Squeaky Wheels

But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction, and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Live in peace with one another. We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone. See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people. Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil. Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass. Brethren, pray for us. Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss. I adjure you by the Lord to have this letter read to all the brethren. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

1 Thessalonians 5:12-28 NAS95

Three little words in this passage come to mind as I think about something that has me disturbed today. Pray without Ceasing. You may not like what I am about to say, but it is something that has bothered me for more than 20 years. Here it is: I dislike Christian Fear Mongers.

What is a Christian Fear Monger? They are the people who preach doom and gloom unless Christians do something that most often benefits their pocketbook. Too often they are found in the pulpits of large churches and large ministries. Let me explain by sharing some things from a few years ago.

If you are a bit older, you will remember the Y2K Bug. I will bet most of the older adults reading this either never knew what the Y2K Bug was, or you have forgotten all about it. The Y2K Bug was a problem in the basic programming of computer systems. The architects of the systems failed to account for the year 2000. They had built systems only good until 1999. The problem was computers would reset to 1900 at midnight December 31, 1999. It would have made files dated 1998, 1995, or whatever, inaccessible.

Here is what happened. Religious leaders, many of whom had preached against computers in the 1960’s and 1970’s, and many others, jumped on the band wagon that said we were in for a complete meltdown of society. They sold doomsday kits of food and water, they promoted dooms day shelter sales. You would have thought the images of the movies “Mad Max,” and the later movie “The Book of Eli,” were going to be the norm. Society would end they yelled!!!

“Doomsday Preppers” became a common expression. Even 23 years later (as of this writing) there is still discussion about being a “Prepper.”

Today the message is about the coming elections and how if Christians don’t band together and vote in the “right” people we will have chaos in the next election cycle and America will be lost. Is America on a slippery slope? Your answer might be dictated by your politics. A better message would be is the world ready for the return of Christ? Rather than focused on doom and gloom, why not the hope that is in Christ Jesus?

The Y2K Bug doomsayers rejoiced when the bug didn’t cause problems. They claimed a spiritual victory because people prayed. But, people suffered financially because of the Fear Mongers. They drained their banks accounts to buy the stuff that would keep them and their families alive in 2000.

Do you remember the 1987 book that said Christ had to return in September 1988? I knew one pastor who got his entire church to sell their homes and put their pets to sleep. Basically, he destroyed a large church. A sequel book came out right after the 1988 date turned out to be false, it was 89 reasons why it was now going to happen in ‘89. It did not sell as well as the first book.

I am tired of the Fear Mongers. I am now dealing with a situation where people are making accusations about a non-church related group being the work of satan because the name of the group has the letters of that name embedded in the title. The name is not even related to the evil one, but a religious Fear Monger has stirred people up and they have bought into the lie.

That brings me to the verse, “Pray without ceasing.” I wonder what would happen if we all adopted this message. If the church prayed like the church is to pray, would the nation we live in, indeed the world we live in, be changed? Would there still be a place for the Fear Mongers? Would we stop the foolishness?

The next time someone wants to get you to do something, may I suggest you search for the truth on your own. Do some research. We have a world where information is available at our finger tips. Don’t just read people you agree with, read the people you disagree with. Somewhere in between the two extremes you will find the truth.

There are extremes in theology, one camp says all can be saved another makes salvation a “limited atonement.” Both can’t be right. One says "once saved always saved," the other says salvation can be squandered. Somewhere in between is truth.

My dad often quoted the old adage, “the squeaky wheel gets the grease.” I have always wanted to know why the wheel is squeaking. (A funny aside to this sentence, I use a walker on occasion because of back issues. The day I wrote this passage one of the wheels started to squeak.) The same is true with the loud voices screaming some message; I ask why? What is in it for them? And I pray.

Prayer does change things. Why didn’t we just pray for the bug to get fixed in 1999, why did we sell people “prepper” products? Why didn’t the church gather to pray for souls in 1988 instead of selling homes and destroying pets? The list goes on. Today, without making any scenes, why not pray. Pray for our country. Pray for wisdom. Pray for your family. Pray, and don’t get pulled into the drama that surrounds us.