“Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I let them inquire of me at all?” (Ezekiel 14:3)
The dictionary defines cognitive dissonance as an anxiety that results from simultaneously holding contradictory or otherwise incompatible attitudes or beliefs. To relieve this anxiety the human mind will strive to diminish the relative importance of one of those beliefs in favor of the other.
Let others lament over our deplorable behavior and our weak faith. I’m going to suggest that the area where Christians in the US today are the most vulnerable has to do with the cognitive dissonance we’ve developed between our desire for the Lord’s return for us and our love of the life we enjoy here. The anxiety this creates in our sub-conscious has caused our longing for the next life to be diminished relative to our desire for the Lord to restore this life to its former levels of enjoyment.
To a degree, this is understandable. For the past 65 years or so the US has been the most preferred place to live anywhere on Earth. Even people who hate America have dreamed of living here. The benefits of American life have been as generous as they have been numerous. Average Americans have typically enjoyed a standard of living that’s beyond the reach of even the privileged few in many countries.
This lack of knowledge is due primarily to the Church’s terrible failure to teach believers about the blessings of the life to come. After all, it is the fulfillment of our life’s purpose. Therefore I guess it shouldn’t come as a surprise that asking God to save our country is a more popular thing to do than preparing to be taken away to begin our eternal adventure with Him. For many of us, returning to the good old days here seems like a better deal than longing for the bliss that lies ahead. But while the Lord never promised to save the USA, He did promise a reward to all who long for His appearing.
Interesting take, and for many folks this could be applied perhaps. Another viewpoint is, of course Christians long for being with the Lord versus optimal restored Earth life! While alive here on Earth as it has become, and with Christ in their hearts, Christian's can maintain less anxiety knowing it's temporary in the here and now.
ReplyDeleteWith these times comes challenges true, but with God we can overcome them, be comforted while enduring them, and have relief knowing the end of this story is eternal life filled with pure joy! Till then it's probably not for us to judge how each Christian copes with being alive during the last days or any day, in my opinion. It seems when evil takes hold, as witnessed more as time goes on, there is a Spiritual Warfare Battle swirling that is facing all Christians in our reality; IMO wee can't give into evil or we become part of the problem not the solutions, examples, or helper's to save other souls. Every true Christian knows we will be moving on, and won't miss our life here now, IMO!
While here it makes sense IMO to pray to God for our best life here not knowing exact time we depart,Rapture. We do have free will to choose to be miserable or to rise above the chaos. With GOD anything is possible!