How To Be Blessed
The world is indeed a fallen world and full of evil. The Bible tells us so, in case we are under the illusion that man is naturally good. But we are forbidden to dwell on that fact or to see the study of evil as the solution. The church in Thyatira was studying "the depths of Satan,” or, the deep things, the hidden conspiracies of Satan, and for this our Lord rebuked them sharply (Rev. 2:24). Majoring in the study of conspiracies leads to ascribing more power to them than is their due, and it results in forgetting the predestinating and providential power of God, and this is a fearful sin.
- R. J. Rushdoony
According to The Arabian Nights, King Shahryar, on discovering the adultery of his wife, cried out, "Only in utter solitude can a man be safe from the doings of this vile world! By Allah, life is naught but one great wrong.” Repeatedly in history, men have come to a like conclusion, with devastating results.
The world is indeed a fallen world and full of evil. The Bible tells us so, in case we are under the illusion that man is naturally good. But we are forbidden to dwell on that fact or to see the study of evil as the solution. The church in Thyatira was studying "the depths of Satan,” or, the deep things, the hidden conspiracies of Satan, and for this our Lord rebuked them sharply (Rev. 2:24). Majoring in the study of conspiracies leads to ascribing more power to them than is their due, and it results in forgetting the predestinating and providential power of God, and this is a fearful sin.
Men like King Shahryar forget that they too are sinners. Giving too much power to sin, they become themselves evil and heartless.
Too many people today excuse their indifference to Christ and His requirements of us by saying, "It’s a dog-eat-dog world,” by which they mean, "I have to be one of the dogs.”
Ours, however, is a providential world of God’s creation and ordering. Apart from God, instead of all things working together for good for us as the called of God (Rom. 8:28), all things do not work together for us as evil-doers. We cannot neglect God and expect His blessing.
There is an old story about a man who demanded entrance into heaven because he believed he was a good man and had gone to church. When asked what he had done for the Lord apart from going to church, his answer was vague. When asked what he had ever done for his fellow man, he said he had once given a dollar to a beggar. St. Peter’s command was, "Give him a dollar and tell him to go to hell.” He had neither grace nor works. Well, the world is full of men who are evil, and the daily paper proves it. But the world is also full of the glory of God, even as the waters cover the sea. "The whole earth is full of his glory” (Is. 6:3)-God does not need our fretting to accomplish His triumph.
Contrary to King Shahryar’s, "life is naught but one great wrong,” it is God’s creation; it moves to His purpose, and it leads to our eternal victory in Him. The glory of God thunders in all of creation, as the psalms tell us, because all things move to accomplish His sovereign will. Life is a battle between good and evil, not a holiday, and to expect it to be easy is a certain way to making it difficult.
Modern man has an easy life basically, but his proneness to whining makes him incapable of enjoying God’s gracious gifts. Not until man stops majoring in evil and begins enjoying God’s grace and mercy will he be blessed.
- R. J. Rushdoony
Rev. R.J. Rushdoony (1916–2001), was a leading theologian, church/state expert, and author of numerous works on the application of Biblical law to society. He started the Chalcedon Foundation in 1965. His Institutes of Biblical Law (1973) began the contemporary theonomy movement which posits the validity of Biblical law as God’s standard of obedience for all. He therefore saw God’s law as the basis of the modern Christian response to the cultural decline, one he attributed to the church’s false view of God’s law being opposed to His grace. This broad Christian response he described as “Christian Reconstruction.” He is credited with igniting the modern Christian school and homeschooling movements in the mid to late 20th century. He also traveled extensively lecturing and serving as an expert witness in numerous court cases regarding religious liberty. Many ministry and educational efforts that continue today, took their philosophical and Biblical roots from his lectures and books.