Okay. I have to weigh in on the Bruce Jenner debacle. The disturbing thing for me is not his choice to “make the change,” because there are many broken and wounded people in the world who make incredibly bad decisions. The disturbing thing is the conversations about it in the media and the complete absence of any discussion about God and his standards regarding Jenner’s decision.
When God’s standards are nowhere to be seen or heard in the public debate, we are on the brink of something catastrophic. The Old Testament is full of descriptions of wicked, foolish, and prideful men who say, “How can God know? Does the Most High have knowledge” (Ps.73:11)? There were many seasons in the history of Israel that the political and cultural leaders marginalized God and considered him irrelevant to the nation. Historically, God will allow himself to be seen as irrelevant for a while but then his “relevance” will come flooding in as judgment in an effort to turn hearts and minds back to him. The old saying that “there are no atheists in foxholes” also applies to national catastrophes when everyone suddenly feels afraid, uncertain, and extremely vulnerable.
Bruce Jenner is just another symptom of a culture trying hard to divest itself of notions about God because notions about God hold up standards and the possibility of accountability that many cultures have found restrictive. What we are seeing today is a kind of moral anarchy where every man has his own personal standard of right and wrong with no objective, absolute standard to guide him. Israel fell into that condition on occasion. “In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:6). In other words, man was morally lawless except for what he determined in his own fallen nature was in his best interest. God and his Word were considered irrelevant.
That perspective is very dangerous in the lives of men but even more so of governments. As soon as any system of government decides that God is irrelevant, then that government also will determine that either there is no God or, if there is, he does not hold nations accountable nor bring them to judgment. Think about it. If leaders do not believe that God will judge them or the nation for sin and wickedness what is left to restrain them? Our government (along with “we the people”) pushed God out of our schools, then decided that the Ten Commandments had a bad influence in government buildings, then we decided that God could be tolerated as long as he was confined to churches but he had no business influencing the state. Then, some of our leaders, who reject the law of God have also rejected the restraints of the Constitution and have even redefined marriage, morality, the sanctity of a human life, and the nature of men and women. When government attempts to replace God with itself then government simply views itself as God. Required worship of the state and total submission to it is not far behind.
So what are we to do? There was a time and it was the intent of our founding fathers that the pulpits of the nation were the conscience of America. The expectation or at least the hope of those men who framed the Republic was that the church would stay strong in America, educate America’s people in the standards and commandments of God, and speak out against sin and wickedness as the conscience of a nation. The church has been strangely silent of late. Some speak out, but not nearly enough. We have cowered under the assault of political correctness and have been silent and even complicit as our nation has begun to call evil good and good evil. Mr. Jenner is simply a symptom of our silence and our failure to evangelize and educate our own families and neighbors. It’s not too late for America but we seem to be in a barrel headed for the brink of Niagara Falls where few survive the plunge.
I encourage you to begin to pray in earnest for this nation and the Lord’s church in this nation. Pray that God would pour out a Spirit of boldness, holiness, humility, power, and evangelism on his church that she might once again become the conscience and the standard of a nation. Also pray that God will raise up men and women of faith and integrity and place them in positions of leadership and influence while removing those from positions of power and influence who have no regard for God…in government, education, and the media. We also must become the conscience of a nation again as individuals who unapologetically share our faith and values over coffee as well as in City Council and School board meetings.
God has solutions for Mr. Jenner’s confusion. I wonder if anyone ever told him about those solutions with genuine love and concern? Please pray daily for the church in America and the elections that are on the horizon. I think I can hear the roar of the Falls.
