the leadership of our western civilised nations don’t, or can’t, see it. Surely we have been here before though?

It has been said, correctly I think, that “the one thing we learn from history is that we don’t learn from history”. Cast your mind back to your high school history lessons and ask yourself what came just before the fall of every great nation, country, or civilisation? In every case, the moral compass of the people collapsed into a level of evil and debased living which was not accepted or practiced previously. The pendulum had indeed swung, and the populations in general had become double-minded and unstable.

I hope, trust, and pray that the pendulum of our nation’s sinful practices has reached its extreme, and will soon start the return swing back towards the God fearing country we once knew. As christians we know that God hates double minded people, but loves it when we follow His law. Lord, help us to be single minded with our focus on You.

I hate double-minded people, but I love your law. Psalms119:113NIV

Perfection

The Lord’s teachings are perfect. The Lord’s rules can be trusted. Psalm 19:7

There’s not a lot of things in this life that we think of as perfect, and few rules that we can fully trust to keep us out of trouble. That’s in spite of the laws of our land being based on the commandments and principles of God’s Word.

The Psalmist in chapter 33:12 says: Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance. These verses of the Psalmist automatically take our mind to the state of our nation. Our laws were indeed initially formed from the basis of God’s Word, but do you still see that intent today as laws and amendments are made to accommodate the sin sick society we now live in? Changes to reflect our view of sexual sins in particular come to mind which the Bible is so clear about. Now we also make it so easy to terminate life in the womb, and also by ending life by euthanasia of the old, and the not so elderly? Beware the ‘good’ we think we do!

The Bible is clear that any nation will be blessed when they honour God. Can we truthfully say that our once great nation still honours God? Is it possible, or perhaps even certain, that our nation’s fall from grace is directly linked and due to the clear fact that we no longer honour God, not only as our Law Giver, but also as our Lord and Saviour at both a personal and national level? May God forgive us and have mercy on our nation!