About Jesus  -  Steve Sweetman

Cultural Confusion

In 1 Corinthians 14:33 the apostle Paul said that God is not the author of confusion in a Christian meeting.  Does this mean God has never been, or never will be, the instigator of confusion outside of a meeting of the saints?  Read Deuteronomy 7:23.

"But the LORD your God will deliver them [Canaanites] over to you, throwing them into great confusion until they are destroyed."

Now read Deuteronomy 28:28.

"The LORD will afflict you [ Israel ] with madness, blindness and confusion of mind."

The above verses state that God does instigate confusion as a means of bringing a nation down in judgment.  Unless the above two situations of judgmental confusion and the resulting social chaos were a departure from God's normal interaction with nations, God has, does, and will, instigate confusion as a means of implementing divine judgment. 

From my perspective, chaotic cultural confusion permeates the North American landscape.  Multitudes of voices are screaming at us from all directions and through all of our devices.  Both the political left and political right, for example, are hurling nastiness at each other.  Such things leave many cornered in confusion as they see their nation being ripped apart; something Jesus said will eventually destroy a nation.  Matthew 12:25 reads:

"Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, 'Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.'"

The sad fact is that many Christians are involving themselves in this political and social unrest, and they do so in the name of the Lord.  This is dividing the church that in some cases looks more like a fractured political movement than the unified Christian movement it is mandated to be.  If God doesn't want His people involved is confusion as 1 Corinthians 14:33 suggests, I doubt that He wants them caught up in the cultural confusion that He might be instigating as a form of judgment on their nations.      

As Christians, we are to rise above the fray of cultural confusion because, in spirit, we reside in the heavenly kingdom, far above all earthly authorities and institutions.  Ephesians 2:6 reads:

"And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,"

Since we reside with Jesus in His heavenly kingdom, we align ourselves with Him.  We should, thus, view any present-day cultural confusion from His perspective, especially if it is of His doing.  God is, remember, the eternal judge over all things.  Could He now be pronouncing judgment from His heavenly courtroom as seen in Isaiah 3:13?

"The LORD takes his place in court; he rises to judge the people."

I certainly do not know the inner workings of the mind of God, but this I know.  God has revealed to us in Scripture that He has, and still can, be the author of cultural confusion as a means of bringing a nation down in judgment.  Could that nation be your nation?