Torch, Winter 2012

provision of life’s basic necessities. And therein lies the tension: we live in a society built on a shifting foundation, but we recognize the need to structure our lives on something more secure. The cracks in our social foundation are causing many of us to worry, doubt, and fear. Seeking a Firm Foundation Humans have a tendency to place faith in one or more of society’s basic institutions to provide security, stability, significance, and sufficiency. Although Jesus explained to His followers that “without me you can do nothing” (John 15:5), we keep on trying. Despite the first commandment’s warning not to place anything or anyone before God, we all too often place our trust and worship in something other than our Divine Father. In more traditional times, people placed their hope in their families — many still do. The marriage relationship can be one’s reason for living; a spouse becomes the source of love, inspiration, and meaning. Parents may relive their lives through their children, expecting their children to receive recognition they were denied. In some cultures, intense family loyalties lend themselves to strong clan and tribal allegiances which serve as one’s sole source of identity and significance. Ethnic and racial loyalties are extensions of this primacy of the blood relationship. But no human relationship can offer what God alone can provide. Education is revered for its promise to provide security and significance in the form of wealth, reputation, and honor. Education is a multibillion dollar industry, and students and families rack up debilitating debt in the pursuit of a successful career and financially stable future. Their debt often prohibits their investment in other areas, such as ministry, service, and family. Although religious institutions ideally facilitate a proper trust in God, they all too easily replace God with empty rituals. Old Testament prophets warned Israel of her misplaced trust in her sacrifices and Sabbath observances while failing to repent and obey the law of God from her heart (Isa. 1:11–17; Amos 5:21–24; Micah 6:6–8). When religious practices become the object of worship, the deity is understood as an influence to be manipulated or placated in order to achieve a desired end: healing, fortune, deliverance from difficulties, or insight into the future. A god who can be controlled by humans is no God at all. The God of the Bible is the Sovereign Ruler of heaven and earth. If He is not, then we have plenty of reason to fear. For many Americans, the government is truly their savior. The government promises security and assistance for those who lack the means to financially succeed. If a citizen is poor, ill, or old, government programs can level the playing field. A prominent, modern role of government is to distribute society’s resources so all citizens have equal access to all of the nation’s benefits. But the government, like all the other institutions, consistently fails us, evoking further frustration and fear. By promising to “fix” society’s needs, these institutions ignore our most fundamental problem and distract us from our central need for mercy and forgiveness. 6 TORCH | Winter 2012 URS SIEDENTOP | ISTOCKPHOTO