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The Right Country for Old Men
By J. Jeff Toler for Shenandoah Christian Alliance j.toler@sca4christ.org
It’s not really a secret. As a man grows older, he may well become something of a curmudgeon—a bit sour if you will. He can wax nostalgic, and he sometimes does, but if he is of sound mind, and has learned from his life experiences, the wisdom he gains will serve him well. There’s no need for him to surrender to sentimentality. But he does need to know when it’s time to take things seriously.
If the troubling current affairs on this earth are a challenge to me, it’s probably true for a lot of other people as well. We should know from navigating these waters before, that it’s going to get rough. But is anything—even now—really all that different from days gone by?
As King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, was growing old, he scribed these words:
- “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher;
- “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”
- What profit has a man from all his labor
- In which he toils under the sun?
- One generation passes away, and another generation comes;
- But the earth abides forever.
- The sun also rises, and the sun goes down,
- And hastens to the place where it arose.
- The wind goes toward the south,
- And turns around to the north;
- The wind whirls about continually,
- And comes again on its circuit.
- All the rivers run into the sea,
- Yet the sea is not full;
- To the place from which the rivers come,
- There they return again.
- All things are full of labor;
- Man cannot express it.
- The eye is not satisfied with seeing,
- Nor the ear filled with hearing.
- That which has been is what will be,
- That which is done is what will be done,
- And there is nothing new under the sun.
- Is there anything of which it may be said,
- “See, this is new”?
- It has already been in ancient times before us.
- There is no remembrance of former things,
- Nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come
- By those who will come after. (Ecclesiastes 1:2-11)
You can be forgiven for reading these verses as cynical, but I read them as affirming. I’ve acquired the habit of telling anyone who asks me what I think, with regard to all the turmoil happening in the world these days, and I’ll usually say, “These are exciting times we live in.” Most who know me well, understand what I mean. If I were a just a curmudgeon, I would say instead, these are terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days. But, this is the thing that makes for a joy-filled curmudgeon: he understands the facts, and is resigned to them, while he retains his hope.
- That which is done is what will be done,
- And there is nothing new under the sun.
I still remember when I was young, seeing an old friend of mine who was glued to the evening news, (the news, in that bygone era, was not 24/7 like today) when suddenly he leaned back and, mimicking the newscaster, yelled, “And this just in… there’s fire in the four corners of the earth!” How would we not be tempted to react like that now?
First, cable news changed things more than we could have imagined. Television news, for decades, was broadcast 6:00 pm and 11:00 pm. But by the end of the 1980s, cable launched a constant flow of unending reports and events, repeated every hour or half-hour. From there, it merged into analysis, then editorializing—which means expressing comments and opinions. It didn’t take too long for that to devolve into propaganda. Nowadays, it’s virtually impossible to separate current events from editorial propaganda.
And this is where the problem lies with me: I’m old enough to know better than to believe propaganda.
The news media—starting with the television journalists, those who “report” it—have become both celebrities and propagandists. Many consumers of the news who hold strong beliefs and opinions probably acquired them from celebrity propagandists. This alone is enough to make a cynic of anyone who pays much attention to them. We must understand, these people will vote according their beliefs. Do we?
In any Sunday morning sermon, we will likely be reminded that we are not citizens of this world—that our home is in heaven, and the coming general election will not determine our eternal future. For the Christian, this is, of course the truth, and no way is this in dispute. But, for anyone else who does not believe in Christ—this truth, if only they knew it, would be horrifying to them.
So, how should the believer process this paradigm? Should he be contented that he is safe from the damnation of eternal darkness and the flame that cannot be extinguished? Or, like some, is he determined that while he remains on this earth, he can preach the Gospel, and also be an influence to the civic authority? I would recommend pursuing the latter option.
“Just preach the Gospel, and say nothing else?”
In a YouTube video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q68up7u_czc] featuring Seth Gruber (left) and Eric Metaxas, (right) discuss the changing trends with more than a few churches who should be salt and light, but are starting to resemble something more dark and unsavory. They reveal some striking parallels between the churches of Nazi Germany in the1930s, and America’s ruling elite today. It’s worth your time to watch the entire 34 minute video, but at least go to the 20:07 minute mark to hear about Hitler’s confrontation with the once timid Martin Niemöller who dared to voice his concerns with his Third Reich. Niemöller was the man who penned the oft-quoted, “First they came for the socialists…” [https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/martin-niemoeller-first-they-came-for-the-socialists]
If a US citizen is a Christian and he’s registered to vote, does he then vote? Does he campaign for the candidates and the issues that align with his faith and his worldview? Most controversially, does he run for political office himself? If he answers yes to all, or even any of these possibilities, he is demonstrating he can be both a citizen of the United States of America, and the Kingdom of Christ—Christendom—in good standing.
This is the state of affairs in this nation today: there are those citizens who should know better have allowed others to lead them—no, to rule over them—but who do not share the values to be learned from the scriptures. These rulers don’t do civil law justly, and love mercifully as God requires. Name the leading candidate for any office who would dare make this his campaign message:
- He has shown you, O man, what is good;
- And what does the Lord require of you
- But to do justly,
- To love mercy,
- And to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8 NKJV)
The reason many people are on shaky ground in these times is this: our authorities cannot stand on holy ground. The Church, the Body of Christ, knows we can and he should. It makes no sense to put on our armor for the battle, only to allow the enemy into our camp.
