Information Overload

OK, where to start…

Last night at my community group we started off with politics and ended up with politics.  Religion and politics… {shudder}

Actually, it wasn’t that bad.  It really wasn’t bad at all.  The discussion was good as we filled out what Gareth had shared on Sunday in his message, “In the World, not of the World.”  What does reformission mean?  What does missional living look like?  The discussion was good.  The fellowship was sweet, as was the lovely cake that Dawn had baked and decorated {wishing I had a slice right now…}. 

When the discussion turned to the election, I shared about my latest post.  It referenced another blog that started one of its posts with this question:

Hypothetically, what if the choice in an election comes down to two candidates–one who supports abortion policies, and the other who supports an unjust war? Whom would–whom should–you choose?

It then provided a link that I found quite helpful in answering that question.  Here’s the link.  That blog post then also included a painfully graphic video on abortion, which was the main focus of my post.

I got home and get ready for bed, still thinking about the evening’s discussion.  My computer was on, so I scanned a couple of blogs before I hit the sack.  Yeah, I know…

I saw another post titled, “How Not to Help the Poor.”  There was a video attached.  It seemed to me to speak to some of our discussion from the evening.  Here’s the link to that post where you can look at the video.

I then got to work this morning and checked my email, where I receive different articles from Desiring God Ministries.  Today’s article tied it all together for me.  It put everything in perspective which is a good thing to have when dealing with this mad, mad election season as well as this mad, mad world.  It soothed this fevered brow.

The last part of that post truly struck me because it tied to what we discussed last night about dealing with the world.

Christians should deal with the world. This world is here to be used. Dealt with. There is no avoiding it. Not to deal with it is to deal with it that way. Not to weed your garden is to cultivate a weedy garden. Not to wear a coat in Minnesota is to freeze—to deal with the cold that way. Not to stop when the light is red is to spend your money on fines or hospital bills and deal with the world that way. We must deal with the world.

But as we deal with it, we don’t give it our fullest attention. We don’t ascribe to the world the greatest status. There are unseen things that are vastly more precious than the world. We use the world without offering it our whole soul. We may work with all our might when dealing with the world, but the full passions of our heart will be attached to something higher—Godward purposes. We use the world, but not as an end in itself. It is a means. We deal with the world in order to make much of Christ.

So, that is how I end, having shared some of the mad, mad meanderings of my mind from one topic to another, praying that some sense can be made of it.  Praying that it might be helpful.  Praying that we all make much of Christ.