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| “I saw the tears of the oppressed— and they have no comforter; power was on the side of their oppressors— and they have no comforter.” |
| —Ecclesiastes 4:1b |
If you were king of a great nation, what changes would you make to society? I can hear your answers echoing in my mind: bring peace to my nation; end poverty; bring harmony among the races; end political discord; make certain all people had enough to eat and a roof over their heads; devote all possible resources to end the dread diseases that afflict so many people; and your list would go on and on and on.
The most natural thing in the world is to expect that if we had the absolute power over our nation we would change society profoundly. But, I wonder if we would be able to do so.
In his time, King Solomon had absolute authority over the kingdom of God’s chosen people. He has vast riches and enormous resources. Yet, at the end of his life, notice the words he writes, as found in Ecclesiastes 4:1-3:
Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun:I saw the tears of the oppressed— and they have no comforter; power was on the side of their oppressors— and they have no comforter. And I declared that the dead, who had already died, are happier than the living, who are still alive. But better than both is the one who has never been born, who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun.
Wait a minute! Why didn’t King Solomon fix the things that were broken in his world? The truth is he genuinely tried to do so. But, Solomon learned that sin has such power that even his kingly authority could not turn the tide toward righteousness, equality, fairness, and justice. Solomon’s statement above is a cry of despair and a confession of his failure.
You see, only God can bring about revival. Only He can cause people dead in their trespasses and sins to live again. Only the mercy, grace, and love of God, expressed through His Son, Jesus, can bring about the kind of changes that must occur to put society on the right pathway.
John Stott, in his article appearing in the October, 2011, issue of Christianity Today magazine, suggests there are four ways that Christians can influence society: the power of prayer, the power of truth, the power of example, and the power of group solidarity. I urge you to read this article by clicking here.1
As we begin a new day, we do not need to fall into despair because of the vagaries of our society. Rather, we can determine to exercise the four powers that Stott has outlined. If we do so, we will begin to see how the power of Christ, in and through us, can change our world.
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| 1 This article first appeared on ChristianityToday.com on October, 2011. Used by permission of Christianity Today, Carol Stream, IL 60188. All Rights Reserved. This article may not be copied, printed, or used in any fashion without specific permission of Christianity Today. |
