EVERYBODY'S Doing It
"They despised his statutes and his covenant that he made with their fathers and the warnings that he gave them. They went after false idols and became false, and they followed the nations that were around them, concerning whom the Lord had commanded them that they should not do like them." 2 Kings 17:15
WAKE UP
Wake up, Sleeping City
Wake up, Sleeping Town
You’ve missed a few things lately
Since you’ve been laying down
The world, it’s been a’changin’
Since you’ve been asleep
Your voice has not been heard much
Whilst you slept so deep
Wake up, Sleeping City
Wake up, Sleeping Church
Wickedness has taken hold—
Knocked you from your perch
And yet, your snores continue
Your dreams are, oh, so sweet
Evil dances round your bed
Tickling your feet
But, you don’t even notice
You can’t even tell
While you steal some beauty sleep
Your family goes to hell.
"But, Daddy! EVERYBODY'S doing it! Why can't I?"
Those and similar words were heard in conversations in the house I grew up in, as well as with my own children. We've probably all heard, thought, or said something of the sort.
But, what was the response?
The response I heard as a youngster is one we don't hear very often anymore. That response being, "If everyone else is jumping off a bridge, are you going to go, too?" This question may be rhetorical, but maybe we are in need of a little rhetoric today.
Maybe we need to hear it again.
Those and similar words were heard in conversations in the house I grew up in, as well as with my own children. We've probably all heard, thought, or said something of the sort.
But, what was the response?
The response I heard as a youngster is one we don't hear very often anymore. That response being, "If everyone else is jumping off a bridge, are you going to go, too?" This question may be rhetorical, but maybe we are in need of a little rhetoric today.
Maybe we need to hear it again.
Maybe we need to learn to think for ourselves and not follow the crowd.
Maybe we need to listen to Jesus. Again. Now.
The crowd, the masses . . . they can be wrong. Just look at the powers of suggestion, intimidation, fear, and how the socialization of truth has impacted our world as of late. Like frogs in the pot and lambs to the slaughter, we follow the crowd.
Right. Over. The. Cliff.
Right. Over. The. Cliff.
The Holy Bible tells us in Matthew 7:13-14, “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few."
Maybe the rhetorical question should be, "If everyone else is going to hell, are you going to go, too?"
Wake up, Sleeping City
Wake up, Sleeping Town
You’ve missed a few things lately
Since you’ve been laying down
The world, it’s been a’changin’
Since you’ve been asleep
Your voice has not been heard much
Whilst you slept so deep
Wake up, Sleeping City
Wake up, Sleeping Church
Wickedness has taken hold—
Knocked you from your perch
And yet, your snores continue
Your dreams are, oh, so sweet
Evil dances round your bed
Tickling your feet
But, you don’t even notice
You can’t even tell
While you steal some beauty sleep
Your family goes to hell.
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." Matthew 16:24
Goodnight, Runners.
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