Stop Snitchin
Asked why, Victoria says, "Because that's the rules."
That's how this teenager responded when asked if she would identify the culprit of a violent crime. These 'rules' are the new, dangerous and sad code of our streets. It's a world where not only right is wrong and wrong is right but where thinking people actually believe that this is the way it should be. In this world Judas is the hero, Jesus the chump, the gospel is crap and the church a joke.
It's world where the hereafter is never, right now is all there is, history irrelevant, community non-existent, people are products and products are king. It's a world where finance equals romance, romance is for suckers, pleasure is a transaction and marriage a four letter word. It's a world where slavery is a badge of honor, injustice is the cost of doing business and hope a casualty.
While this world may appear to be the height of secularism it's not devoid of religion. It's devotees zealously worship the Almighty Dollar. Through hip-hop music videos the apostles of this religious preach the gospel of bling-bling. They disciple their loyal followers to accept, live by and promote their message of selfish wealth, immoral pleasure and devastating violence without question. And they're doing an outstanding job. As one of their disciples said "Whatever they dish out, we eat it up," ... "They could dish out the nastiest thing in the world, but we still will eat it up."
Shocking you say. Outrageous. Unthinkable. Perhaps, but sadly all too real. For many our first reaction is to recoil, shake our heads and even write them off if only in our minds. Some might believe that these lost souls have crossed the line from total depravity to utter depravity. Yet before throwing up our hands and throwing in the towel we’d do well to remember the apostle (he was one of the real apostles ya’ll) Paul’s words to Titus “For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.�
We should be jarred into remembering that that’s what the Lord saw when He looked at humanity including us. We lived and wanted to live as if today was all there is and tomorrow would never come. We immersed ourselves in the world’s filth and eagerly ate up whatever it dished out. Upon hearing the gospel we truly thought it was the most ridiculous, absurd thing ever concocted by a bunch of religious nuts. And as far as not snitchin trust me we snitched. Humanity willingly and with relish gave over the eternal Son of God, the author of life and essence of beauty into the hands of bloodthirsty, evil men who took pleasure in breaking His body.
We are guilty, we are without excuse, we have no one to blame, we should be cursed and that eternally.
Yet something happened on the way to our just demise. Picking up where Paul left off, the God whose Son we sold out didn’t regard us with the fair eye of His justice but instead as Paul wrote “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,�
Say what! Far from waiting for us to awaken from the deadness and depth of our sin the Offended One chose to treat us with goodness and loving kindness. It’s this kindness and goodness that moved Him to save us through the death of His Son. God showered grace upon grace upon those whose minds were dead set against His Person, worship, word, will, kingdom, salvation and Son.
His grace provides the only answer to those who would appear on national television and with pride declare “ "If I knew the serial killer was living next door to me?" Cam'ron asks. "No, I wouldn't call and tell anybody on him. But I'd probably move… But I'm not gonna call and be like, you know, 'The serial killer's in 4E.'"
It instructs us that the human heart and mind are so ensnared and captive by sin that only a special, powerful and gracious work of the Spirit can release us.
God’s gracious power in salvation is our only hope for a seemingly hopeless generation. It gives us the determination to engage them with the gospel even as our hearts break over their lost condition. God’s great goodness, loving kindness and powerfully effective grace motivate to move from our churches and into our communities with the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ.
In a world where the main goal is to get rich or die trying, where killers slay children with impunity and corporations grow wealthy off the misery of poor people we still aren’t ashamed of the gospel. It is God’s power, the message of His grace and our only hope.
For Christ, the Church and the Truth
Pastor Lance
Louis Love
April 26, 2007