The Prophet Micah and Today's God

I have been spending some quality time this week working through the Book of Micah. As I have shared with you before, my favorite book in the Bible is Isaiah. What a grand book that is! And, when I teach Old Testament Survey, I devote almost an entire evening just to Isaiah. And I have always apologized to Micah, whose book is also taught that same evening. Well, after my time this week, I just may have to rescind that apology and spend more time sharing with my students the wonderful truths that flow from his pen.

Micah was a contemporary with Isaiah. While the latter was engaged in sharing with Hezekiah and the court, Micah was out working the streets. His was a message that the laypeople truly needed to hear. It is full of judgment, yet also hope, especially as built around the Shepherd-King would come from Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). Micah also describes Him as the Breaker-King (Micah 2:13).

But, one passage that greatly intrigued me was Micah 2:6 -' "Do not prophesy," their prophets say. "Do not prophesy about these things; disgrace will overtake us." ' The religious leaders are highly critical of Micah's message and demand that he stop his preaching immediately. Their reason being that what Micah is preaching is running counter to what they are proclaiming. If I could paraphrase this verse it would say, "Micah, stop your preaching immediately. You are making us look bad in front of the people."

Now, as I read this passage, my heart immediately raced toward those words of the Apostle Paul to his young colleague Timothy. You remember those words: "For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths" (2 Timothy 4:3-4). Is that not exactly what is happening today? People attend church and want to leave feeling good. I call it "the I'm OK, you're OK" Syndrome. Don't rock the boat! Don't make people feel uncomfortable! Don't challenge their thinking! Don't encourage them to have a life-change!

Recently I read an article written by R. Albert Mohler, president of Southwest Baptist Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. The article was titled, "Moralistic Therapeutic Deism - the New American Religion." You can read the article at: www.christianpost.com. Allow me to share a few quotes from the article, which was based on research done by Christian Smith and the National Study of Youth and Religion at the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill).

"As described by Smith and his team, Moralistic Therapeutic Deism consists of beliefs like these: 1. A god exists who created and ordered the world and watches over human life on earth. (You might remember that song from years ago titled, God is Watching Over Us from a Distance - my note). 2. God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions. 3. The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself. 4. God does not need to be particularly involved in one's life except when God is needed to resolve a problem. 5. Good people go to heaven when they die." Friends, I think that is a pretty apt description of what most preaching is like today. Let's make our congregants feel good about themselves. Let's assure them that all is well!

The article continued: "Moralistic Therapeutic Deism is also about providing therapeutic benefits to its adherents. As the researchers explained, 'This is not a religion of repentance from sin, of keeping the Sabbath, of living as a servant of sovereign divinity, of steadfastly saying one's prayers, of faithfully observing high holy days, of building character through suffering, of basking in God's love and grace, of spending oneself in gratitude and love for the cause of social justice, et cetera. Rather, what appears to be the actual dominant religion among U.S. teenagers is centrally about feeling good, happy, secure, at peace. It is about attaining subjective well-being, being able to resolve problems, and getting along amiably with other people.'"

So, who is this Moralistic Therapeutic Deistic god? "In short, God is something like a combination of Divine Butler and Cosmic Therapist: he is always on call, takes cares of any problems that arise, professionally helps his people to feel better about themselves, and does not become too personally involved in the process."

This is the god of today's young people. This is the god that they will bring into the churches they elect to attend as adults. This is the god they will rely upon in their hour of crisis. Yet, this god is just as pagan as were the idols that were paraded down the streets of Jerusalem during the days of Micah. Perhaps it is time for us to be as confrontation as was Micah. After all the real God did not call us to achieve success in a popularity poll. He has called us to be salt and light - salt, which irritates, and light, which exposes. Neither is particularly pleasant, but, if the world is to hear truth, we must recommit ourselves to being just that.