“For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.” – Jeremiah 2:13
When I was young I had placed faith in Jesus Christ and was committed to following His ways.
However, there were several years as a teenager when I gave into peer pressure and forsook my commitment to God.
I thought I could find joy in self-indulgence and sin but I found instead it brought regret and misfortune.
Recently New York Times writer, Li Yuan, writing about China’s “zero COVID” policy reminded us that in 1958 China adopted a “zero sparrow” policy.
Yuan said, “All over China, people banged on pots and pans, lit firecrackers and waved flags to prevent the birds from landing so that they would fall and die from exhaustion.
By one estimation, nearly two billion sparrows were killed nationwide within months.”
What happens when you kill all the sparrows?
The article goes on to describe how, the near extinction of sparrows led to insect infestations which ruined crops and contributed to the great famine, which starved tens of millions of Chinese to their death in the next three years.
What is true in the personal and natural world is also true in the social world.
To quote Colson Centre president, John Stonestreet, “Ideas have consequences. Bad ideas have victims.”
Just as there are laws of physics, God has built into creation moral truths that govern mankind.
When we abandon these moral principles or deny the natural order that is part of God’s design, we reap the consequences.
As Canadian society grows more and more secular and is abandoning the moral values rooted in the Bible, our society is paying the price.
Why are suicide rates among young people alarmingly high?
Why is there so much anxiety and unrest in the world?
Why are you feeling that life has no definable purpose?
It is because we have forsaken the fountain of living waters and sought to quench our thirst in the broken cisterns of this world.
May I suggest that you go back to the Bible and learn where true and lasting enjoyment and fulfillment is found.
It is found in Jesus Christ.
It is found in living the way God designed us to live.
Tom Kline is the pastor of Castlegar Baptist Church.