What is Secular?

What is Secular?

“Secular” is a word often used to distinguish material things or issues pertaining to the natural or physical world from “spiritual” things.  But the fact of the matter is that inasmuch as God is maker of all things and His involvement extends to every aspect of His creation, to distinguish some things as “secular” is in essence to suggest they don’t belong to God or His governance.

What would you think if I were to come into your house and suggest that some of the things there are yours, but others are not, and are free for my use or taking?  I think I know your response to that.

According to Scripture, all things are ours because we belong to God, our Father, and all things belong to Him.  So what’s the point for a child of God to consider anything as “secular”?  That is a term for someone who does not belong to God or recognize His Lordship and ownership of every thought, every physical thing, every moment, and everything that exists.  He is Lord of all!

“So then let no one boast in men. For all things belong to you, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you, and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God.”  1 Corinthians 3:21-23

INSECURITY---What a BUGGER!!!

INSECURITY comes from trusting in ourselves or others, or any temporal things such as health, wealth, family, friends, employment, world peace, …..anything but God Himself and His eternal, unchanging, unfailing word.

Insecurity originated in the Garden of Eden when man chose to question God’s character (truthfulness, benevolence, sincerity, faithfulness) after listening and giving consideration to suggestions from a lying source.  The questioning led to the choice to believe lies and place their hopes, relationships, and very security in what they attempted to gain for themselves by partaking of the forbidden fruit. 

What they gained was knowledge—that God was true and the serpent was a liar.

What they lost was practically everything else—open fellowship with God was lost. And its place they got all the selfish, prideful, angry, fighting, deceptive characteristics of soul which are opposite the nature of God.

In rebelling against God man gave up the complete security in God that had been his before, and opted for “I will do things my way and take care of myself in a world full of sinful people on a damaged earth.” 

This condition fuels the insecurity that drives fear, defensiveness, competition, strife, anger, hatred, greed, hording, pride, materialism, boasting, and an unwillingness to lay all these things aside and fully trust in the benevolence, wisdom, power and promises of our Creator and Savior.

The key question for humans is and always has been, “Who are you going to trust?”

Whose word are you going to live by?  Your own? Your culture’s?  Your wife’s?  Your parent’s?  Your boss’s?   Your buddy’s?

            Whose approval do you seek?

            What is the source of your confidence?

It’s sad that some people have such low self-esteem that they are desperate to curry the favor of people who don’t like them and agree with their self-estimation.

If “God” is the the One whose word we want to live by, then His assessment of us and of everything else in this world will become our assessment as well. 

But to the degree others are the source we look to for approval and confidence we will be at the mercy of their false and fickle valuations and miss out on the joy, peace and confidence that can only come from our Creator and Savior.

            Jesus said: "NO MAN CAN SERVE TWO MASTERS"---much less 3, 4 or 8!

Security is: Knowing I am unconditionally loved and accepted by the One whose knowledge of me is total and whose judgment of me is both just and merciful.

The One Who knows me best loves me most!