"I Am a Hobbit"

I am presently doing a lot of reading for a new class I will be teaching to some of the tenth grade students who attend our church this fall.  The class is on developing a Biblical Worldview.  So, I have been reading and taking notes, comparing the prevailing cultural worldview of humanism and secularism and the Biblical worldview.  I am amazed at the total lack of any foundation for humanism.  It is built upon a straw-man which has no strength.  You see, when you decide to intentionally take God and the presence of the supernatural away from culture, you are left with mere theories and speculations.  And I have found that it is never a good thing to base anything upon a mere theory or speculation.  And, one of the evidences of this lack of foundation is that there is so much room for inconsistencies.


Such an inconsistency has arisen to the surface these past few days.  The case involves a lady by the name of Rachel Dolezal, the former head of the Spokane, Washington, chapter of the NAACP.  She was born of Caucasian parents but identifies herself as being black.  She was asked by Matt Lauer, the host of NBC's "Today" Show, "Are you an African-American.?"  Her answer was, "I identify as black."  Ms. Dolezal claims that she began to identify as a black woman when she was five years of age.  She said that she chose a brown-colored crayon to draw herself rather than the standard peach-colored crayon that most white children use. 


Now, here is where I find the inconsistency in our cultural worldview today.  The media has a love affair with Bruce Jenner as he spends hundreds of thousands of dollars to become the "woman" he has always wanted to be.  He identified with being a woman.  So, his - or is it her? - picture is on the cover of leading magazines.  He  - or is it she? - is interviewed on national television.  Even ESPN wants to aware him - or is it her? - with an award for courage.  Bruce - or is it Caitlyn? - is elevated to the status of being a hero.  But, Ms. Dolezal is forced to defend herself before a tumultuous media simply because she wants to be black, but lives in a white body.  She said, in an interview on NBC's "Nightly News" last evening, that she had decided not to take any drugs or chemicals that might have discolored her skin.  So, she is a white woman even thought she wants be seen as being black.  So, it is okay for Bruce - or is it Caitlyn?, but not okay for Rachel.  Are you confused yet? 


Rush Limbaugh had some fun with this whole thing the other day on his radio program.  Now I am not a great fan of Rush Limbaugh, but I do believe he has his finger on the pulse of where our nation is going.  As many of you know, Rush is a big man.  So, he tells his radio audience that he now wants to be called "skinny" because he believes inside that that is what he is.  Suppose I wanted to let you know that I identify with being a Hobbit.  Would that make me a Hobbit?  No!  I might convince myself that I really was a Hobbit - of course I might need to grow my feet and find someway to increase hair-growth on those feet.  But, in reality, I am still who I am.  That is who God created me to be. 


Friends, if there is to be a consistency in this self-centered, sin-riddled culture in which we live, then we need to accept anyone as who they think they are.  Which, when you really think about it, becomes a scary thing.  Ms. Dolezal was born as a white-woman.  She may have very strong sympathies and passion for the black people she worked for and with, but she is white because that is the way God created her.  Bruce Jenner was born as a white-man.  He may have very strong sympathies and passion for the female sex, but he is a male because that is the way God created him. 


Why all this dissatisfaction with who we are?  The answer is found in the foundation of humanism - the prevailing worldview of today: Man is the center of his world; there is no God, therefore everything revolves around me and my happiness.  Friends, if God is missing the only anchor one has is to himself.  If I am out in a boat in a storm and I throw the anchor overboard, I certainly hope that it will catch something more significant and stronger than my boat.  I want a pretty solid rock.  But, take away the Rock, who is God Himself, and we are left to the whims of our own desires. 


Oh how it is time to return to the Scriptures and there discover that our significance as a human race is only found in the relationship we have with the living God. 


I have begun preaching a series through the Book of Ecclesiastes in my church.  This past Sunday we examined Ecclesiastes 1:1-11 where Solomon describes life as being meaningless, empty and boring; that true significance is only found in God.  I had a Dad approach me following one of the services and said that his young son, probably aged 7 or 8, had a question.  The young boy's question was: So, Pastor Max, what is the purpose for man?  Now, isn't that a great question for any of us to ask, but a marvelous question for a young boy to ask.  How would you have responded?  Well I shared with him and his Dad these words, "The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever."  That statement from the Westminster Confession is truly amazing.  Man's significance - a young boy's significance - is found in a relationship with God.  Bruce Jenner never discovered that relationship.  Rachel Dolezal never discovered that relationship.  Have you?