Last winter, one of our church deacons died. In preparing for his funeral, I thought about the truth that countless prisoners realized because of his life: If God can save that man, He can save me too.

The deacon was a Christian for 30-plus years, but before that he’d lived hard. He participated in some of the most reviled activities our society has to offer and paid a price behind bars. But once God got hold of him, he couldn’t stay quiet about his heart’s transformation. This former slave to sin spent part of each week sharing the gospel in prisons. The inmates listened, and many believed, because their minister’s life was a testament to God’s power. He’d often share excitedly with me about those who had come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Scripture very clearly states that the Lord’s desire is for all people to be saved (1 Tim. 2:4). No one can do anything to put himself beyond God’s reach. Yet many people believe that is exactly where they are—too far, too dirty, or too hopeless for the Father to want them. The church desperately needs Christians willing to share their testimony! It doesn’t make any difference if your story is less dramatic than my friend’s—God will set in your path hungry individuals to whom your witness is like manna from heaven.

If you are a believer, then you have been commissioned to make disciples for Jesus Christ (Matt. 28:19). Start telling your story to those willing to listen. Among them are men and women who will hear what the Lord has done and say, “If God can do that for you, He can do it for me too!”

I have been a Christian for many years, and not once has God asked me, “Charles, what do you want to do?” The Lord doesn’t change His plans to suit my purposes or yours. Instead, He asks us to adjust our lives to align with His will.

One change He often requires has to do with lifestyle. Peter, Andrew, James, and John were fishermen before they became Jesus’ disciples. Their lives revolved around the details of their occupation—weather conditions, equipment repair, catching fish, and turning a profit. But when Jesus called them to become fishers of men, they willingly and suddenly made a dramatic change.

In contrast, the rich young ruler walked away sad when he realized what he’d have to give up to follow Christ (Matt. 19:21-22). An invitation from the Lord usually means modifying our way of living. Whether this involves switching jobs or altering habits, God expects us to adapt to His plan.

At times the Lord may call for a shift in our relationships. Before being invited to travel in Jesus’ company, James and John worked in the family business with their father. Saying yes to God meant seeing friends and relatives less frequently. Pursuing His plan may mean the same thing for us. But Christ promises a great return on any sacrifice we make (Matt. 19:29).

Our heavenly Father’s plans are based upon His goodness, justice, and mercy. Because of His perfect character, we can trust the direction He gives us. Adjusting to God’s design—accepting His will and making the needed changes in our circumstances and relationships—is always the wisest action we can take (Prov. 3:5-6).

With uncertainties over the economy churning, fear about the future, and the desperate need for solutions, there's a perfect storm brewing for pragmatism to trump principle—especially in a society where moral absolutes are eroding. It's a worldview trap that's easy for any of us to slip into, but especially for someone bearing the burden of leadership at such a time as this.

That's one reason I find myself so concerned about the state of our union. And it's a major reason driving me to my knees recently to pray both for our President and for "we, the people"—we, the pragmatic people, that is.

As I noted in my last WorldView column, the inauguration of America's first African-American President was one of the most moving moments in American history. But before the speech was neatly tucked away in the history books, I took note of a telling and chilling phrase.

In his inaugural address, the President said we should not ask "whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works."

On the surface, the statement seems quite harmless—even practical. But the seed of this thinking is pure pragmatism—the only philosophical system that can bear the "made in America" label.

It was in the late nineteenth century that William James, Charles Pierce, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and John Dewey, the father of modern education, met at Harvard and formed what was called the metaphysics club--although their philosophy began with skepticism about metaphysics and theology. In essence, they argued that one cannot know truth, so good can only be measured by what works, and what works is therefore good. As James said, "Truth is the cash value of an idea." Holmes went on to substitute the notion of social engineering for transcendent truths in law.

Today, without a moral compass to gauge direction, "Does it work?" has replaced "Is it right?" If it works for you, then go right ahead.The 1960s adage, "If it feels good, do it," has been updated to: "If it works, do it."

The history of the last 80 years should teach us that large and powerful central governments are dangerous. But the history of the last century should teach us that unchecked pragmatism is even more dangerous. In fact, it's how tyrants gain power. Mussolini became El Duce on the promise that he'd make the trains run on time.

Pragmatism is the handmaiden of utilitarianism—the idea that you should do the greatest good for the greatest number. But this means people on the margins of society—the poor, the weak, the vulnerable—get cast aside, as happened in Nazi Germany, and as we in our pragmatic view of life may soon do in our country.

