8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
—The words of the writer of Hebrews from Hebrews 13:8
“Awwww! The world’s not like that today. Your just livin’ in the past!”
With these very angry words, a person who had come to me to complain about the way he had been treated at his place of employment stormed out and slammed the door. He had asked to meet with me to seek my counsel regarding how he should react to what he felt was despicable treatment by his boss.
His complaint seemed quite legitimate. He had worked very hard for many weeks to complete a difficult project. Upon presenting his results to his boss, he learned that his boss had withheld critical information from him. This information changed the scope and depth of the project completely.
Instead of apologizing for withholding the information, his boss railed against him and accused him of being lazy, inattentive, and mediocre in his work ethic. Needless to say, he felt abused and mistreated by his boss. As a Christian, he wanted to know how to respond.
I pointed him to the same Scripture passage that I wrote about in my previous blog post, Matthew 5:38-42:
38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ 39 But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41 If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.”
He was appalled to think that I would suggest he simply turn the other cheek and allow his boss to “slap” him again. I tried to assure him that I understood how he felt. I had spent the better part of my life looking for justice in hurtful situations. I had demanded that liars be punished, that those who despitefully used me be brought down, and that wrongs committed against me be made right. I had wallowed in self-pity, anger, and frustration. After all, right is right!
But then, in His mercy and grace, God reminded me of the teachings of His beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, in the Sermon on the Mount. As radical as these words of Jesus seem in light of everything I had previously held dear, I could not deny the clarity of Jesus’ instruction to His followers.
After the man stormed out of my office, I thought carefully about what he had said:
“Awwww! The world’s not like that today. Your just livin’ in the past!”
Yes! It is a new day. Over the 65 years of my life, I have observed the moral compass of our society bending ever southward. As just one example: we have moved from television comedies in the 1950s where the bedroom was usually avoided and when it was shown had Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore sleeping in separate beds to portraying intimate relations between two unmarried people in virtually every type of television genre. And, in most cases, the bedroom scene has nothing whatsoever to do with the plot of the story.
Within the evangelical church we have largely adopted the trappings and attitudes of the secular society where materialism has become the primary measure of success, where the flash and energy of entertainment have replaced the solemnity of true devotion, and where sitting at cafe tables with Grande Caffè Mocha’s in casual clothing has replaced reverential listening to the exposition of God’s Word. Instead of focusing on obedience, we strive to meet felt needs. Instead of calling for radical discipleship, we encourage the warm fuzziness of the group hug. Instead of determining to be “in the world, but not of the world,” we find every possible way to emulate the world so our worshippers will feel “comfortable.”
Old fashioned! Living in the past! If that’s the charge I have to accept, then so be it. But I will cling to the truth of God’s Word as contained in the Scripture verse at the beginning of this blog post. No matter how much the world may change, God remains constant. He never changes!
Donald Doig has expressed this sentiment in a wonderful song that I would like to share with you.
![[Graphic of a play music arrow]](https://www.deankwilson.com/Blog_images/Play_music_icon.jpg){kind=icon}
May it be said of us that we will decide to follow the Son of God—the One who never changes. May we focus our eyes on Him and stay steadfast in following His teachings. Even when His words seem so foreign to us and so hard to enflesh, may we rely on the enabling of the Holy Spirit to do exactly what Jesus asks of us.
Will you pray with me?
Thank You, God, for loving us. Thank You for sending Jesus to be our Savior. Thank You for sending us Your Holy Spirit to dwell within us.
We praise You, precious Father, that You never change. We know we can rest securely in the hollow of Your mighty hand. You, O Lord, are our rock and our foundation.
Please continue to help us learn how to respond to Your teachings with obedience. Help us trun our backs on the evil in our world and focus only on Your truth and Your holiness. Help us to compassionately show the love of Jesus to every person who crosses the pathway of our lives.
Thank You for the constancy of Your love and grace. Thank You for the daily outpouring of Your mercy. And, thank You for hearing our prayer in and through the precious Name of Your Son, our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
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