Scattered, Again

Those who were scattered because of the persecution that took place . . . 

- From Acts 11

Could you uproot in an instant, leave your home, taking only your most precious and essential belongings? Would you be able to? Should a person always have a full tank of gas, just in case? Should you have an emergency kit with food for three or four days, some personal hygiene supplies, and a couple days' worth of clothing? Are there things you would put in order, if you knew that, in two weeks, you would have to do this?

Or are these considerations only for ancient times?

The human experience has normalized the uprooting process over the course of millennia. It is more familiar to the typical person, than not. It still goes on today. Most of the world's population lives with the expectation that they may very well have to move, suddenly.

In the TV show M*A*S*H, they call it a "Bug Out." This is when the battle line gets too close to the mobile hospital, and they must take everything down, load it up, and move it to a new, safer place. This process is part of their job, every bit as much as performing delicate surgery.

The theme of Scripture is that God's people are always on the move. Every now and then, you come across a society of believers that are settled. As in the glory days of Ancient Israel - - - there's nothing like it. They live in peace and wealth. They have access to the arts and other forms of leisure. They are safe in their homes, and respected throughout the world. But this seems only to last three, or four generations.

It is not good to get too comfortable. 1) It means you may forget about the suffering people just outside the walls of your cities . . . and God does not like that; and 2) The world is an erratic, frequently violent place, and you never want to be caught by surprise.

We can protect ourselves by being prepared for the worst. But we can protect ourselves better, by preventing the root causes of the worst.

When Barack Obama was elected President, and began to implement "Obamacare," Conservatives in the US began wringing their hands. President Obama had the votes, and the popularity, in early 2009, to have his way with the Republicans, and with the country. I would say to people "What did you expect? People have been getting more and more alarmed about health care for twenty years, and you have done nothing about it."

The preventing of root causes means you take seriously the themes of the Old Testament, which lay out God's basic objectives for us: 1) Live in purity; 2) Take care of widows and orphans; and 3) Be welcoming to aliens in your midst (yes, it really is a priority in Scripture). It's easy to find people focused on one of the three. You might find someone talking about two of the three. You will rarely find someone talking about all three . . . and rarer still, to find people actually doing anything about any of them.

God's judgment comes upon his people when they fail to act. But it's not punitive . . . it's not really punishment as we think of the word. It's to get our attention, and to remind us.

Be prepared, yes. But emphasize those things you should do, so that you never have to worry about being prepared.