This is why it is so important to fully understand worldviews. Pragmatism, you see, is antithetical to a biblical worldview. A biblical worldview is based on revealed moral absolutes. Clearly, the revealed truth of the Bible is truth that "works," but our basis for decision-making isn't "if it works, do it." Our basis for decision-making should be an attitude that if God's revealed Word tells us we should do some things and avoid other things, than by all means, we should do as Scripture shows, both to honor God and because he knows the deepest good in ways we cannot conceive.

But it's not just a few words that concern me with our President. In his first week in office, he showed an alarming tendency to choose pragmatism over principle.

For example, I applauded the President ordering higher ethical standards for lobbying. "If you are a lobbyist entering my administration," Obama said, "you will not be able to work on matters you lobbied on, or in the agencies you lobbied during the previous two years."

Unless, that is, your name is William Lynn. Obama appointed him as deputy secretary of defense—despite the fact that, right up until the time he was appointed, he had been a lobbyist for Raytheon, one of the nation's biggest defense contractors.

When the press challenged him on this, Obama said Lynn was uniquely qualified to do the job, so he issued a waiver. How was he uniquely qualified? He knew how the system worked.

Pragmatism trumped principle.

Obama used the same argument when it turned out that his choice for Treasury secretary, Tim Geithner, had neglected to pay $35,000 in self-employment taxes for a number of years. Senator Robert Byrd—a member of Obama's own party—called Geithner's behavior "inexcusable negligence." He's right.

Again, pragmatism trumped principle.

It's not just the President. In her first trip abroad, Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton traveled to Beijing to meet with Chinese officials. Three items were on her agenda: urging the Chinese to buy our Treasury Bills; cooperating together in cleaning up the environment; and addressing military tensions. Quite noticeably the human rights issue was left out, including the persecution of Christians, repression in Tibet, and forced abortion. Human rights advocates were livid; as I can well understand they would and should be. What was ironic was that this was the same Hilary Clinton who as First Lady in 1994 spoke so eloquently in Beijing saying, "women's rights are human rights." Our creed calls them inalienable rights—life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. There's no clearer case of pragmatism over principle.

And this is not a Partisan issue. Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC) when criticized for saying the banks may have to be nationalized, responded, "It's not responsible to take option off the table that might work." Pragmatism triumphs over principle again.

But the politician's pragmatism, I'm afraid are merely a reflection of the culture at large.

Two national surveys by the Barna Research group in 2002, one among adults and one among teenagers, revealed the dangerous signs. Here's what it said:

People were asked if they believe that there are moral absolutes that are unchanging or that moral truth is relative to the circumstances. By a 3-to-1 margin (64% vs. 22%) adults said truth is always relative to the person and their situation. The perspective was even more lopsided among teenagers, 83% of whom said moral truth depends on the circumstances, and only 6% of whom said moral truth is absolute.

You may have noted those lopsided responses of teens in that survey—well those teens are today seven years later, our young adult voters. These are voters who turned out in droves in the election with the second largest youth voter movement in American history. The temptation for our highest leadership to choose pragmatism will be merely a reflection of their constituents' desires, ones that are increasingly distant from moral absolutes.

While it's easy to wag a finger, the truth is that pragmatism is one of the easiest philosophies to find ourselves slipping into, especially when words like financial cataclysm and catastrophe are loosely tossed about. When there's an impending sense of disaster, it's only too easy to choose what is necessary to get the job done, versus what is right and good.

I'm guilty too. I reacted to the meltdown of credit markets last fall by openly supporting President Bush's bailout. I felt this had to be done save the world financial markets from collapse. I suspended my better judgment, and now in hindsight can see that I made a mistake.

It's easy to slip into this trap when the word "emergency" is evoked. We all know that in an emergency there are things you do that you wouldn't do otherwise. You ignore the "No Trespassing" sign to save the drowning man. But sometimes discerning whether something is a true emergency can be difficult. You have to walk a fine line. Prudence—that is reasoned judgment of principle and its consequences—is a virtue; pragmatism is a rejection of principle altogether.

What we can never do is embrace a worldview that says we'll do whatever is necessary to get the job done. Inevitably this kind of thinking leads to the worst of tyranny.

That's one reason I think it's so important to examine worldviews. We need to praying for our President and all those in positions of power, that in these times of economic uncertainty they would not choose "what works" over "what's right."

But we also need to carefully examine our own lives, for the places where we find ourselves sliding into the same trap. When we find ourselves trusting in the powers of this world, rather than the hand of God, we need to repent. We need to bring our pragmatism and our pride to the foot of the cross.

