Book: God's Got a Problem

Posted by Bible Probe on September 23, 2005 at 19:48:57:

Earl A. Clampett Jr's provocatively titled book, "God's Got a Problem," makes the case that the church today is headed in the wrong direction based on an upside-down belief system. And it proposes the emphasis of specific solutions based on the one prayer Jesus Christ taught his followers to pray.

"The Christian church in America has become largely irrelevant," says professor, judge, minister and author Earl A. Clampett Jr. "It has lost its salt and light. It has surrendered its witness to the world at large."

As Hurricane Rita is about to hit the Gulf Coast, a weary and beleaguered nation is whispering about what it all means.

Is God judging our nation?

Does God work that way?

Is there something America has done to warrant judgment?

Or, as my friend Earl Clampett Jr. puts it: "Does God have a problem?"

Many people are offended at even the mention of such an idea.

Many scoff at the superstitious nonsense that God might actually have something to do with the weather and natural disasters and calamities befalling mankind.

Others pretend to know precisely what is on God's mind by suggesting with exactitude which offense by man is provoking judgment.

I don't fall into any of those categories. But I think it is foolhardy and naive to pretend that God is still not active in the affairs of the world and men. I think it is worthwhile examining ourselves, our actions, our national policies after events like the terrorist attacks of 9-11 and the rapid succession of the devastating hurricanes we are experiencing right now.

Here's the way I see it:

God has indeed set up rules for our protection and well-being.

There is an adversary who wishes to harm us by denying God exists or attacking His character.

When we flagrantly disobey the rules God established for mankind, we play into the hands of the adversary.

Maybe it sounds simplistic.

But it's biblical.

In his new book, "God's Got a Problem," Clampett reminds us that God created man to have relationship with Him.

Do you think America is in relationship with God today?

America – the only nation in the history of the world founded on a creed of "one nation under God," on the idea of unalienable rights that descend from God, on the principles of self-government guided by God's laws – is now seemingly at war with God.

The signs are all around us.

We've become a proud people, lovers of self, boastful, profane, disobedient, unthankful, unholy, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God, despisers of all that is good. You can read the entire list in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 if you're interested.

But one attribute in particular stands out in Paul's letter. I think it is about people who believe they are following God. I think it is about people who go to church on Sunday. I think it is about many Americans going through the motions of their faith. And I think that this element of American Christianity has permitted the moral rot within our country. In effect, it is these "believers" who have brought us to the threshold of national judgment.

I refer to those "having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof."

Christians in America have to stop thinking about heaven and remember where we are living today – planet Earth.

Jesus commanded us to occupy this planet in His place. He left us with power and grace and the most compelling message the world has ever known. But what do we do with those blessings in the freest land the world has ever known?

We go about our worldly business. We attend church on Sunday. And we watch our nation drift away from God.

Oh, maybe we pray about the direction of our nation and world – sometimes. But surely there's nothing we can actually do to reverse this trend, we think. We'll just leave it in God's hands. He's got everything under control.

But what about obedience? Don't we have duties to perform while here on Earth? Don't we have responsibilities? Have we forgotten what we are supposed to be praying and working for?

Jesus told us in a prayer: "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."

Our responsibility is in the here and now. Our duty is in the here and now. We're supposed to be working for the redemption of Earth, "as it is in heaven."

And when we forget that, we do ourselves and our neighbors a disservice. When we let the world go to hell in a handbasket because we have our minds on heaven, we set the stage for judgment.

Could it be we have only ourselves to blame?

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