A recent Capri Sun commercial shows two young girls; one is holding a pair of hair clippers and the other has a towel around her neck ready for a haircut. The girl with the clipper says, “Mom, now that we have your attention.” Then she tells her mom about four updated drinks they want. A cute commercial but parents know all too well that children will resort to mischievous acts to get our attention. My wife and I called this ‘button punching’—our kids knew the right buttons to press when they wanted something and thought they weren’t receiving enough attention.
A universal truth is that children need encouragement, approval, and guidance. The tragic reality in a rising number of households, this is lacking. Doctor’s first coined the term ‘dysfunctional family’ in the mid-1950’s. Today it has evolved into a frequent term. However, it is not a new concept; Cain murdered Abel and Jacob took Esau’s birthright are just two out of numerous cases throughout scriptures. A prime example of a dysfunctional family and a son demanding attention is Absalom. Amnon his brother raped his sister Tamar. Absalom plotted and had his brother assassinated. He had to flee from his father King David. After three years in exile, David allowed Absalom to return to Jerusalem but refused to meet with him—a dysfunctional family to say the least. Absalom requested Joab arrange a meeting with his father. Joab ignored Absalom. So he resorted to radical measures for getting Joab’s attention and directed his servants to burn Joab’s barley field. He received the attention he wanted and met with the King.
We need to ask ourselves what we can gain from these examples in our ever-changing culture. For years, I have pondered each time there has been a school shooting. I wondered if the gunman, in a twisted and horrific way was burning a field. Imagine for a moment that you are a high school student. You live in a dysfunctional family setting. It could be a single parent home, a mixed family through divorce and remarriage, an alcoholic father, a drug-addicted mother, unloving parents; the circumstances are endless. No one has taught you anything about an intelligent designer. You have only learned the tenets of naturalism, which we can summarize: matter is eternal and that’s all there is. God does not exist. This has led you to a nihilistic worldview that human life has no meaning and your existence has no purpose. It further asserts that there is no objective morality (CARM Dictionary). No transcendent moral standard exist. Science and society determines right and wrong.
Making your plight worse, you have no friends and at school, people constantly bully and degrade you. You yearn for someone to pay attention to you. You fantasize of ways to get someone to notice you. So you burn fields but no one still pays you attention. You become so angry, bitter, and desperate you carry out the historically unprecedented act of a mass shooting—you get your fifteen minutes of fame.
As Christians, we are at the absolute opposite end of the nihilist. We believe an intelligent designer, i.e. the Lord God, created the universe. He made men and women for a purpose giving us a reason to exist. We know this life is not all there is and we will live with Christ for eternity. Because of Jesus’ death on the cross and His resurrection, forgiveness of one’s sin is available to all humanity. This summarizes the Good News Jesus commissioned believers to share with those living in hopeless darkness. Even those imprisoned in a nihilistic view of life can be free. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed (Lk 4:18 NIV). You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free (Joh 8:32).
Paul asked the key question. Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved. How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard (Rom 10:13, 14)? Someone has to tell them. Does that mean I need to go door to door giving out tracts? No, it means we are to employ the spiritual gift/s the Holy Spirit gave us to fulfill our function in the Body of Christ, the Church. It means we are to live our life as someone with hope and demonstrate to all those we encounter the truth of the Gospel.
Paul also gives us a warning about surviving in sinful society. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect (Rom 12:2). The word translated conformed means mold into a particular shape by pressure. Godless people and world systems are constantly pressuring us to become like them. Our light disturbs their darkness. We must constantly allow the Holy Spirit through the Bible transform our mind from within.
Not every burned field is as dire as killing others. Not every burned field is started by a teenager. Multitudes of adults are hurting and longing for someone to give them some attention. Only a sweeping move of God can change our culture, but we have the message and the power to help change one life at a time.
Sustaining Word for the Week: Look for the smoke of burning fields and bring light to someone darkness.