Living Right Side Up in an Upside-down World

Have you found yourself looking at the world lately, feeling as though you don't even recognize it?

It's happened to me quite a bit.

Things have just changed. 

We've all seen the headlines coming at us day after day - a barrage of news flashes explaining stories we once believed unthinkable. 

It's as though the world we once knew has somehow been replaced by one from another realm.

There's a very good reason for this.

It has.

Not entirely just yet, but significantly. 

With every new development, it changes a little more.

Being honest with yourself, do you feel as though it has changed for the better?

I, for one, do not.  

I don't believe any of us would disagree that we've all witnessed these dramatic changes, but we might disagree as to why this is happening. 

Suffice it to say that the world we all once knew will never again return. 

Do I say this because I'm some brilliant historian or claim to have immense psychic abilities? 

Not even close.

I say these things because they were written about thousands of years ago, and the ones who wrote about it have a pretty remarkable track record when predicting what would happen in the future.

Perfect, in fact.

In 2 Timothy 3:1-5, Paul writes:

"But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 

People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power."

If you were to compare these words with what we're seeing in the world today, do you see any similarities? 

Do you see these attitudes in our politics, our media, our schools, our entertainment, and yes, even in some of our churches?

Do you see them at the core of many social issues we're being forced to accept as "normal" while knowing in our hearts that they are not?

All of these things are the absolute antithesis of what Jesus teaches us we should do, who we should be, or how we should act.

So, what are we to do with all of this?

The answer is very simple...

On a very personal level, we all need to get back to the basics. 

The main reason the world feels so upside down to most of us is because our world has gone to war against the Christian morals, beliefs, and teachings we used to accept as the bedrock of society.

What was once viewed in the public square as good, right, just, and true has been replaced by the immoral and depraved.

Our world has truly reached the turning point where evil is now called good and good is called evil. 

But we are powerless over what the world does. 

The only thing we have control over is what we decide to focus upon with our own lives, in our own hearts, and our own minds.

Do we trust the world to teach us right from wrong, good from evil, or truth from lies, or do we look to Jesus to teach us these things?

Which path will do more good to the world around us, and which will do more harm?

For me, personally, I know which path I'll follow. 

No good deed will go unpunished

 Have you ever found yourself in big trouble for doing good things?

I mean, there are so many good things out there we can do which, for the most part, can go completely unnoticed...

We can be honest...

We can be trustworthy...

We can be faithful to our husbands or wives...

We can provide food and shelter for the hungry and homeless...

We can protect our friends, families, neighbors, etc., 

We can show love and respect to others, even if they're complete strangers...

We can work hard, day in and day out...

We can avoid killing other people...

Doing these things on a daily basis should be no reason for anyone to think less of us, right?

So why is it that when a normal, ordinary individual states that he or she has decided to follow Jesus, who taught us to live by these standards, they're met with insults and ridicule?

Why do they suddenly find that others who don't share their beliefs are now watching them very closely, waiting for them to screw up so they can jump up and say "See??? I knew it was all fake!! And you call yourself a Christian!!"

This, of course, makes about as much sense as seeing someone who decides to learn how to play a musical instrument mess up a chord and jumping up to say "See??? I knew it was all fake!! And you call yourself a musician!!"

 I have a theory...

When someone claims that they're now a Christian, those who know them can tend to think about what that means for them, not the Christian. 

It's as if, by making that bold move, the new Christian will begin to hold expectations about how others should live their lives. 

It also holds that any non-believer who spends time around a Christian will have a nagging feeling about what all of that might mean for them. It can unearth the fear of "Well, if that's really what God wants from us, where do I stand?"

That can lead them to the conclusion that this new Christian is now putting themselves in a position of judgement over them. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth. 

If anything, the very basis of why they've come to this decision was coming to a place spiritually where they began to judge their own behavior, their own lives, their own spirituality, and decided that they wanted more.

While there are times when we can all get ahead of ourselves, every truly sincere person who turns to Christ does so because they feel an intense need to draw near to God. 

That's all. Nothing else.

That decision had absolutely nothing to do with anyone else. 

If you've decided to turn your life over to Christ and you're starting to feel some pushback from the people in your lives who disagree with your decision to do so, don't be alarmed. As Jesus himself said:

"Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ ^b If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also." - John 15:20