Most of you here in Elko are aware of the construction that has blocked the intersection at 5th and Cedar Streets due to the Cedar St improvements.  You also, no doubt, have benefited by the constant green light that has shaved precious seconds off your commute and you travel up and down 5th St.  I know I have.  Until Monday morning.  As I was on my way to work, and approaching Cedar, I notice the light was red.  So, I stopped. As I was waiting for the light to change, I noticed I was practically the only who did stop (those behind me had no choice).  I was not sure why the light turned red, you still cannot use Cedar St, but there I was.  I could not help but feel – well, stupid.  I was doing the right thing, but I am pretty sure the people stuck behind me believed I was stupid as well.

As the light changed to green (just as I was about to go anyway), the thought occurred to me that even though I felt stupid, I was doing the right thing.  I’m hoping some of you are in agreement with me here (about being right).  I kept thinking that the world has an idea of what is right and what is wrong, but that the world, very often gets the two mixed up.  Worse is that if you believe they got it wrong – you are stupid.  I don’t believe anyone likes feeling stupid and so the easy thing to do is just to agree with everyone else.  It has become so easy that many churches are doing that very thing.  They are agreeing with the world and not the Word.  It’s nothing new, even the Old Testament has examples (read 1Samuel 15 and 1Kings 22).  It is getting worse however.

So what are we to do?  I am more and more convinced that we need to remain faithful to what God tells us and not the world.  Now I am not suggesting we start singing “Give Me That Old Time Religion”, if we do, I will barf.  We cannot afford to believe we are right, and they are wrong and let them figure it out on their own – it’s not why we are still here.  We are here to help others understand that the direction the world has taken leads to a very bad place.  The best way to do that is to remain relevant to people – today.  Not “way back when”.  We have to be aware that being relevant has pitfalls, not the least of which is losing sight of why we are here.  We have to remain faithful to God FIRST, then relevant to the people around us.  Relevant and faithful – it’s not that difficult, the Bible has been doing that for millennia.