Uncomfortable In My Pessimism
In listening to Dr. Michael Youseff, who I consider one my unknowing mentors, (he doesn’t know, but I do) I realized one of my sources of unsettlement was in my perspective and outlook toward people. I have said this before to others, and it is true, some of my friends have much greater confidence in people than I do. I wish that were not so, but it is. I am generally very pessimistic about people. Very few, and probably to only those I know well, do I give any credit for having good intentions, spiritual concerns or a desire to even recognize a power greater than themselves. Pretty bad, isn’t it?
Well, as I listened to Dr. Youseff in his Boston sermon, I had an “aha” moment of my own.
He was talking about the “end times”. Specifically, Matthew 24:36-41
36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,[a] but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
Michael’s point was that what Jesus was talking about was the disconnect from reality man experienced during Noah’s time and how it is the same in these days.
And then, he said he had hope in God’s ability, through the Holy Spirit, that what we call revival, could happen and that man would experience an awakening. That God’s elect would bring to fruition their holy destiny to worship, accept the gift of salvation and bring the return to earth of Jesus. His proof went right back to what Jesus was referring, the Noah story. This is the part of that story Michael referenced:
5 The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. 6 The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. 7 So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. Genesis 6:5-8
Dr. Youseff’s point is a very strong point, indeed. And though much of what I have been reporting here is simply repeating his point, nothing so far can be ascribed to me as original thought, it brought up my lack of faith in man, as a collective. I am not ok with this because it assumes such a pessimistic perspective. I have always considered myself a natural optimist, imagine my surprise when I realize I am more optimistic about some of the things of this world than I am about God’s ability to change things in the world! Not that I think He cannot, rather that He won’t. And the Noah reference supports that. The problems come in when we think about Jesus’s return to earth.
To continue with Matthew, Jesus seems to bear out my own pessimism, generally about man.
42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46 It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. 47 Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48 But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ 49 and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. 50 The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. 51 He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 24:42-51
I suppose this is not truly an indictment on all mankind, but rather a warning to those who do not heed the warning previously given. But isn’t the point being made for my pessimism, when Jesus Himself is talking about it? So, what precipitated this? For that we need to go back up to the previous section of Matthew. At the beginning of Chapter 24 in Matthew, the section title is Signs of the End of the Age.
Jesus whets the curiosity appetite in the Disciples when says in V2:
2 “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”
And when they ask about the end of the age, which I believe is really about the end of the world, Jesus responds with this:
4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.
This is where I feel the pessimism rising up in me. As Dr. Youseff said, “there have always been these things in the earth, the difference now as opposed to then, that the intensity of all of those identified in scripture. And it is not just one of those things happening, but all of those things happening around the world, right now.
What confuses me is how many people do not seem to be paying attention. Because if the people of the world were generally paying more attention and connecting the dots of scripture to reality, what is actually happening now, more people might be believing and accepting of what Jesus did to save even them. That would truly spark the revival for which so many have prayed. Matthew 24: 12-14 proclaims:
12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
Guess what, the Gospel is being preached all over the world more than ever. And this is where I need to place my faith, not in man’s ability or desire to come to the saving understanding of who the Messiah really is, but rather in the Messiah’s word that he will return. Earlier in Matthew 8 is when we see the partial verse often cited stating “…oh you of little faith”. I need to have confidence that the Holy Spirit will, is, doing the will of the father, bringing the message to the world about Jesus. I suppose this is where I will end the article, lest otherwise I jump into the apologetic. I will leave that for another time.
