According to prevailing marketing industry wisdom, the key emotional hot buttons that influence human behavior are fear, greed, guilt, anger, exclusivity, salvation, flattery and patriotism. I think at least two of these are also on the list of Seven Deadly Sins.
Getting back to my watching of the movie Armageddon: so the world is saved, all people, nations, faiths and colors rejoice that this common disaster has been averted. Sure Paris is decimated, but the French are no one’s favorite people any way.
How long do you think peace would last? Since the peace achieved was accomplished based on fear, my guess is that in the given scenario once the common fear is gone it would be days at best before war among nations would resume. All it would take would be a seed of greed or misguided patriotism or exclusivity (hoarding food and supplies within a country less devastated, for example) to take us from being bound as brothers to World War III.
My father had a favorite lecture he often resorted to when my siblings and I were arguing. It began: “if you are fighting now over this issue now, what will happen when we have only one slice of bread?” My father died before we ever saw those hard times, but he had a point.
Fear is a HUGE motivator. So is greed. When you combine the two you have a lethal mixture.
The world is a slave to the ruler of it – Satan. But Christians, with the Holy Spirit active and following in them, should be immune to it – at least after years of being a Christian.
Armageddon, not just the movie but the actual event, and some ugly times before it are coming to this world. Christians, like everyone, need to be somewhat prepared for tough times.
But should Christians, like those who don’t know better, be thinking in terms of “how can I store up and hoard (for MY family, MY church) the goods I’ll need to survive?” Shouldn’t we be thinking in terms of “how can I seek God first and help others to do the same, so that we have the faith to rely on God when tough times come?”
Before you say, “but…” let me quote a scripture: Mathew 6:19-21 “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Verse 34 “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day [is] the evil thereof.”
Read verses 22 through 34 for the entire guidance. I know the word “thought” can better be understood as anxious care, which makes my point – fine to give it thought, not fine for those thoughts to be about preparing for personal, physical survival of those in your exclusive “group” – whatever that group might entail.
That kind of thinking leads you to fight over that last slice of bread instead of sharing it. That kind of thought leads to comments like “sorry, buddy, you aren’t one of us, so I can’t help you out.” It leads to issues like needing to decide if a person is “of my fellowship” or “a member of our church” before sharing what you have and to saying things like “I can’t help you now because I need this for us/me later.”
A store house of food, money socked away in the stock market or under your bed, gold coins, even a stockpile of firewood for heat are all things that can be stolen, lost or destroyed – and things that someone might someday kill you to get.
None of those things are guarantees against disaster. The only guarantee is an intimate relationship with the creator of all things, our Father Provider. So, I encourage us all to let Spiritual salvation be the key hot button that influences all our behavior, not greed, not fear, not salvation (saving of) the body/this life.
Spend your resources to spread the good word of salvation now. Share your resources now and in the future, even if you find yourself down to one slice of bread. Store treasure in heaven, not your 401K, only there is it truly going to bring dividends for the future.
Love, Nancy
Posts
