Why the Circus Seems Out of Control
We've all heard the expression, "no one wants to talk about the elephant in the room." The metaphorical elephant represents an obvious problem or difficult situation that people do not want to talk about because it could cause division, hurt feelings or a fist to cuffs fight to break out!
We live in a world where the truth is avoided because it might make people uncomfortable. At holidays spouses are warned not to discuss religion or politics with the in-laws. We hold our tongue when Calvin shows up in a dress and wants you to call him Clarissa. Why? To keep the peace, and not to hurt anyone's feelings. Its a circus, a balancing act of amazing skill many have mastered.
We've lost the art of truth telling in favor of guarding the feelings of others. It might seem that it is the right thing to do, but in doing so we risk an opportunity to share the gospel. You don't have to be hurtful when telling the truth, but avoiding the truth can lead to worse things than hurt feelings. Separation from God for eternity comes to mind.
Social media gives us an outlet to express our opposition to the upside-down world in which we find ourselves. I was on social media this morning before I left for work. As usual everyone was arguing about the "issues of our day." Some of the arguments can get pretty heated and people end up yelling or calling each other some very rude names. I began to think about how silly it all is. These arguments, while they might be truthful are missing the actual elephant in the room. That set off a series of thoughts in my mind, as it often does and here we are, another blog post.
I got to thinking about how the elephant in the room goes much deeper than all of our opinions and political viewpoints. This elephant is a spiritual creature whose presence is everywhere. He isn't just in the room, he fills the whole earth. He is an enormous beast. The things we argue about are actually the evidence of the elephant and not the elephant himself. They are in fact his poop! His smelly disgusting piles of poo!
Bear with me, while I explain. There have been times in history where the elephant didn't seem as big. If you are my age or older, you probably have clear memories of a much less dysfunctional world. This beast has been steadily growing and with a larger elephant comes, you guessed it, larger poo. It used to be that we could mostly avoid the poo. We didn't have to smell it. We could walk on the other side of the street. We could turn our heads and ignore it. But this elephant has been dropping some fairly sizable waste all over the planet. There is hardly a space in our world that isn't covered in poo.
Are you getting the picture?
You see we argue about the poo. We want the poo gone. It stinks. It is unsightly. If you step in it practically impossible to wash off. We don't think about the elephant as much as we do the poo. Our deepest frustration is when we encounter someone who actually enjoys the poo. They are covered in it and seem to think that living this way is not only normal but should be embraced and celebrated with parades, flag waving and costume parties. There are even those who like to fling poo all around so that it covers others. We are truly living in a strange world. It is obvious if we could rid ourselves of the elephant that creates the never-ending piles of poo, then the problem would be solved.
Have you figured out what the elephant is?
Of course this is all figurative. Its a subject that even Christians don't want to talk about at times and yet it is a necessary topic. The elephant of course is sin or disobedience to God. We will talk about abortion, transgenderism, homosexual behavior, riots, war, hatred, and all manner of godlessness. We will argue and complain and sometimes even step around issue to avoid conflict. But these are the piles of poo. They are the product of living life without God. The elephant is a much bigger issue and you can't just clean up the poo. It will continue to make poo as elephants do when fed. This world is feeding a giant elephant called sin. The result is all this crap that we are tripping over and sliding around in. It stinks! And to those of us who know the truth it becomes our holy crusade!
Imagine Jesus walking into a room filled with people all arguing over the elephant poo. Imagine Jesus trying to call attention to the elephant. The arguing is feirce at times and loud, so no one is really listening to the man who is pointing out the obvious. "The elephant must go!" He says again and again. "I can get rid of the elephant for you. All you have to do is trust me. When you do, the poo will go away." No one is listening.
This is how it is in our lives when we realize that the problem isn't the drugs, the sexual immorality, the lying, the anger or any of those other things. The problem is that sin, the elephant, has separated us from God. When we acknowledge that elephant, then it can be dealt with. When the elephant is ignored the poo continues to accumulate until we can't stand it any longer. We can get rid of some of it on our own, but until the elephant has been acknowledged and dealt with, the poo will only return and accumulate.
You might be saying, "even Christians sin." Well this is true, and quite interestingly enough I was thinking about this as well. Imagine Jesus helping you deal with your own personal elephant. You've acknowledge the presence of the beast and asked Jesus to take the elephant from your life. He tells you this, "You must fill your life with me. Read my word. Talk to me daily. Don't open the door and let that elephant back in. You will be mocked by your friends. You will be rejected by your family, but you must not let that elephant back in."
Then the reality sinks in one day. You might be feeling lonely as your friends have stopped calling or coming by. You call up your best friend, "I thought maybe we could go do something this weekend." They tell you, "no, you aren't any fun without your elephant." The temptation to let that elephant return can be stronger than the desire to live a life without poo.
How much do you love Jesus?
How much do you the elephant?
Jesus didn't hold back talking about sin. He knew that was the elephant in the room back then. He has always acknowledged the elephant. He is the zookeeper. He can put that elephant where he belongs. As humans we have all sinned. We have all stepped in it a time or two. It is only when we acknowledge that elephant and trust the zookeeper that we can be free of the poo.
We also have a responsibility to help others see and acknowledge the elephant. This is called witnessing - sharing the truth of salvation with a lost world. How many of us know that the elephant is there and we avoid talking about it to protect someone's feelings or being embarrassed. How loving is it to allow someone to continue ignoring the elephant, step in poo daily and never know the love of the zookeeper? The freedom we have should make us more passionate about exposing the elephant in the room to those who are forever slipping in poo.
It's an exhausting life these days. Even with Jesus by my side, some days take their toll on my emotions. Imagine not even having Jesus to turn to when your life turns to poo. Time to start talking about the elephant in the room. Jesus is coming back soon. There isn't much time left.
I am reminded of what God said to Ezekiel “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turn from their wickedness or from their evil ways, they will die for their sin; but you will have saved yourself."
I believe those words were not just meant for Ezekiel. God wants us to talk about the elephant in the room, to be bold. He wants us to love our fellow man enough to risk embarrassment, ridicule or hurt feelings. Once they know about the elephant, then the choice to acknowlege it becomes theirs. You have done what you could and that is all that you are required to do. It is up to them to listen and respond.
Perhaps you didn't expect a poo blog today. I didn't really set out to write a blog about elephant poo. But the picture God gave me was so vivid, I knew it had to be written. It actually made me giggle. I hope you giggled a little too.
Matthew 23:33-36 “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation."
John 8:7-11 "When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
“No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
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