NOTE: This was written on Sunday and scheduled to for posting today… September 1, 2011.  Since Sunday I’ve continued to see a number of things that added to what is written below.

Why am I angry?  Because we live in a sinful broken world where the Destroyer is working overtime.  Our country… states… counties… cities… and families (in many cases) are being ravaged by this Adversary.  Right now I couldn’t care less about international terrorism.  I don’t give a rip about the economy.  As for who is leading in the Presidential poles, that is about as important to me as an ant in South Africa is to the Queen of England.  There are people… families… friends… and churches that are dealing with issues far bigger than global warming.

At this moment… the thoughts that dominate my mind don’t have to do with how many we had in worship or Sunday School OR how much money was given at church Sunday (Give me a little room if you don’t mind.  I’m expressing something of an imprecatory Psalm…).

When a person in your extended family is emotionally breaking down, who cares what the price of gold is?  When good friends are struggling with issues that are ripping their heart out, it isn’t important who wins the SEC West in football.  When members of the church I serve have end of life issues they are having to make decisions about… I don’t care about Jersey Shore, the Kardashians, or who is Tweeting what about anything!

If we (I’m thnking mainly about myself)… If we (I!) would get our heads on straight and focus on what’s really important rather than wasting our life on petty things we’d all be better off.  Oh… the “petty things” are: Money, Houses, Career, Clothes, Job security, Cars, Reputation, and everything else associated with this world… as it is written in 1 John 2:15-17…

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world— the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

I don’t mean this to be a downer of a post… it’s just that I’ve been very close to a lot of brokenness the last couple of weeks.  Were it not for my view of God I think I’d fallen into the “Solomon Syndrome”:  “Vanity of vanities.  Everything is vanity!”  Instead, consider what God said in His Spirit inspired Word…

2 Cor 4:7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10  always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. 11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So death is at work in us, but life in you.

2 Cor 4:16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. 17 For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18  as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

2 Cor 1:9 We felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.