I've never really looked at the Lord's prayer the way I have the past few months. Absolutely loving the chance to spend some time studying it, praying it, and thinking through it!
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Mark Batterson: The Circle Maker: Praying Circles Around Your Biggest Dreams and Greatest Fears
Great...must read... (*****)Mark Driscoll: Real Marriage: The Truth About Sex, Friendship, and Life Together
good (***)John Sherrill: The Hiding Place
Great... (****)Ed Silvoso: Transformation: Change The Marketplace and You Change the World
Not sure what I think...I love the marketplace ministry emphasis...not so sure about the de-emphasis of the local church though... (***)George Stormont: Smith Wigglesworth: A Man Who Walked With God (Living Classics)
Great book...interesting in that it's told from a companion of Wigglesworth's perspective... (****)John Sherrill: The Hiding Place
Great book...I can't believe it took me this long to read it...must read for every follower of Christ... (****)Greg L. Hawkins: Move: What 1,000 Churches Reveal about Spiritual Growth
Interesting...not a big fan of statistics, but the stats mentioned in this book are compelling and helpful... (***)
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August 09, 2011
What is our Slavery?
A few months ago, Megan and I went back to one of our favorite vacation spots with the girls, Williamsburg, VA. We spent much of our time walking through the Colonial Williamsburg area, taking in the history of yonder year. I remember on a previous trip, walking through the Peyton Randolph house, listening to a staff member divulge the stories of what occurred in that house (being in a place like that makes history come alive!). I've grown to love this area and its rich history. But, history was not all I would gain on this outing.
The subject of the Randolph's owning slaves came up eventually, and I noticed this didn't sit well with the 10 year old German girl standing beside us. I assumed she was German given the fact that, well, she spoke German with her mother. Earlier on in the tour, I allowed the young lass to annoy me (I say I allowed her b/c I should have been bigger than to be annoyed by her). Maybe it was her incessant question asking, or perhaps the fact that she seemed to always stand closest to the air conditioning vent in each room (which was choice real-estate on a hot Williamsburg day), but I was annoyed.
My annoyance reached a fever pitch when she had the gall to announce to us all how horrible slavery was. She went on for less than a minute, spewing out her disbelief of how Americans actually allowed such a practice to go on for so long without saying anything more about it. It's not that I didn't 100% agree with her, it's just that it probably wasn't the best way to approach the subject. To me, her comments that day would compare closely to me standing in the middle of a Nazi concentration camp, blabbing on and on about how absurd, silly, and stupid it was for a camp like this to ever exist, and even more so, for a nation to embrace a leader who ordered such camps to exist! Both of us would have agreed with each other about each other's comments, but maybe not the most fitting for the context.
But that's the word I focus in on now – 'context.' Outside of the context of the late 1700's, slavery does seem absurd and cruel (and it was and is)…but in the midst of that time period, in that context, it was acceptable. Outside of the context of Germany in the 1940's, Hitler and the Nazi's seem lunatic and evil (and they were and are)…but in the midst of that time period, in the guts of Europe, Hitler seemed like a great leader, wanting the best for his people.
Which brings me to the whole thought behind this post (which was sparked again last week as I heard someone say something similar) – What is the Slavery of our day? What is it that our culture (or the Christian church) doesn't seem to think much about, or focus on, but years from now, our great grandkids (or an occasional 10 year old tourist) will look back at and say, "It seems so clear the evilness of ___________________ (fill in the blank), how could they just look the other way?"
Who's the crazy Hitler of our day? Who is it that is rising up in power, and sucking in even the elect of us b/c of their great charisma, or whatever, but yet history will record that we as Christ followers, or if you aren't one, we as Americans, just looked the other way?
Join me as I repeat the main point I want to haunt you with – What is the Slavery of our day? I wonder if enough of us would take a moment to ask God to show us, if he would, and we could change history? Seems like God might be up to it…
James 1:5 5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
What do you think is the slavery of our day? Comment…
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