Looking for Utopia

Yesterday at Life Bible Fellowship Church, our Lead Pastor Gary Keith preached on Revelation 21:1-5. His key question was, "Where is our true hope?"
It was a great message and very timely, since sometime tomorrow night we should know who will be our president for the next four years. A lot of people's hopes are riding on this election. And a lot of the hope manifests itself in panic if the other guy wins.
If we believe the candidates, we seem doomed either way. Governor Romney tells us that if the President is re-elected, then we will continue on this historically slow path to economic recovery. President Obama tells us that if Governor Romney is elected, we will go back to the economic policies that got us into this mess in the first place.
In essence, both candidates are saying this: The other candidate will keep us from the wonders that await us, and I can lead us there!
If we believe the candidates, then we believe that they can bring us money, health, safety, and freedom. If a person is truly able to bring you money, health, safety, and freedom, then it might be appropriate for you to consider worshiping him. I am not trying to be sarcastic. That would be an amazing feat! That person would probably be worthy of some pretty heavy devotion if he could accomplish all of those things.
The fact is, no person can guarantee that we will have wealth and financial security. At any point we could have a personal or national economic collapse. We could get fired, have investments go south, or get robbed. No person can guarantee our health and safety. We will all ultimately get sick and die, and as secure as we can become, evil people can always find ways to get into airplanes and movie theaters and cause pain. And no one is strong enough to guarantee our freedom. Stronger nations than ours have fallen. We are no immune.
Ultimately, I still think that Donald Miller put it well when he said, "The truth is, we can make things a little better or a little worse, but utopia doesn't hang in the balance of our vote or of what products we buy." Neither of these candidates is going to save the world. Neither of them is going to fulfill our hopes.
The good news is that the Bible tells us that our hopes will be fulfilled at some point. Revelation 21:3-5 says, "And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Look! God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." He who was seated on the throne said, 'I am making everything new!'"
God himself will be with his people. It will be God who provides an end to fear by removing death. It will be God who provides an end to pain and suffering and grief. And at the end of the passage he makes it clear that he, and he alone, is the one who makes everything new.
After this election, some things might get better. Some things might get worse. But utopia does not hang in the balance. Thank God! Our problems will continue, but our ultimate hope will still be just as secure as when it was first promised.
There is only one who will make all things new. He alone deserves our worship and attention.

When No One Is Listening

One of the biggest topics in the news lately has been Governor Romney's secretly recorded comments about the 47%. The context is that a potential donor has asked him, on a practical level, how he will win the election. His response began with the idea that 47 percent of people "will vote for the president no matter what. There are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe that government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to good, to housing, to you-name it. That that's an entitlement and government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what." If you want the full context of the comments and the event at which he made them, here is an article you can read.

Since the secret recording was released, there have been varying reactions. Romney himself called the comments "inelegant" while some others have called them horribly offensive. I personally think the comment are worse than Romney is making them out to be, but I am not worked up over them. I guess my lack of indignation was for the same reason that I do not become indignant when a major college football program gets caught for recruiting violations. I have simply come to a place where I believe that the one who gets caught is not the only one who does it.

Case in point, a few months ago the president himself was caught on tape. During a meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev concerning missile defense negotiations, the President Obama was recorded by a hot microphone. He said to the Russian president, "This is my last election. After my election, I have more flexibility." The idea was that the president had to hold back on what he really wanted to do until he wouldn't have to worry about his quest for reelection. It ended up being an embarrassing gaffe.

What both of these situations have in common is that someone was caught on tape saying something that they had not intended for public consumption.

Now, before any of us throw stones at these men, we should consider what people would think of us if you private comments, jokes, and snide remarks were broadcast on television.

At the same time, these events underscore the fact that we often say what we really think when we don't beleive that our comments will have consequence. We speak most honestly when we don't think our comments will go public.

In Luke 12:2-3, Jesus said, "There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs."

In a similar sense, the author of Hebrews says in 4:13: "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account."

Our youtube culture reminds us daily that what we say in private may end up being heard by the public. This is bad because comments are often taking out of context and friends betray confidences. At the same time, this is a sober reminder that we really don't have any private moments. We are always before God. He always hears us. And we are always accountable for what we say. When our "private" words are made public, we can blame those who betrayed the confidence, but we also must take a look at ourselves. If I am embarrassed that my words are repeated, then I need to ask why I said something embarrassing.

Living in freedom before God involves living with a clean conscience. Great freedom comes when you aren't afraid of getting caught or exposed. If we are content that our words, were they shouted from the rooftops, would reflect well on us, then there is nothing to fear.

Many years ago, a friend and fellow pastor, Alan, was wearing a microphone during the church service. The music was going on and the congregation was singing. He didn't realize that his microphone was on, and so people in the foyer could hear what he was saying. Standing in the back of the sanctuary he said to a friend, "You see that hot blonde in the front row?" You can imagine how the people in the foyer gasped when they heard this. Was their pastor checking out some woman and commenting about her. Then he said, "That's my lady." Great relief swept across the foyer when they realized that the "hot blonde" was his wife.

The story is only funny because, instead of being caught saying something embarrassing, Alan was caught saying something nice. His most honest words were revealed, and he was talking flatteringly about his wife. His private moment went public, and it revealed only a clean conscience.

We will all be caught on tape. We will all have private moments go public. May we live soberly before God so that those comments will reveal private people who are consistent with our public personas.