Finite Absolutes

The entire scenario is ridiculous, and the only available solution is to declare that murder is wrong. No more discussion. But where do we get that idea? The Code of Hammurabi certainly didn't promote the sanctity of human life as killing animals required a more severe punishment than killing people.

And where do we get the idea that stealing is wrong? That lying is wrong? That adultery is wrong? And even if people can agree that all of these things are wrong, it still doesn't stop them from doing it anyway. Why is that? Because we are all human, all flawed, all imperfect. And because America is a nation of laws that has no respect for the law, moral or otherwise.

The Finite and the Infinite

People tend to say that there are no absolutes because we cannot understand them. People can't wrap their heads around the infinite idea of absolutism. That's why we can't understand the idea of God. Maybe that's another reason why so many people have a problem with Him (which is tantamount to a flea taking issue with a dog). There is absolute right, and there is absolute wrong, but the only One who can really live up to either is God, the only absolute Being Who exists.

That doesn't mean we shouldn't aim to do right and to avoid wrong. God left the Bible as a guide for us so that we could know what is right and what is wrong, what we should do and what we shouldn't do. The Bible can be a topic for another essay, but let's just work from the perspective that the Bible is God's Word, that it really is true and alive and exactly what humanity needs to survive the heart-wrenching experience that is life.

Anyone who believes the Bible should have no trouble accepting this. For Christians it is common-sensical. So why don't Christians listen? Why isn't the Bible central to the beliefs of every Christian in America? We are free to read it, own it, believe it, talk about it, carry it, use it, and enjoy it. So why do most Christians leave it at home instead of taking it to church? Why don't Christians understand what it says?

Coming Full Circle

This leads me back to what I was saying at the beginning. America is caught between selfish ideologies of people who live only for themselves and the principles the Bible teaches about how Christians are supposed to live life.

It is very much possible to be a Christian and still live a selfish life. Horrifyingly, realistically, and easily possible.

That is why I believe the country (and the world) are in the state they're in. That is why I believe the government is confused, as it is trying to pick up the slack from where Christians let off. The government was never supposed to feed people, clothe people, encourage people like it has been doing for years; that was the job of the Christians-the job of the church-and we missed the boat. We let down. So someone had to do it. And many Christians are content to sit back and complain about the way the government does things when we and our lack of compassion are among the reasons it was necessary.

Christians are supposed to live like Christ lived. Selflessly. Living to glorify God, existing to love people. That's how the world is supposed to know that we're different-by the way we love each other.

Many Christians I know despise each other. Is that the way it's supposed to be? I don't think so.

The selfishness of a person's heart will determine the course of his or her life. The same with the selflessness. Age, origin, and skin color aren't important. None of that matters. Everyone is living for someone, and the only question that matters is who.