Thots On Boiling Frogs

Our Association of Churches is doing an "On Missions Celebration" - whereby we are enjoying the visits of three missionaries.  One visited last night (Saturday).  He said that the church in America is very much like a frog in a pot, boiling.  This analogy has been put forth by other Christian (Southern Baptist) leaders, but I believe that this missionary from Ohio put it more clearly than the rest.

 

Hopefully you know the way the frog is boiled?  If not, let me tell you.  Put a frog in a pot of boiling water, and the heat will cause him to jump and probably jump right out of the pot.  But put a frog in a pot of room temperature water and he'll be content.  Turn up the heat a notch and let him adjust.  He will.  Then another notch, and another, until he's cooked.  The frog never even notices the increases in temperature. 

 

The American church is being cooked like the frog in the second pot - with the social, political, religious, and spiritual heat being turned up little by little every other day.  First this law, then that accusation, then this policy, then that law suit, then this movie, then that TV Show, then this advertisement, then that idea the teens bring home from school.  Before you know it, we have shaken off every "little" temperature change until we're cooked and unable to either escape or even want to.  The church has lost so much ground in America that it may be too late to make a difference.  In fact, it seems by the statistics, that the "temperature" of America has permeated the church so completely that she is dead in the water.

 

Divorces in the church have reached a level equal to those outside the church.  Co-habitation is common even among church members.  Pre-marital sex, extra-marital sex, homosexuality, and pornography pervade the church from the leaders on down.  Lottery, Gambling, and "gaming" are popular forms of "entertainment" while tithes and offerings continue to decrease.  Churches have forsaken the Scriptures and the Gospel for more "attractive" forms of religion such as self-help and the all-accepting idea of the prosperity gospel.  Christians are confused about salvation, not to mention so many social issues such as whether the government has a right and responsibility to send troops to war to protect the nation, etc.  If you are offended by the teachings of one church, don't worry or deal with it, you can go down the street to find a church that teaches what you want to hear and makes you comfortable.  If someone stands up for the Scriptures or righteousness in the church, the rest of the "believers" who are at fault will send him away for "intolerance" and "lack of love."  Church discipline is rarely ever heard of these days because the church has traded discipline for licentiousness.

 

Yes, we are already cooked like a frog in a pot.  Our only hope?  Repentant church members who will devote themselves to Christ's righteousness, truth, and freedom from sin - and that on a massive scale right away.