It's also helpful to look at how Christians in the past have responded to true emergencies—sloughing off pragmatics, and rolling up their sleeves. Pragmatism would have led the Christians of Rome to flee the plagues. Principle—love for God and their neighbor—compelled them to stay behind and tend the sick and the dying. Had they chosen pragmatism, the Gospel never would have spread so quickly throughout the Roman Empire.

Or look at how churches in our country responded in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, opening up homes and churches for the displaced to stay, and sending busloads to gut homes and rebuild. Pragmatism doesn't tell you to give up vacation time to serve people you hardly know. Principled Kingdom thinking does.

The example of Christians in situations like these, and the promise of God's forgiveness, are what we need to turn from walking by sight to walking by faith. That's a lesson we all could use remembering in these days of uncertainty

The curling waves, with awful roar, a little bark assailed,
And pallid Fear's distracting power o'er all on board prevailed--
Save one, the captain's darling child, who fearless viewed the storm,
And, cheerful, with composure smiled at danger's threatening form.

"And can you smile," a seaman cried, "while terrors overwhelm?"
"Why should I fear?" the boy replied; "my father's at the helm!"
So, when our worldly hopes are crushed, our earthly comforts gone,
We still have one sure anchor left -- God helps, and He alone.

He to our prayers will lend his ear, he gives our pangs relief;
He turns to smiles each trembling fear, to joy each torturing grief.
Then turn to him, mid terrors wild, when wants and woes o'erwhelm,
Remembering, like the fearless child, our Father's at the helm!

~Author Unknown~

The old man did not even turn his head. A long moment slipped by before he finally answered. "Grandson," he quietly said. "It's getting so I can't see anything else."

"Do you not fear Me?' says the Lord.
'Will you not tremble at My presence,
Who have placed the sand as the bound of the sea,
By a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass beyond it?
And though its waves toss to and fro, yet they cannot prevail;
Though they roar, yet they cannot pass over it." Jeremiah 5:22

Did you ever wonder what it was like that night in the Garden of Gethsemane? What was going through the minds of the apostles as Christ said, “My soul is sorrowful to the point of death?” Those are discouraging words, they’d never seen the Master this way before. They did not know and therefore did not fully comprehend what was going to happen in the coming hours. Apparently they didn’t grasp the gravity of the situation as they fell asleep while Jesus was praying. This night wasn’t that big of a deal to them yet.

What was going through Jesus’ mind? I think we focus so much on Christ as Lord and God that we forget about the part that was Jesus the man. Yes Christ was fully God, but He was also fully man. That night, what must He have been thinking as He sat crying and praying while His closest friends dozed off to sleep? Did he feel let down or abandoned by His apostles? He knew their hearts and therefore knew they were not intentionally do so, but still, it must have hurt. Was He moved with compassion as He looked at Peter, knowing the grief His most ardent disciple would face as a result of fear and moment of weakness, denying He even knew Christ whom he loved? Jesus sat there in the garden, knowing full well, in spite of their love for Him, they would all desert Him in just a few hours. Did Jesus have to fight back tears as He looked at Judas, approaching with the mob? Here was His friend of three years, the treasurer for the 12 apostles…coming to hand Him over to His enemies…using of all things a kiss, normally a token of affection, now a stinging sign of betrayal. Was He considering the awful pain of the cross, the nails being driven through His wrists and hands that He knew was only hours away? The pain of having the Father turn His back on Him must have been unbelievable. I cannot imagine what Jesus was going through that night.

When we take the Lord's Supper, The Bible states that through this act we “show the Lord’s death ‘til He comes (again).” In other words, it is a remembrance of His sacrifice for us. I sometimes wonder if we as believers focus so much on the sacrifice that we forget the man behind the sacrifice. Yes, we love and are thankful to Christ for what He did, but it is equally important that we love Him for who He was and is.

Look at Luke 22:39-46-

And he came out, and went, as he was wont, to the mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him. And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation. And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but Thine, be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

There are some things to notice about this passage that reveal the character of Christ. One…this was not easy for Him. Too often we think, well Christ was God so He knew He’d be back in three days. Christ was fully God but He was also fully man and had all the same feelings we do. The ONLY difference between Christ and us, as far as the human part goes, is that He was without sin. Hebrews 4:15 states,

Jesus as a man knew fear, He understood pain, He understood loneliness. Verse 44 of Luke 22 states that Jesus was in mental and emotional AGONY. So much so, that He began to sweat blood, a condition modern science call hematidrosis, which is a condition where under great stress, blood vessels break and blood comes out through the pores in skin like sweat. Jesus was so distraught, He sweat blood. Going to the cross for us, was not easy for Him. Aside from the pain of the nails through His flesh, aside from scorn and ridicule of hanging naked up on the cross (movies and paintings portray Him in a loincloth, but fact is, most often Romans crucified men nude to further shame them), He was facing having the Father turn His back on Him. God is Holy and will not look on sin. God the Father, for a brief moment in history, turned His back on Jesus Christ as He became sin for us.

