During the last ten years we Christians have been griping about
almost everything—the school system, politicians, atheists and natu-
ralists, humanists and philosophical relativists, the ACLU, drugs,
crime, and on and on. Of course we need to speak out against sin, but
it seems to me that our posture is more often than not one of self-righ-
teousness and not self-examination. The world is sinning because it
is acting consistent with its nature. Complaining to the world about
what it is doing is, in the words of Chuck Colson, like getting angry
at a blind man for stepping on your foot. The real problem is that too
many of us in the church, the family of God, are in sin. Ray Ortlund,
Jr., rightly observes, “Perhaps we don’t see more repentance in the
world because the world doesn’t see much repentance in the church.”
This perspective applies to our Christian homes as well. As we
live the Christian life, we should try to turn our families into what we
would like to see society become. Our posture toward the world and
toward the issues of our times ought to be that of a credible Christ-
like witness and not a finger-pointing condemnation. We ought to
teach our children to “contend for the faith” and to hate sin in all of
its forms and to boldly live righteousness. And as parents, if we really
want to raise godly children, we must never forget to take personal
responsibility for our own holiness. As the old spiritual says, “It’s not
my mother, not my father, but it’s me, O Lord, standing in the need
of prayer.”
After God clearly identifies the audience (His people), He out-
lines four requirements that we must meet in order for there to be
renewal and blessing in the “land.”
The first requirement is that we must “humble” ourselves.The humility
spoken of here is what our response oughtto be when there is the sig-
nature of God’s judgment around us. It is a brokenness born in our
hearts because of the sin and its devastation. This is a heart that not
only responds to but also identifies with that same propensity and abil-
ity to be swept away with the sins so evident in our society. It acknowl-
edges the pain and agony that sin brings to the heart of God. It says,
“Whatever they are doing I either have done or I am capable of doing!”
222 BUILDINGSTRONGFAMILIES