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Dealing with Declineby Steve Cox,
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Usually, in these monthly articles, I try to share some thoughts on how the Lord is challenging me to grow, in the hope thatthis may stimulate you to consider how the Lord may be seeking to grow you in similar ways. But this month, rather than raise an issue and then provide some thoughts to answer or address the issue, I am simply going to raise the issue because I don’t have a clear answer to this issue yet. However, I do believe this is an issue the Lord wants us to be sure to consider. The issue is this: are we as individual believers, as Christian families, and as a church, responding appropriately to the changing environment of this world in which we currently live? Numerous reports tell us that we are dealing with the worst economy in over sixty years. There is significant discussion in our culture regarding whether or not we are living in a declining society (economy, influence, moral structure, etc.). Even a relatively recent National Intelligence Council estimate prepared for the president states "the United States' relative strength—even in the military realm—will decline and U.S. leverage will become more constrained" through 2025. Debate continues throughout our society regarding whether these declines are temporary and we will rebound, or whether they are permanent and progressive. Whether our country’s problems are temporary or permanent is not pertinent to the issue I believe we need to address. In relation to the world’s current hardships, we need to evaluate how are they impacting us, and if we are responding in the ways the Lord intends that we respond. One of the primary impacts of a declining society I have been observing lately is the increasing demands of our work environments. I grieve with and pray for the many who have lost jobs and are struggling to find work. But I am finding that more and more people within our congregation who are blessed with still having their jobs, are working more and more hours, under even greater pressure, just to keep their jobs and meet expenses. In the past few months, I have spoken with a number of individuals in our church family who have taken on extra hours, or extra jobs, to meet the current demands of living in a declining society. I know of individuals who have taken a second full time job, or work well over sixty hours per week on one job, or the husband and wife both work alternate hours to meet expenses and avoid child care costs. I want to be clear that I am not criticizing those of us in these situations. I too have recently increased my hours of work in physical therapy to better deal with financial pressures. My concern is that we continue to make sure we are following biblical principles as we seek the Lord’s will and make decisions about how we invest our time and in how we deal with today’s pressures. Biblically speaking we should be people “who understand the times and know what we should do.” (1 Chronicles 12:32) We need to “count the cost” (Luke 14:28) of our responses to this declining culture, understanding how our decsions impact our time, our attitudes, our hearts, our ministry, and our relationships with others and with God. Personally, I have to be intentional in applying the words of Moses to my life: “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12) I am working at regularly seeking God’s wisdom regarding how I think and live because I can so easily slip into poor attitudes when faced with today’s pressures, and make less than ideal decisions regarding how I act and live. Being aware of these issues and sensitive to my own weaknesses helps me in seeking the Lord regularly for His correction and direction. By God’s grace, may we all “Be very careful, then, how (we)
live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity,
because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand
what the Lord’s will is.” (Ephesians 5:15-17)
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