Nothing Really Matters?

If Christ is risen, nothing else matters. And if Christ is not risen - nothing else matters.

Jaroslav Pelikan

 We seem to live in an age in which people choose to do risky or violent things with no regard for the consequences. For example, driving crazy in traffic, or engaging in gang warfare using guns without compunction. One might ask why do people insist on driving with no respect  for either laws or other drivers. The answer seems to be ‘I don’t care’ about either. Or in the case of gang wars, one might ask about the lives of bystanders or even their own lives, and get the same response. When digging a little deeper, we find out that there is no concept of a peaceful or just world, or of an existence after this life in which we will be judged. The bottom line is that those things don’t really matter, whether they exist or not. All that matters is right here and now, what’s in front of me. And I can do whatever I want, because I don’t care and no one else matters. Essentially, the first eleven chapters of Ecclesiastes (through 12:8).

 Sadly, this is exactly the opposite of God’s perspective. There are a few key truths:

•      God exists and is the uncreated creator of the universe and humans, and He cares about what happens to them. He loves them.

•      God’s existence is seen in nature, in human events, and in the human soul created in His image.

•      True joy, without side effects or adverse consequences, is the result of the practice of virtue. Pain, misery, suffering are the end result of the practice of sin and evil.

•      God plans to bring about a peaceful and just kingdom on the earth, His kingdom, in which those who follow and practice His ways will participate, but those who don’t, won’t.

This is what really matters, but what would it look like? Some major themes can be found in the Proverbs:

•      Wisdom - blessings flow from having and heeding wisdom and especially obeying and trusting God

•      Foolishness - fools, foolish actions and attitudes, have bad consequences.

•      Evil men’s acts have terrible consequences.

•      Virtues bear fruit; for example, faithfulness, righteousness, integrity, truthfulness, diligence, humility, honesty, love.

•      Sinful traits have consequences - pride, laziness, sexual activity outside marriage, alcoholism, deceit and dishonesty, greed, anger, envy, gluttony

•      Virtuous wives are blessings to their husbands

•      Raising children, honoring parents yields blessings

•      Respect for others - God and His ways, family, neighbors, rulers, and those we deal with in life - is embedded in all good things.

These themes are all repeated in the New Testament, in fact taken for granted. The seven deadly sins from church doctrine pretty much repeat proverbs in summary form. The difference is this: in the Old Testament, virtue was a choice that relied on human dedication and human strength to practice. In the New Testament we have the promise of the indwelling Christ and the anointing of the Holy Spirit to empower us once we have made the decision to receive them. Proverbs spells out the consequences of sin and, in Solomon’s day, that was the incentive to virtuous living. Under the new covenant, those washed by the blood of Christ often are spared some of these consequences, but the forgiveness of sins does not automatically guarantee freedom from their natural consequences. The empowerment of the Holy Spirit produces fruit. (James 3:17).

God often uses natural outcomes of sinful choices to disciple us to learn not repeat them. And in my experience, He orchestrates life so that repeated actions result in escalating prices that we or others pay. I do not know whether or not He does the same for those who reject Him. The Old Testament seems to indicate that it was not just Israel who was chastised for their rebellion against Him. At the very least, we know that Noah preached to his neighbors before the flood, and it seems that Lot testified to some extent to the men of Sodom before their destruction, and that God spoke to Pharaoh about taking Abram’s wife. It may be that for unbelievers, God’s primary effort to turn them from sin is human preaching, and that He backstops that with dreams and visions when humans fall short. We have Jesus’ great commission, to carry the gospel to every tribe and nation.

The prescriptions of Proverbs for a virtuous life and its fruit are perhaps the only appeal that will make sense to the unregenerate, if they have rejected the gospel. But their reaction seems to be philosophical nihilism that nothing really matters - not joy, not virtue, not eternal rewards. God’s ultimate plan is for Christ to return and establish His kingdom on the earth through the rule of the redeemed, completing what Adam was first commanded. (Isaiah 65:17-25) This really matters!

 

Hillbilly Elegy: J. D. Vance missed the true hope for the lost generations of hillbillys

Book Review: Hillbilly Elegy - A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis, by J. D. Vance

J. D. Vance does not cite the four places in the Pentateuch in which  the Lord warns that He will punish to the third generation the sins of the parents. (Exodus 20:5;  Exodus 34:7;  Numbers 14:18; Deuteronomy 5:9) But that is what Vance records - not a supernatural, spiritual punishment, but a causal transmission of dysfunctional lifestyle through parenting and behavior. Moses emphasized punishment for worshipping false gods and for worshipping things in the heavens or on earth - effectively promising punishment for those who would make earthly things like wealth and power into Elohim and worshipping them. Vance describes in first-hand detail how the violence, laziness, self-centered marital behaviors, routinely screaming in disagreements, fight or flight, serial sexual partners/spouses, and drug and alcohol abuse are passed from one generation to the next. He was there. He saw it.

The book has three major themes: narrative of his parents and grandparents and the first eighteen years in which the author grew up in Middletuckey, I mean Middletown, Ohio in the transplanted Appalachian culture there; the story of Vance’s escape first by serving in the marine corps, then attending Ohio State University and Yale Law School; and discussion of the core traits that make hillbilly culture so dysfunctional and possible remedies.

At one point he touched briefly on his teenage church experiences. At the time he believed in the Christian faith, but the church did not appear to have done anything practical to help deliver him from the self-destructive vices already present in his life. He abandoned his faith until a later time when as an adult, he began to recognize biblical truth. But even then (as of when he wrote his memoir), Vance did not see the core nature of sin in this social dynamic.  He recognizes the limitations of government programs to change these behaviors (the best they can do is mitigate consequences), but does not say anything about the saving power of Jesus to deliver us from the power and penalty of sin. (Romans 8:1-6)

Vance at one point comes perilously close to discussing root cause. He identified seven common types of adverse childhood experience (ACE) and points out that these are causally linked to the behaviors that cause people to self-destruct as adults. In reviewing this list, it is obvious that almost all of us have either experienced one or more of these, or have family or friends where these behaviors are exhibited. I lived in Fairborn, Ohio twice between 1974-1984. There is a section in Fairborn we called little Kentucky. I knew people who exhibited these lifestyles. But … hillbillies aren’t the only people who behave this way. Vance mentions a couple of other groups. 

History agrees with the Biblical observation that sin brings death, not just physical death, but also the end of relationships, the death of hopes and vision and ultimately all that makes life worthwhile. Vance did not write this as a story of faith or an encouragement as to how belief  makes a difference in the lives of those who grew up dysfunctionally. But Jesus is truly the only hope for all of us, and He has the power to deliver even those raised in sin. (Romans 8:1-6)