Seek
good, and not evil, that you may live; and so the
Lord, the God of hosts, will be with
you~ Amos 5:14
In the span
of a single year the ISIS terrorist group has gone from being a practically
unknown group of upstarts to the most infamous and troubling terrorist group on
Earth. The stories simultaneously nauseate and captivate as they invent new and
perverse ways to do evil (Romans 1:29-31).
Decapitations, a man burned alive, little boys
executed for watching soccer games, a young American woman murdered for assisting
strangers. Coptic Christians brutally slain for refusing to convert to Islam. Gay men thrown off buildings, churches burned
to the ground, homes ransacked. Christians, young and old, male and female,
kidnapped and held prisoner, threatened with death for refusing to convert.
We ignore
this phenomenon at our own peril. We will never defeat something we don’t
understand, and these people are successfully reaching folks with their
message—especially the young, and not just the young and ignorant: Many ISIS
converts are surprisingly well-educated men and women.
The
success of ISIS’ brazen recruitment programs demand the sober consideration of
every God-fearing human being on Earth. According to CNN, CIA spokespersons
report that thousands of American, French, Canadian and English men have linked
with ISIS and are now fighting in Syria. Young women from England, France and
America have left comfortable homes and forsaken Western freedoms to become
brides and baby makers for Muslim extremists seeking to construct a society
built on their brutal and archaic way of viewing the world.
These realities
beg some very important questions: How is a brutal group of thugs intent upon
stripping the human race of every imaginable freedom making disciples out of
young Westerners who ought to be repulsed by these people? Why would anyone
choose to become a part of this community? What are they doing right? How do we
stop them?
These
questions must be answered quickly. These groups are spreading like a
pernicious form of cancer. Like it or not these terrorist groups understand
some truths regarding the human condition that we have foolishly overlooked. It
pains me to say this, but I believe there are some things Christians can learn
from ISIS.
Terrorists
groups like ISIS understand that humans need a cause greater than themselves to
live for. Human existence becomes bleak and meaningless when life becomes all
about making money, acquiring stuff and personal gratification.
Terrorist
groups exploit the universal human longing for purpose and significance in life
with their own twisted vision of purpose. Terrorists target young men and women
who have just enough spiritual awareness to be open to a cause, any cause. They
give the men and women who searching for significance and purpose something
tangible to live for, sacrifice for, and fight for.
Furthermore,
terrorists exploit the human longing for fixed standards of right and wrong. In
an effort to reach those yearning for moral guidance and leadership, they
bombard their followers with instruction concerning morality, social
interaction between the sexes, modesty, parenting, family relationships and
business dealings. They have recently released a guide instructing Islamic
women on how to become “the ultimate wives of Jihad.”
Terrorists
also understand the human longing for community. They entice young people with
the message that they can become part of a group of like-minded individuals who
will care for one another when life gets tough. Islamic communities tend to be tight-knit
and very close; this is a big draw for young people raised in fractured nuclear
families and with non-existent extended families.
Sadly, terrorists are selling the lost and
searching a flim-flam job. The naïve are being lured with a message of death
cleverly disguised as life and sacrifice. Their spiritual longings will be wasted.
They will face an eternity of judgment for their foolish gullibility.
Christians
have the real deal to offer the world, but we have packaged it all wrong. The fear
of coming off as judgmental has overruled truth and we have failed to present a
complete picture of saving faith. We have done so to our everlasting shame and
to the peril of millions who are longing for a narrow path and a cause worth
living and dying for.
We have a cause that is worth living and dying
for: Jesus. Jesus calls his people to a narrow path of holiness, righteousness
and sacrificial love (Matthew 7:13-14). Jesus calls His people to create caring
communities where we admonish the unruly, encourage
the fainthearted, help the weak, and are patient with
everyone (1st Thessalonians 5:14).
Jesus calls His people to the greatest cause of all: life and sacrifice
for Him.
No comments:
Post a Comment