Where are the leaders?
Upon reading Isaiah 3...
Where are the leaders, Lord? We are aimless. Where is the hero with his courage and the warrior with his sword? Where is the judge who upholds the truth and the prophet who makes it known. What has happened to the seer who casts vision and the elder who raises up the young? Even the captains, ranking men, counselors, artists, and wiseman are rare. We long for spiritual fathers, but find few. We seek people of vision, but most see nothing except their own ambition. We are nation of children and a church of infants.
We will grab any of our brothers and make them leaders: "You've run a business." "You're wealthy." "You're popular and have some personality." "The people like you, they'll listen to you." We act as if these things could indicate or even replace spiritual gifting and depth of soul. But in reality, many of these leaders we are thrusting forward have no food or clothing in their house for your people. So we are the blind leading the blind. Meanwhile, the truth lies unspoken, the people wander and wonder, and oppression is rampant.
Christendom is staggering as if punch-drunk. The church is reeling and ready to fall. Why? Because we deny your glorious presence and instead walk around with smug but knowing grins and make billboards of our corruption. We parade sin and call it tolerance. We preach against sex, drugs, and the media, but we openly practice greed, bigotry, hatred, cowardice, and self-indulgence. We bow down in prostitution before security, prosperity, relevance, and success. We have ruined your vineyard -- the church, your people. If you follow the trail of money, you will find the poor's meager salaries in our houses. We grind their faces by making them suckers of vain religion, superstitous practices, cruel legalism, and a prosperity Gospel that is little better then religious lottery.
So what can you do with us, Lord? Will you raise up harvesters in these white fields? Are you sending shepherds among your people who are straying? How will you reclaim and replant this vineyard?
Where are the leaders, Lord? We are aimless. Where is the hero with his courage and the warrior with his sword? Where is the judge who upholds the truth and the prophet who makes it known. What has happened to the seer who casts vision and the elder who raises up the young? Even the captains, ranking men, counselors, artists, and wiseman are rare. We long for spiritual fathers, but find few. We seek people of vision, but most see nothing except their own ambition. We are nation of children and a church of infants.
We will grab any of our brothers and make them leaders: "You've run a business." "You're wealthy." "You're popular and have some personality." "The people like you, they'll listen to you." We act as if these things could indicate or even replace spiritual gifting and depth of soul. But in reality, many of these leaders we are thrusting forward have no food or clothing in their house for your people. So we are the blind leading the blind. Meanwhile, the truth lies unspoken, the people wander and wonder, and oppression is rampant.
Christendom is staggering as if punch-drunk. The church is reeling and ready to fall. Why? Because we deny your glorious presence and instead walk around with smug but knowing grins and make billboards of our corruption. We parade sin and call it tolerance. We preach against sex, drugs, and the media, but we openly practice greed, bigotry, hatred, cowardice, and self-indulgence. We bow down in prostitution before security, prosperity, relevance, and success. We have ruined your vineyard -- the church, your people. If you follow the trail of money, you will find the poor's meager salaries in our houses. We grind their faces by making them suckers of vain religion, superstitous practices, cruel legalism, and a prosperity Gospel that is little better then religious lottery.
So what can you do with us, Lord? Will you raise up harvesters in these white fields? Are you sending shepherds among your people who are straying? How will you reclaim and replant this vineyard?
posted by soulster at 10:07 AM
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