Sunday was Easter. Was your Sunday amazing? I pray it was. The life, death and resurrection of Jesus (a clear and supportable historical event) is, in many ways, the central act of the last 2000 years of history. Just as prophesied by Jewish religious leaders centuries before, the movement that emanated from His life brought sweeping changes far beyond the Jews as a people. He offered then, and still does today, a path to a different life that puts a deep purpose into movement, part of a community of like-minded citizens of a great kingdom not of this world…yet here in this world to bring solace for life.
Yet, we’ve lost touch with that notion. For at least the past century, many in the West have moved with clear purpose to separate themselves, and our culture, from this spiritual touchstone that so deeply benefitted that very society. In our arrogance, we assumed that we were beyond the need of faith, that “opiate of the people” as Marx called it. The result, at least since the 1960s, has been horrific. Even a passing glance tells us that, whether we look at the growing sense of economic distress (and subsequent lack of caring by the rich) or the deepening immorality of our culture where we will march against modern-day slavery and yet watch soft-porn on TV or ads that objectifies women (and in some cases men).
Meanwhile, we wonder why nothing is done for the poor. Or why violence seems to be growing, especially mass violence. We have enshrined death as a way of life, removing babies for their inconvenience, then wonder why that same society treats animals or the environment as nothing worth saving.
This is why I have been writing and saying to others that our problem is a spiritual issue. We have spent the past century saying there are no absolutes, no morals or rules for living beyond my own desires, my own self. As George Marsden writes in The Twilight of the American Enlightenment, “the resultant outlook [as] characterized…by Christopher Lasch as the ‘culture of narcissism.’” to the point that “the meaning of life…could be found not by looking to tradition or to community, either past or present, but rather, by looking within.”
When I look within, I only see values and choices that maximize me. The result today, as Robert Putnam soberly spells out in Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis, is a scenario where parents no longer know how to parent (how could they if there are no morals or standards), kids grow up in mostly broken or blended homes (why stay with someone and keep your promise when the greatest good is your own happiness), and the community no longer sees a calling or responsibility to the children, helping them all be raised to be community-minded, civically involved people.
The evidence overwhelmingly is in, and its negative. We have lost our way. Even those who celebrated Jesus on Sunday are often so far removed from what He actually taught, that the critique from the non-believers is fair and penetrating. Christian churches are often more concerned about their consumeristic show, getting enough “likes” on social media and having the latest and greatest technology, that the people—both the actual Christians of the “one another” commands Jesus gave to us for ministry to each other AND the poor, the widow, the orphan, the sick, the prisoner, the least, the lonely…the LOST that Jesus sent Christians to impact with a message of reconciliation–the people are forgotten and ignored.
No wonder the society has lost its moral foundation…many Christians don’t have it either. So, what should we do? What should you do? After all, the main reason I write this blog is to point out the path of how to Live Well. Let’s be narrow for a second and focus only on you–what should you do?
Dallas Willard, a modern day theologian who passed away in 2013, said “The most important thing in your life is not what you do; it’s who you become. That’s what you will take in to eternity.” You’ll find that quote in John Ortberg’s book Soul Keeping; learning how to care for your soul is the point of life, but not in a way that is only self-focused. Jesus came that we might have life, not seek to celebrate death. His ways, something to take delight in, provide you a foundation that takes the focus off of self, off of the notion of pursuing fame or fortune or likes or become viral. Instead, the focus shifts to the other person as a soul worthy of respect, of aid, of giving yourself for their benefit.
Want to Live Well? Realize that your soul needs protecting, shaping and molding…something that Jesus will do for you once you accept Him as Lord and start allowing His world to mold and shape you. In other words, once you start to build a life on His solid foundation. As you begin that, instead of a life of narcissism, you start to move towards a life of “others first” which is a life lived well.
I realize that many of you who read what I write are not Christians and have no desire to become one. While I can respect your choice (while at the same time not liking it, wishing for you to have the best life…which comes only in relationship with Jesus), the evidence of the downward trajectory of our nation after abandoning the firm foundation of an agreed upon morality is clear. If we remove absolutes, then no one’s opinion can ever serve as the model. If there is no model of how to live or what the rules are, then any choices…including choices of harm, degradation, abuse and death…must be allowed.
This Tuesday after Easter, my prayer for each person is that you choose the path to Live Well your life. My advice is that the door to that path is Jesus.