Where’s the Real Problem?

Our world has become so mixed-up—politically, economically, spiritually, and in so many other regards. Everywhere you turn radical changes are occuring. It can be so frightening to so many at times.

What bothers me most, though, is the radical spiritual changes that have taken place in the last three or four decades in churches. I find myself looking at society’s changing view of Christianity and the church and I ask myself: Where’s the real problem? What’s happened? How did we get to this place in our world? What have we done with Jesus?

Let me simply this for you. I go on Facebook and see so-called preachers and their followers posting pics of big sums of money that GOD supposedly wants you to have if you will simply say “AMEN” to the pic or “LIKE” it. The pic has scores of “AMENs” in the response section— LORD, help us! I read articles of pastors and preachers living in multi-million dollar mansions, jet-setting around in their own personal multi-million dollar jets—LORD, help us! I see churches building mega-buildings with all the finery and all the necessary comforts to make everyone as comfortable as possible in their “church-experience”—LORD, help us! I see churches taking their members on skiing trips, fishing trips, pleasure trips to distant places, wasting huge sums of money all for pleasure—LORD, help us! All of this going on while millions of lost souls are slipping into hell!

So, where’s the real problem? I would have to say it revolves around the church’s mission. The church has lost sight of its reason for being. It has become a country club, a pleasure cruise, a comfort zone for “its” people. Our Master, Jesus Christ, laid out the church’s mission when He said: “The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). The church’s marching orders are quite succinct: we are to be seeking out the lost and leading them to Jesus. The real problem: we’ve lost sight of the mission! 

We’ve traded Jesus in on a genie-in-a-bottle who wants us prosperous, living in luxury and comfort, sipping our frappes before service, and enjoying our pleasure trips when we should be out finding lost people and pointing them to Jesus!

Do you see what the problem is? What are you willing to do about it?