Hi Friend,

Donna and I were seated for lunch when the waitress introduced herself before taking our order.  She was young, attractive and sporting several conspicuous tattoos.  On the right forearm was a large graphic of two elephants with trunks intertwined.  Putting a permanent picture of two elephants painted prominently on her body seemed an odd choice.  Did it express some deep meaning?

Curiosity overtook timidity so I asked why she had chosen elephants.  “Because I like elephants and I like tattoos. Nothing deeper than that,” she replied.

The honesty of the last line struck a deep chord.  “Nothing deeper than that.”  It may express so much about our world today.

Winston Churchill speaking about a political opponent once remarked, “If the man’s mind were a river a mile wide, I could walk all the way across without getting my ankles wet.”  It is a mark of our age that our leaders have a great breadth of knowledge with no depth.  Europeans say of Americans that we know everything that has happened in the last 24 hours and nothing of the past 2,000 years.

Our culture has adopted television as the medium of wisdom. Neither “I Love Lucy” nor “Friends” was intended as a crucible for character development. Yet, we allowed them into our homes to change the way we think.  We trusted Mr. Rogers to influence the values of our children.  There was nothing subtle about him—he was transparent.  He reflected the morals of the parents.

Who are the writers for Disney and what credentials do they have to become the vehicle to change our culture?  What right do they have to train our children to reject the God we worship?

Young people are trained to imitate the culture presented by television.  And when they become adults, their culture will not be shaped by the great Philosophers of the past like Burke, Montesquieu or Locke but by Big Bird and Oprah.

It may have roots in the way Americans worship God.  Too often people refer to church services in mega churches as performances.  The most popular television ministers of the 21st Century seem trivial.  The sermons are attitude conditioners.  They aren’t bad, but Christian teachers seem hollow by comparison with early Christians who went to the stake for what they believed.

But then the early Christians never heard of Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny.  They understood the WHY of worship that supports the entire system.

The shallowness of worship is reflected in education.  A recent article addressed a problem in a current Ivy League law school. The professor assigned his class to read the Federalist Papers written by James Madison.  The members of this elite class in 21st Century America had trouble comprehending the depth of writings, the complexity of expression of an 18th Century Founding Father.  Consider that the Federalist Papers were common reading by the average farmer 200 years ago. We have not progressed in the past two centuries—we have regressed.

In fact, you may be aware that a prominent talk show host advocated that the Federalist Papers be “translated” into the common vernacular so the average citizen could read them.

Does all this make us a bad people?  No! The real problem is described by the Apostle John writing to the Church at Laodicea.  John wrote to a congregation that was located in a wealthy city where most citizens lived a life of relative ease.  So John warned them,  “Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.  (Rev. 3:17-18)

Has America become a modern version of Laodicea?  If so, we can blame the Church.  We live amidst such affluence that we have contempt for previous generations because they lacked what we have.  It is this pride that keeps us from seeing WHAT we are so we can overcome.

We have more access to books but we understand less.  We have more labor-saving devices but we are more distracted from serious pursuits.  We have incredible technology that would boggle the minds of our grandparents but make them blush with what’s on internet, television and radio.

Let us return to the wisdom of the Apostle Paul who wrote, “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!

 “For who has known the mind of the Lord?

Or who has become His counselor?”

(Romans 11:33-35)

Our culture may have reached a point of no return. But it isn’t too late for individuals.  And that’s what we are—individuals with the potential to repent—to change.  After all, the Holy Spirit works with one person at a time. These individuals come together to form a great society.  It all starts with a little humility.

Until next time,

Jim O’Brien