Given the moral and fiscal bankruptcy of our state and so much of our nation, we might ask, “Are we as conservative Christians in Illinois good for nothing?”
It may feel that no matter what we do, our witness and work bear no fruit.
But it does not need to be that way. Let me explain.
Scripture gives both negative and positive commands: Do not kill, love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, etc. In the same way, God’s Word instructs us as believers to oppose and support certain things:
Ephesians 5:11 – And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.
Titus 3:14 – And let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs, that they may not be unfruitful.
To be sure, there are many unfruitful works of darkness going on in Illinois. The bulk of the work of Illinois Family Institute and many other Christian ministries here is dedicated to this needful task.
But we must recognize that the work of exposing evil is not simply so we can pat ourselves on the back.
Our goal and our task is to warn others.
The danger of this duty is that it can seem like this is all we end up doing. And if this is all we end up doing, it can seem like we are fighting a losing battle. There is no way that our warnings are going to lead to an end of these evils in the next year or the next election cycle.
It is frustrating to see how many are still distracted, misled, or deceived. But if all we do is focus on the negative, then it might seem that we are destined for insanity.
This is where we must consider the calling Scripture gives. I quoted earlier from the book of Titus. Paul left the island of Crete and gave Titus a very challenging assignment. The island of Crete was not a nice place to conduct ministry in the first century.
As a prophet of Crete said about his people, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” “Thanks for the assignment on Crete, Paul,” Titus might have been tempted to say with sarcasm.
A lot of Titus’ work was negative. There were many insubordinate, idle talkers, and deceivers whose mouths needed to be stopped. They were dangerous people (Titus 1:10-11).
But we observe that this negative work was not all Titus and the appointed elders were called to do.
Titus 2 is filled with beautiful admonishments related to older men, older women, young women and mothers, young men, and even slaves. Slaves, the lowest on the social scale, and very possibly people in a horrible situation, were reminded that, through their faithful service, they might adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things.
Wow! That is quite a calling amid difficult duty.
Let me suggest that one way of avoiding the insanity we might experience living here in Illinois is to consider more often the positive tasks at hand. If all we do is sit around and gripe about Governor Pritzker and the deadly agenda seeping out of Springfield, we will become easily discouraged.
So instead, consider what you can do on the positive end.
Titus 3:8 – This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.
What good works might you be doing in your family, through your local church, or by assisting a Christian school, pregnancy center, or homeless shelter?
I assure you many positive things are going on in Illinois.
Perhaps in our zeal to expose the evil we don’t always consider the positive as we should. If this characterizes your Christian service, repent, be encouraged, and embrace the full calling God has given to you.
