Maybe you’ve noticed.

Over the past several years, a mindset has taken hold.

This mindset is becoming pervasive in our culture. The speed at which it is spreading is breathtaking, but in many ways, it’s as old as humanity.

It is a mindset that says ‘I want…’.

It’s a philosophy which encourages the individual to think about…themselves!

It is, in some ways, nothing new. After all, we all have ‘wants’. There’s nothing inherently wrong with ‘wanting’ something or ‘desiring’ that thing.

Most of the things we want are innocuous. I want nice clothes, I want to be healthier, I want a newer car, a vacation, I want to curl up and read a book, I want a loving relationship….the list could go on and on.

The changes that I’ve noticed in the last several years is that the ‘I want’ thought has begun to be followed up with ‘I deserve’.

In other words, if ‘I want it’, I ‘deserve’ it…and you are wrong if you stand in the way of it.

This turns, very quickly, into ‘I need it’, and if it’s it’s a ‘need’, then society should make it available to me, for free…in the color, style and feel that I want…on my terms. After all, how can an ‘evolved’ society stand in the way of my legitimate ‘need’?

Similarly, if I have a ‘need’ and others decide that they have a similar need…we then have the right to DEMAND it…and to punish those who stand in our way!

I want RESPECT…I deserve your respect…I need it, and I DEMAND it!

If you don’t want to give it, then you must be punished!

What has caused this change? Where has this mindset come from?

In some ways, it’s ancient.

Way back in the beginning, according to Scripture, the first man and first woman were given a choice–to follow God’s will toward an ongoing, beautiful and life-giving relationship with Him, or to follow the serpent’s suggestion to a self-centered, individualistic and short-sighted life ‘wants, needs, and demands’ for our own way.

Genesis 3:6: “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it.”

From that moment, onward, we have had this tendency. No one has to be ‘taught’ to be self-centered–we come by it naturally.

Yet, it’s really only been in the last 10 years or so that our culture has allowed the ‘wants’ to become ‘demands’. What has changed?

Again, we can learn a lot looking back into history.

In the Biblical book of Judges, we read a line a few times: “In those days, Israel had no king; everyone did what was right in their own eyes.” (Judges 17:6; 21:25). 

However, lest you take the easy way out and blame ‘our Leaders’, let me remind you…

Proverbs 21:2: “Every man’s way is right in his own eyes, But the Lord weighs the hearts.”

Proverbs 30:12: “There are those…those who are pure in their own eyes and yet are not cleansed of their filth.”

Proverbs 16:25: “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.”

When we lift ‘My Wants’ to the level of ‘Needs’, then justify it into an ‘I deserve’ outlook, we then move to ‘I Demand’.

That is a bad place to be–for the individual, and a society.

No culture can last long in that mindset…it will lead to its own destruction. It has, throughout history, and it will–very quickly–in our culture.

When we get to the point that our ‘wants’ have justified the killing of over 60 MILLION of our own children; when we become so self-centered that sexual sin–of all kinds–is rampant and now becoming bizarre; when divorce has become commonplace; when parents are irresponsible enough that government–through schools and other places–has to step in and feed, clothe, and otherwise provide basics for children (and the parents now ‘expect’ it to be so), then we have to realize that we’ve become a culture that has lifted ‘self-centeredness’ to the level of an idol. We are all asked to bow down at the ‘altar’ of ‘Wants’. Any challenge of those ‘desires’ is somehow ‘evil’.

Everyone is doing what is right in their own eyes…

What is the answer?

Repentance! Turning back to God! Basing life and morality on the true and living Word of God!

Romans 3:23-24: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

If we are Christians, we MUST stand strongly on the Word of God, and to share the good news of Jesus.

IF we are not Christians, but are concerned about the direction of our nation, then we need to turn to God.

You can call that ‘judgmental’ or ‘narrow minded’ if you want; it is still TRUE!

…and it’s the only real hope for our nation.

When I was a kid, I had a Stratego game.

A Classic table game of strategy and ‘warfare’ to defeat your enemy by capturing his flag.

A little later, my brother and I got a ‘modern equivalent’ when we received ‘Tank Battle’–another strategy game–this one with cool tank pieces–with which you tried to defeat your enemy.

Both of these were good ‘strategic thinking’ games, because they taught you to think with offense and defense–attacking and protecting–at the same time.

Yet, they each had a limitation: They were one-dimensional. They were played on a board, and only one piece could be moved on that dimension at a time.

Enter the ‘next generation’ of strategy games: Chopper Strike.

In Chopper Strike, you had 2 dimensions–the Earth and the Air.

Weapons–both offensive and defensive–needed to be deployed in both dimensions in order to defeat the enemy and win. This game was a lot more challenging because you would tend to focus on one dimension and lose track of the other. It led to vulnerability.

In real life, of course, there are many more things to be concerned about…not so much other ‘dimensions’ (I believe there’s only 3), but many ‘arenas’.

