I have a theory. It sounds crazy, and I wouldn't put all of my eggs in one basket, but hear it out and think about it.
Our country is currently in an "obesity epidemic". Causes are said to include stress, poor diets, office jobs that allow little time for exercise, and laziness (aside from other medical conditions and the like). Obesity is leading to heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, weakened bones and joints, and countless other threats to an individual's general well-being. Of course, the medical profession is all over this one trying to "solve the problem", and drug companies are capitalizing on it like any corporation worth its salt does when an opportunity of this magnitude arises. But what if we've all missed the point?
What if the problem isn't even primarily physical? What if it's the fault of the church?
Let me explain:
I saw a DVD (this will be ironic later) of this evangelist from India talking about the church around the world. He accused the American church of "getting fat" on the Word and the readily available (we're talking at Wal-Mart here, people) supplementary spiritual nourishment from Christian Books, Music, Movies, and yes, Sermons on TV and Recorded Media (this is the irony), while the church in China is flourishing where an average of something like (I'm trying to remember but I'll just pull a number from the air for now) 1 in 12 has access to a Bible. This got me to thinking, "Hey, (ok, I don't actually say 'hey...' when I have a realization, but it indicates the beginning of an epiphany of sorts quite well), what if the 'obesity epidemic' in the US is the physical manifestation of the spiritual state of the church here?"
Think about Jesus' story about the Rich Man and Lazarus. The rich guy was eating more than his fill and wouldn't even share his scraps starving Lazarus. When they had both died, Lazarus found himself in Heaven and the Rich Man was in Hell. I know this is a stretch, but what if the "Rich Man" could be the American Church, and "Lazarus" could be the unsaved in the US? Are we so sheltered in our Mega "Walled City with our own Water Source, Police, and Supermarket" Churches and so segregated from the world that's on our own front lawn? Are we guilty of putting the unsaved on "the wrong side of the tracks"? Are we in the Country Club while they're in the Projects?
I don't know if it's true, but it's food for thought.
Rants, Reviews, and Randomness courtesy of Jason's brain.
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