Last week we discussed how the church is supposed to be a representation of the kingdom of God on the earth. For this reason it should be the best run, most efficient, righteous, just, and powerful organization there is, an expression of the character, nature, and authority of God. Even so, at times the church has done many things that are contrary to the nature of Christ. Because "righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne" (see Psalm 97:2), and His throne represents His power and authority, when these are eroded in the church, so is the authority and power that the church should be exercising.

Righteousness is not just the moral standards God has called His people to walk in, but as much as one-third of the biblical teachings on righteousness have to do with good stewardship or good management of what we have been entrusted with. Today it could hardly be said that the church, in general, is being run with the efficiency, wisdom, and harmony that the rest of creation reflects. However, before the end of this age we can expect the church to become a glorious reflection of God's nature in every way.

The church will also become the greatest demonstration on earth of morality and justice, standing as a great beacon in the midst of the increasing darkness of the times. It will be the ultimate society, the great fellowship of some of the greatest souls to have ever walked the earth.   

Not only will the church be a reflection of God's wisdom, righteousness (doing things right), and justice, it will also be an expression of the love of God, which is basic to His character as we are told that "God is love" (see 1 John 4:8, 4:16). This brings up some interesting questions. Often, to emphasize efficiency it seems that compassion flies out the window. How is the church going to navigate these often conflicting principles? To do this, we are going to need a basic change in our definition of some of these principles.

As we saw in the example of South Korea after the war, the true compassion for that nation dictated that charity be stopped so they could kick-start their own economy. It worked, and they quickly arose to become one of the strongest economies in Asia and then the world. The gospel also spread through South Korea so that it became one of the most truly Christian nations in Asia, and then the world. Now the church in South Korea is having a positive impact on Christianity around the world, and in many ways, it is becoming a unique and powerful expression of the church.

My point here is that it was the cutting off of charity that resulted in the development of such a strong nation and church. South Koreans are now some of the most highly educated, highly motivated, and highly resourceful people in the world. However, it took what seemed to be cruelty instead of charity to accomplish this.

Our involvement in missions has taught us this principle very well. If you just give people something they have a tendency not to regard it very much. If you come alongside and help them with what is needed, they have ownership of it, and they will be far more inclined to appreciate it and maintain it. As we have discussed before, is this not why the Lord sent the Holy Spirit to be the Helper and not the Doer? He almost never does anything without us. He will help us, sometimes with great miracles, but He will not do it for us.

We also need to understand that to measure success in something we need to look at the end product, the fruit. Without question, there are situations where charity is required. There are also times and places where charity is not only harmful, but even cruel, because it keeps people in bondage to the providers of charity or to their circumstances, instead of helping them to rise above them.

We saw this dramatized during our Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. You could easily tell the people who worked for a living from those who were on welfare. Those who worked were deeply appreciative for any help and would tend to be quick to want to help others. Those on welfare were basically helpless, unthankful, and shockingly demanding. Some of these were abusive to our volunteers, becoming irate when they did not get what they wanted immediately when they wanted it, even when there were others next to them in a more desperate situation. Those on welfare would seldom lift a hand to help themselves, much less anyone else, and often became outraged when asked to do something. This should have been a revelation to everyone, but many in the government just echoed their demanding attitude, making it even more difficult for the situation in the disaster area. The Apostle Paul prophesied this kind of demeanor in II Timothy 3:1-5:
 

This is obviously being fulfilled in our time. What is the source? Can it be reversed? It can and must be in the church first. Socialism, which has basically made everyone dependent on the state, will prove to be the primary cause of the lawlessness that spreads across the world in the last days.

Basically, the attitudes of those on welfare in the Katrina crisis were the result of fear as much as anything. They did not know how to take care of themselves, how to be resourceful in such situations, and there was a fear on the welfare recipients that greatly exceeded the concerns and worry of the others. They were simply helpless, and if anything exacerbated this even a little, rage would come out. So, do I fault the system for what it has done to them? No. If we remove personal responsibility for our condition, there can be no repentance or grace, which the whole system of socialism has done to people. The system will do this to all who let it, but that is our choice. The system is only bad if it lets people use it when they do not really need it.

At any time, any of us could find ourselves in desperate need of help or charity from others. There is no shame in this. It is when we do not need it but continue to demand it that we have a problem; the system that lets us do this also has a problem. Now consider how this applies to the spiritual welfare state of much of the church. Just consider how many pastors and teachers will supply all of the spiritual food for their people and never require the people to cultivate this for themselves. Consider how many cannot hear from the Lord for themselves, but have only grown in dependence on their leaders for guidance. Is this not the same thing?

In its present state, in many ways, the church is one of the most socialistic of all institutions. This has already created some of the worst problems in our time, and will create even more in the days to come if it is not corrected. The number one problem with pastors today is burnout because they are trying to be to people what they can never be, and do for people what they can never do. If we continue to build people on the foundation of the church, instead of on the Lord Himself, with each one knowing Him, knowing His voice, and growing up in all things into Him, we are going to pay a most terrible price when people are in a in crisis. They will demand from us what we cannot give them.

Only the church that is composed of those who are strong in the Lord will be able to pass the test of the times. As we have discussed, recent studies are revealing that there is no longer a measurable difference between Christians and non-Christians in the most basic moral and integrity issues. This is the greatest tragedy because when the salt loses its savor, then the meltdown of the rest of society is inevitable, and this is happening.

Why is it that parents who coddle their children are almost inevitably disrespected by their children, and often even hated by them? Parents who fail to discipline their children are now becoming the victims of their children, who show little or no conscience or remorse even when killing their parents. There is a demanding attitude in those who have been raised like this that turns into rage when they do not get their way. These are almost totally incapable of dealing with problems, much less crises. This is one reason why even the rescuers during Hurricane Katrina were being shot.

As troubles increase and the foundations are shaken, lawlessness is going to become the greatest of all threats, even more than the wars and natural disasters— except where the church has been the light and salt that it is called to be. As we read in the verses above, the difficult times come because of a character meltdown. So what do we do?

Again, the answer to everything is to turn to the Lord and build our lives on His kingdom rather than the kingdoms of this world. We have a kingdom which cannot be shaken, regardless of what happens in this world. In the time to come, we will see more and more that it is the only stable government in this world. This does not imply that we should not do what we can to help the governments of this world, as that is what being the salt and light means. However, there is a difference between helping something and building our lives on it. Be sure that your life is built on the kingdom of God, not this world. If it is built on the kingdom of God, you will grow in peace while the rest of the world grows in fear, and the rest of the world will see your peace and come to it. Isaiah 60:1-5 says: