Intellectualism

“I freely confess all the idiotic ambitions of the end of the nineteenth century. I did, like all other solemn little boys, try to be in advance of the age. Like them I tried to be some ten minutes in advance of the truth. And I found that I was eighteen hundred years behind it … I did try to be original but I only succeeded in inventing all by myself an inferior copy of the existing traditions of civilized religion … and when I had put the last touches to it, I discovered that it was orthodoxy.” - G.K. Chesterton, famous author and scholar

As I first read this quote, I thought of my own intellectual journey the past 12 years or so. Early on in my Christian walk, when I saw how the early church lived, I actually considered embracing communism/socialism. Then I found out that we have a very big problem: People are selfish.

So, then I went to the other extreme and became an ardent capitalist. But here, you have the problem of monopolies. Again, the problem is that people are selfish.

As I have thought through social/political issues, I keep coming to the same conclusions. Sin keeps screwing up all systems. Regardless of the system, a sinner can always find a loophole to work the system to his own advantage.

And so, through logic, it is made obvious that to put your trust in government or in a secular political idea or in anything other than God Himself, is to trust in an idol that will disappoint you. So, as I have wrestled and wrestled with church/social/political issues, I come to this conclusion: We need Jesus. More and more, the cry of my heart is the Lord's prayer:

"Father in Heaven, Hallowed be your name. Let your kingdom come; let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread, and forgive us for our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory for ever and ever. Amen."

Having thought through all kinds of issues from all kinds of angles, I join in with Chesterton. I have discovered orthodoxy. My soul delights in the Lord and in His Word. His word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. In Him there is peace, joy, love, and life - abundant and eternal. All His promises are "Yes" and "Amen."

Let us delight ourselves in God's Word. He is good. His love endures forever. "All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass whithers and the flowers fade away, but the word of the Lord stands forever." - 1 Peter 1:24-25

Worship God. Celebrate orthodoxy.