News! News!! News!!! By now I’m sure you are aware of the ‘dark’ opening at the world Olympics held in France. Openly mocking Christian beliefs, even the top representative from Slovakia was outraged and posted this: “This Olympics will be forever written as a repulsive symbol and degenerate decadence.” He criticized the opening ceremony for prioritizing progressive political statements over the celebration of sports.
A notable Catholic bishop referred to the event as a “gross flippant mockery” of a Christian event – the Last Supper. All the while, the director of this insulting spectacle defended his work by saying the resemblance to the Last Supper was unintentional and his only aim was to create a “great pagan festival.” Well – that sure makes me feel better.
Let’s face it – if you are a person of faith – that faith is being openly and ‘in-your-face’ challenged. Everything from Hollywood, the Oscars, and sporting events can be seen ‘deconstructing’ faith. Our Christian beliefs are shamelessly mocked and when called out, they simply backpedal and say, “Oh gosh, we’re so sorry – we didn’t mean to offend anyone.” But it’s very intentional and meant to bully and re-shape our morals & perspectives.
However, Satan has to be extremely subtle in today’s world. One thing he doesn’t want to do is upset the status quo too much – the public wanted Christians eaten by lions in the past – but now the public simply wants Christian morals & principals silently scrapped without any gore or bloodshed on their conscience. It’s very stealth.
But I believe we have a responsibility to expose darkness. The Apostle Paul spoke for many in Acts 26 with this: I have been called “to open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God.” Powerful words! And as Christ-followers, we have the exact same calling, especially in these times where the line is now clearly drawn. Darkness has been slowly boiling the frog but now our poor frog is about done – right under our very noses!
Years ago, there was an interesting story put out by the Associated Press. On June 4, 1961, a Soviet nuclear sub was conducting a training exercise when a pipe carrying coolant to the nuclear reactor burst. In the reactor room, the temperature quickly soared to 140 degrees, and the radiation levels mounted. The reactor had to be cooled or it would burst, poisoning the sea with radiation.
The ships captain called for volunteers to go into the reactor room and weld a new cooling system. The men would work in shifts for five to ten minutes, wearing only raincoats & gas masks for protection.
The first volunteer stumbled out of the reactor room after only a few minutes. He tore off his mask and vomited. Volunteers continued to go into the reactor and eventually succeeded in fixing the cooling pipe.
But the radiation had done its damage. Skin reddened and swelled. Dots of blood appeared on foreheads & scalps. Within two hours the sailors couldn’t be recognized. Within days, eight had died. Within two years, fourteen more eventually died of radiation poisoning.
And, just like that radiation leak, evil is deadly…to our children, our economy, our society, and most of all – it eats away at our souls! Someone once rightly remarked, “God didn’t give Adam and Eve the right to decide what was good or evil. He gave them the right to choose between good and evil.”
One of my all-time favorite quotes is still the one by Albert Einstein (1879-1955) who once made this powerful statement: “The world is a dangerous place to live: not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.” It’s always, always, always our choice – but if we choose rightly – we win or Satan loses!
Bob and Susan Beckett pastor The Dwelling Place City Church at 27100 Girard Street in Hemet, CA. For more information, you may contact them at DPCitychurch.org
