FEAR MOTIVATES, BUT...
They put the altar in place first, because they lived in fear of the foreign population. Ezra 3:3, N.E.B.
It was the year America discovered that the Russians were placing nuclear missiles in Cuba. As a college student, I was a member of a large institutional church where a tiny percentage of the members showed up for the Wednesday night prayer meetings. President Kennedy told the Russians to take the missiles back home, "or else..." We all seemed to know what the "or else" meant, and we sensed that we were tethering on the very brink of that final nuclear death throe that could leave the world a poisoned cinder in about forty minutes.
Prayer meeting experienced a 600 percent increase. Voluntary prayer bands formed all around campus, morning and evening. Conversation at the cafeteria tables became serious and very spiritual. The finest evangelist could not have worked a more sweeping revival.
And then the Russians took their missiles home. Everyone breathed easier, and life returned to normal. The busy routine crowded out the prayer bands. Football scores became vital table talk, and prayer meeting was once again attended by the faithful few.
Religion always seems to prosper in times of crisis. But the fact that its propensity is so often short-lived raises questions about its genuineness. It is true that fear is a great motivator, but it is a very poor teacher. It moves people to action, but it fails to provide deep meaning and direction to that action. Fear drives many people to Christ, much as a fire drives people to a fire escape; but it fails to provide enduring reasons for people to stay with Christ.
The Jewish exiles, returning with Ezra to rebuild Jerusalem, were a frightened band. With an eye on the feisty local population, they hastened to build their sacrificial altar so that they might plead with God for safety. Morning and evening they brought their sacrifices, remembering their many years of having neglected these services prior to being taken captive. The situation had all the earmarks of a genuine religious revival.
But the years that followed revealed that the people had not been taught by their fears. Though they continued with great diligence to practice their religious forms, these became empty rituals, revealing no true knowledge of the character of the God they were worshiping. True faith is based not upon escape from the enemy's arrows or bombs, but upon an admiration for God because of who He is.
They put the altar in place first, because they lived in fear of the foreign population. Ezra 3:3, N.E.B.
It was the year America discovered that the Russians were placing nuclear missiles in Cuba. As a college student, I was a member of a large institutional church where a tiny percentage of the members showed up for the Wednesday night prayer meetings. President Kennedy told the Russians to take the missiles back home, "or else..." We all seemed to know what the "or else" meant, and we sensed that we were tethering on the very brink of that final nuclear death throe that could leave the world a poisoned cinder in about forty minutes.
Prayer meeting experienced a 600 percent increase. Voluntary prayer bands formed all around campus, morning and evening. Conversation at the cafeteria tables became serious and very spiritual. The finest evangelist could not have worked a more sweeping revival.
And then the Russians took their missiles home. Everyone breathed easier, and life returned to normal. The busy routine crowded out the prayer bands. Football scores became vital table talk, and prayer meeting was once again attended by the faithful few.
Religion always seems to prosper in times of crisis. But the fact that its propensity is so often short-lived raises questions about its genuineness. It is true that fear is a great motivator, but it is a very poor teacher. It moves people to action, but it fails to provide deep meaning and direction to that action. Fear drives many people to Christ, much as a fire drives people to a fire escape; but it fails to provide enduring reasons for people to stay with Christ.
The Jewish exiles, returning with Ezra to rebuild Jerusalem, were a frightened band. With an eye on the feisty local population, they hastened to build their sacrificial altar so that they might plead with God for safety. Morning and evening they brought their sacrifices, remembering their many years of having neglected these services prior to being taken captive. The situation had all the earmarks of a genuine religious revival.
But the years that followed revealed that the people had not been taught by their fears. Though they continued with great diligence to practice their religious forms, these became empty rituals, revealing no true knowledge of the character of the God they were worshiping. True faith is based not upon escape from the enemy's arrows or bombs, but upon an admiration for God because of who He is.
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