The Cats in the Cradle

There was a popular song a few years ago called “The Cat’s in the Cradle.” It was about a busy father with a son who was just so busy making a living that he never figured out how to make a life. The sad thing in the song, that resembles so many of us today, was that his son grew up just like him. This is true for families both inside and outside of the church. In fact the statistics for such things don’t seem to change much if you go to church or not. My question today is: why is this so? Should not being a Christian really make a difference in our lives?

I submit to you that not only should it, but that it does. Ah, but how can anyone take that position if the statistics of church goers is not significantly different than those that have different beliefs or no belief in any deity? The answer lies in the difference between simple church goers and Christians who are genuinely walking with Christ.

Today the difference between those within the church is a matter of priority. Just like with the father, who’s priority was making a living and financially providing for his family, we have forgotten the priorities of Christ for our lives and His priorities for ministry in our churches. We have become more concerned with the business of the church than the ministry of Christ. We are more concerned with the politics of community than the priorities of Christ. And we are more concerned with successful programs than successful ministries. How is it that we have gotten so far away from the mandates of Scripture and the call on every Christian to reach out and minister to others?

It is interesting to me that the further the church and family creep away from the laws of God the more the statistics of family and church unity leap away from anything anyone would ultimately desire. The issue is not that statistics contradict God’s Word but that they so consistently prove the sovereignty of God and His Word BOTH inside and outside the church.

The church and people that go to church are not immune from the laws and mandates of God, to the contrary, we are to be the light that shines forth that beacon of hope and Christ-likeness, His very fulfillment of the law and His awesome grace. Yet the church stands divided over these very priorities and thus statistics show little if any difference in the daily lives of those calling themselves Christians and those that do not. Many more churches are dragged down by this plague within than the enemies without.

John 9 has a wonderful account of Jesus healing the blind man on the Sabbath. The Pharisees were more concerned about Jesus breaking the rules of the Sabbath than the fact of what He was doing, proving Him the Messiah. It was not that the Pharisees did not know the prophecies. They knew that the messiah was coming and that he was to appear in this very time and place, yet the rules and societal pressures created by men had taken priority over the ultimate gift of God to man. Certainly this historical account should bring our attention to the healing of the blind man, both physically and spiritually. But the warning to all of us that others see as “religious types,” is the warning of Pharisaical (religious) Living without substance. That is meeting every letter of religiosity without ever allowing Christ’s priority of living to be lived out through us. In many churches the standards of men have taken priority over the standards of God’s Word for His church.

When will we ever understand that man’s priorities can never fulfill the nurturing and nourishing of the Body of Christ. Those self centered priorities never really change anyone. They may change the activities of a man for awhile, but they never change the man. It is only when we take time with the Son, and yield to His calling that men change and that the statistics will change.