As I think about the last post on need, some other thoughts have come to mind. First, need is a funny thing. I think it’s relative and I think it’s very subjective. I think that it fits right in with our modern culture and the values that it pushes. Somebody once told me that Satan has two methods by which he tries to make Christians ineffective. One is to get us to sin and destroy our testimony and coincidentally our lives and the lives of those around us. The other is to get us to believe that things are good and that there is no need for any great effort to do anything. The first one is more obvious and overt. The second, while more subtle and time consuming, could be much more destructive to the church’s efforts or as i would guess Satan would be quite content with, at least render it ineffective.

We live in this culture that constantly professes that things are just fine and despite obvious financial, social and cultural catastrophes never pushes any agenda other than it’s all good despite the fact that the markers are evident. When I talk about the deterioration of the culture or the economically precarious times that we live in I am labeled a radical right wing zealot that needs to understand the reality that everything is under control and I am told that I need to relax. The problem is that the culture has been lulled into a level of complacency that is impenetrable by any logic or reason. This does not bode well for creating urgency in our walk. As a matter of fact, urgency or need rubs against the grain and could force people to consider the alternatives and nobody wants to do that. Need would be a sign that all is not well and that can’t be allowed to occur.

Another deterrent to showing need is that while not everyone is prosperous, and I refer to various parts of our lives, that people are generally content with just surviving and just getting by. The idea of pushing and sacrificing for more is not an attitude that is pervasive in our culture anymore. It’s almost frowned upon. Along side of that is a sense of entitlement which is justified with the caveat that people don’t want a lot. They just want enough to survive and if that’s all they want then why shouldn’t somebody just give it to them. The need for more is not a concept that is prominent and so reaching out to the God of the universe for more is not either. People can get mediocre from the culture so why need God for more..

Another level of contentment contributes to the formula also. Many people will play the cultural game and get a piece of the pie and then simply come to the place where they are content with a certain level of success and then life becomes all about maintaining of lifestyle and possessions. This type of attitude is not conducive to wanting or needing God in our lives. The combination of any or all of these factors has led to a tremendous lack of a need for God. We have generationally settled into a groove that does not leave room for the God of the universe and His work. 911 gave a little urgency, but that faded. The financial crash of 2008 did the same, but it also faded. The fact is that as a culture we create fixes which are not fixes at all, but do appease our human sense of need so that we do not seek God. I think about the Israelites in the Old Testament and I think that time after time God wanted them to need Him and they would for a while, but they always went back to their own way until it was too late. I feel that, as a culture, this may be our destiny.