We know the Bible teaches that Jesus was not merely a man, but God in the flesh. That is the second part of the wonder- GOD DIED for us. On that day so long ago, God, the creator of the universe, was beaten and whipped until the flesh hung from His back like ribbons. On that day, God allowed nails to pierce his wrists, bursting arteries and veins, not because He had to, because He wanted to, to purchase our souls from Hell. It is hard to believe we can grow indifferent to that amazing story, but we do. We forget all too often, to love Christ for the selfless individual He was. We remember the sacrifice but do we remember the man Jesus. He left His home in heaven to become like one of us. He then left His earthly home to travel the country to preach the kingdom of God. His entire life was selfless devotion to the kingdom of God and to all of us. No one has ever loved you as much as Jesus Christ loves you. We love Him because He first loved us. This easter, when you take the Lord’s Supper, I ask you to remember not only the awesome price God paid for you but remember the man, the One who loved you so much that He endured scorn and shame and death to purchase your place in heaven. A lot of people don’t think about heaven, they’re so wrapped up in this life. This life only lasts for a while…eternity is forever; it never ends…EVER. Jesus said, “I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but by Me.” There is only one doorway to heaven and that’s Jesus. His gift to us did not end with the Cross. He lives and reigns today and continues to intercede for us and help us. Let us love and serve Him because He has so selflessly served and loved us. Let us love Him for who He is….our master, our savior, and our friend.   -pastor frank-

SOME SHALLOW THINKERS DISMISS THE CHRISTIAN as an unrealistic person who lives in a make-believe world. "Religion," they say, "is a flight from reality. To embrace it is to take refuge in dreams."

By constantly arguing this way, they have managed to disturb a great many people and to create in many minds a gnawing doubt concerning the soundness of the Christian position. But there is nothing to be disturbed about--a better acquaintance with the facts will dispel all doubts and convince believers that their expectations are valid and their faith is well grounded.

If realism is the recognition of things as they really are, Christians are of all people the most realistic. They of all intelligent thinkers are the most concerned with reality. They insist that their beliefs correspond with facts. They pare things down to their stark essentials and squeeze out of their minds everything that inflates their thinking. They demand to know the whole truth about God, sin, life, death, moral accountability and the world to come. They want to know the worst about themselves in order that they may do something about it. Something in them refuses to be cheated, however pleasant the self-deception might be to their self-esteem. They take into account the undeniable fact that they have sinned. They recognize the shortness of time and the certainty of death. These they do not try to avoid nor alter to their own liking. This are facts and they face them full on. They are realists!

We of the Christian faith need not go on the defensive. The burden of proof lies with the opponent. The charge of unrealism is one which can be brought against the unbeliever with unanswerable logic.

The man or woman of the world is the dreamer, not the Christian. Sinner can never be quite themselves. They must pretend all their lives. They must act as if they were never going to die, and yet they know too well that they will. They must act as if they have never sinned, when deep in their hearts, they know very well that they have. They must act unconcerned about God and judgment and the future life, and all the time their hearts are deeply disturbed about their precarious condition. They must keep up a front of nonchalance while shrinking from facts and wincing under the lash of conscience. The news of a friend's sudden death leaves them shaken with the suggestion that they may be next, but they dare not show this--they must cover their terror as best they can and continue to act their part. All their adult lives, they must dodge and hide and conceal. When they finally drop the act, they either lose their mind, turn to Christ or try suicide.

Say, poor worldling, can it be
That my heart should envy thee

“for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.” Philippians 4:11

Jesus told His disciples that the world would hate them. They would be “as sheep in the midst of wolves.” They would be arrested, scourged, and brought before governors and kings. Even their loved ones would persecute them. As the world hated and persecuted Him, so it would treat His servants. Thousands of Christians have learned the secret of contentment and joy in trial. Some of the happiest Christians I have met have been life-long sufferers. They have had every reason to sigh and complain, being denied so many privileges and pleasures that they see others enjoy, yet they have found greater cause for gratitude and joy than many who are prosperous, vigorous, and strong.

In all ages, Christians have found it possible to maintain the spirit of joy in the hour of trial. In circumstances that would have felled most men, they have so completely risen above them that they actually have used the circumstances to serve and glorify Christ

-Billy Graham-