There’s the ‘relational’ arena, where we make friends, commit to family, love, forgive, grow…

There’s the ‘career’ arena, where we make our choices on ‘what to do for a living’ and try to determine Who we are, What we’re good at, Where our passions lie, then to make a living in that area.

There’s also the ‘political’ arena–which gets so much of our attention today. It is in this arena that President Trump has made a very controversial decision to remove all of our troops quickly from Syria, and to proceed with haste to do the same thing in Afghanistan. This has raised ‘red flags’ among many–even his supporters. It has even led to the resignation of a trusted member of his cabinet–General Jim Mattis.

Now, believe it or not, I’m not interested in debating that. I will not defend the move, nor will I approve it.

My purpose is to wake you up, and to challenge you to think differently–about this, about the Middle East, about the historical changes that are happening (and increasing) there…as the relate back to the 3 ‘dimensions’.

I said that I believe there are 3: Physical; Mental/Emotional; and Spiritual.

The one area we have been notoriously bad at understanding is the Spiritual dimension. I believe that is because we are generally self-centered, here-and-now thinkers who have a sinful nature and have a tendency from conception to tell God ‘no’ and go our own way.

Romans 3:23: Says, ‘”All have sinned; all have fallen short of God’s glorious standard”

Ephesians 2:1 Says “As for you, you were dead in your sins, in which you use to live when you followed the ways of this world, and the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.”

That ‘spirit who is now at work’ is satan, the devil. Jesus described him as a “liar from the beginning”…a “murderer”, and the ultimate “thief who comes to steal, kill, and destroy” everything that God is doing. (John 8:44; 10:10)

We have an enemy–not primarily a military or political one, but a spiritual one. He makes it his goal to distract, divide, and distance us from God and from one another.

He’s pretty good at it too.

Here’s the important point: We imperil ourselves–spiritually, and in every other way–if we don’t take into account the ‘spiritual’ dimension and the enemy of our souls.

We risk eternal separation from the love of our Creator, Redeemer and Friend, if we don’t deal with our sinfulness by receiving by faith the grace of God, through Jesus His Son.

…AND…we risk not seeing things in the here-and-now accurately.

For example, I am of the opinion that this move by our President is in keeping with God’s ‘big picture’ thinking. He is, after all, “The Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End” (Revelation 22:13). He (God) knows the plan. He’s working His plan. His plan is perfect.

We are part of that plan, whether consciously or unconsciously. If we’re not believers, we ignore (or even oppose) Him…yet He still uses us in His plan. If we are believers, we do our best to follow His will, His Word, and His leading…but we still must rest in the fact that He is still working out His Plan for history. We can trust His plan.

Don’t believe me?

Just take a few minutes to pray, then read Matthew 24-25; Luke 21; Ezekiel 38; Revelation 16-19; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11.Read the news–other than American news media–and see some of the moves. Think about how this move by our President–whatever his motivation–may be part of the Plan.

Don’t be so concerned with the ‘Strategic moves’ of the here and now…instead, make sure by faith, prayer, and worshipful living, that you are ready for the ‘Big Picture.

Ahh, winter.

A beautiful time of year–from the indoors!

I love to watch the snow coming down out the back of my patio door…or my office. Beautiful!

Seriously, there are very few feelings that are nicer than coming from the snow into a warm house…chili waiting…or maybe hot chocolate, wrapping yourself in a blanket and sitting by the fire.

There is just something satisfying about warming up when it’s cold outside.

When the world is cold, a source of warmth is most welcome!

Well, we all know that there are more ways that this world is ‘cold’ than merely the temperature.

This world can be a ‘cold’, mean-spirited, critical, self-centered and nasty place. It can be a place that bullies, abuses, and discourages us.

At times, we can feel alone, isolated and exposed–like a person locked out of their house with no coat and no keys on a winter morning. Not only is it uncomfortable, but it’s also dangerous!

So, how do we ‘warm up’? Where do we get our ‘fire’ and our ‘blanket’?

It may not surprise you that I believe it comes from God.

As Augustine said,  ‘You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee’. The writer of Ecclesiastes said, “He has planted eternity in the human heart” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). As Physicist/Philosopher Blaise Paschal wrote, that the human heart has an ‘infinite abyss’ within, and that  “…this infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object; in other words by God himself” (Blaise Paschal,  Pensées VII(425)). The Psalmist wrote,

“As the deer longs for streams of water,
    so I long for you, O God. 
I thirst for God, the living God.
    When can I go and stand before him?” (Psalm 42:1-2)

This winter, let the cold outside remind you of the harsh evil of the world…but let the warmth inside remind you of the Love of God, the Father in heaven, who wants us to experience the warmth that comes from knowing Him–through Jesus, the Christ.

“This is how God loved the world: He gave^[g] his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.”–John 3:16-17

Let this thought sink in: God–the God of the Universe–wants you to know Him! He created you, He loves you, and He has ‘Life to the Full’ planned for you–as you love Him and move toward Him by faith in Jesus.

My prayer is that, no matter how cold the world is outside, you would experience the Love of God on the inside…and that His love would change things for you!