I Really Don't Care...

I was driving this afternoon to the local Home Depot store and as I waited at a stoplight a block from the shopping centre, a blue car pulled up next to me. Nothing unusual about this car, a late-90's model Honda civic, but what caught my eye and infuriated my spirit was the large piece of garbage that flew out of the window. When I say a large piece of garbage, I mean large! Not a gum wrapper or even a paper coffee cup, but a full-sized, blue paper bag; dropping right into the middle of one of our city streets.

Admittedly, there is garbage all over the streets of our city, and I spend probably about an hour every week cleaning it up out of our church parking lot and street out front, but there is something about actually seeing someone littering "live."

You would have probably been surprised and maybe even slightly embarrassed by what I did next (I know the teen guy from the Youth Group riding with me was :-)

I rolled down the window and said "Hey Buddy, I think you should pick that up." The young man, probably about my age, and of South Asian descent, responded quickly with a surprised "No."

"There is a garbage can right over there in that parking lot," I suggested.

His response was shockingly honest, but likely shared by so many. "I really don't care." he said with a shrug and a chuckle.

Not wanting to leave it at that, and attempting to reveal that I was not just interested in clean streets, I said "God has given us this beautiful world to enjoy, and you are just messing it up..." We both drove off and eventually turned off our separate ways, but I am not quite ready to forget this experience.

For about two weeks now I have been thinking about something from Genesis 6-9, the story of Noah and the flood. How could all of these people, save Noah and his family, be so unaware of their condition and eventually, the coming judgment of God? How could they get to the point where God means nothing to them and they just live their life focused solely on themselves? According to Scripture (Matthew 24 & Luke 17) this is exactly what happened in Noah's day, Sodom & Gomorrah, and will be the in the last days.

If you are reading this post today and are living your life with an "I don't care" attitude, not so much about the environment and civic duties (though these are important too), but about God, your Creator, and Jesus, who desires to be your Saviour, please stop to consider...

This man littering at the stoplight probably complains every time he mows his lawn about the litter that has been dropped there, or about some pet owner who has not cleaned up after themselves, and if he owns or runs a business, he likely pays someone to clean up the parking lot because of people doing exactly what he himself does, but he thinks nothing of throwing his garbage in the middle of the street.

Eventually, someone is going to have to pick up that garbage, and one day, every man will have to pay for their sins. If you have not already done so, consider the fact that Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sins for us, so that we will not have to, and trust in Him for salvation.

For the rest of us, let us not take on an "I don't care" attitude about the world. It is frusterating to see a culture and media full of sin and wickedness, but it is not a reason to give up. We must still stand for right and pray and work to overcome the temptation to sin. Witnessing to the Lost, even by simply giving glory to God for things in our lives, or acknowledging His place in the world (think about what I said to the litterer above), is still a great need.

Sure, many people don't care, but God is still willing to save and has not come back yet, so there are still some waiting to hear the Good News!


**** To hear a full-length message on this topic, preached Sunday July 12th at Grace Baptist Church, visit www.gracebaptistchurch.ca, and click on the "video" Tab.

Perspectives

The other day as I was getting ready in our beautifully decorated washroom, I noticed something strange about myself in our tilting mirror. It is a small mirror, and can be tilted up, down, left and right, I presume so that it can be adjusted to fit your height or get a better view of yourself.

It doesn't really make sense how this happened, because I am the tallest person in the house, but somehow the last person who used the mirror left it pointing up quite high, so that only the top of my head was visible in the mirror, and if I stretched to the tip of my toes, I could see my eyes, with a little more effort, my nose as well. For some reason, this made me feel a little small...

Have you ever felt this way? Maybe like you're just not big enough or good enough for the challenges of the day? Looking in the mirror did that to me!

Being the smart man that I am, my next course of action is obvious- I tilted the mirror down. Now, of course I could have tilted it straight towards my face, making everything appear normal, and myself as average size and height, but no; I took it a step further. If with one small tilt up, the mirror up could make me feel small... what happens if I tilt it a bit too far down? I am a giant! I am capable, I feel good and even look better.

The problem with mirrors is that they lie. The image we have of ourselves, taken from the brief visit in front of the mirror each morning (well, brief for us men anyway), is really nothing like what other see, and definitely does not reveal much about who we really are. At the fair, you find mirrors that make you thinner or wider or taller, and in a woman's purse you find a mirror that makes every blemish remarkably huge. But what is the truth?

The truth is that we should start each day with a totally different perspective. By all means, look in the mirror and fix yourself up; for others will make a judgment about you primarily by the way you look, but do not rate yourself by what you see in the mirror. Use a higher standard, a clearer picture...

Look at yourself through God's Perspective. You are His creation, His handiwork. He loves you, He cares about you, and wants to help you through the day. While He does know every fault you have and every sin you've committed, He sent Jesus to die on the Cross to pay for them, and is willing to forgive and overlook every one of them. His favor is better than the admiration of 1,000 people you will meet today, and His strength and wisdom can help you overcome any struggle you face.

In God's Mirror, only truth can be seen, and that is the perspective we need to face each day.