Wednesday, November 29, 2000
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Wednesday, November 29, 2000 |
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Last year...Y2K, this year...politics... but God is still in control By REV JOHN HATCHER Remember just one year ago? Y2K had many in a dither. The sky was to fall. Water was to dry up. Food was to be scarce. Bank accounts were to be inoperative. Many real, real "spiritual" believers were hunkered down in their bunkers just waiting to be proved right and spiritual. Remember those folks who told us to store hundreds of gallons of water. They told us to store enough food for six months. They told us to have at least $2000 in cash on hand. They told us to be prepared with alternate methods of heating. They told us to buy gas-powered electric generators to keep our refrigerators running. They told us, if we were smart, we should have our own personal stores of gasoline. Yet, the clock ticked into the so-called new millenium and nothing happened. First thing we realized was that the lights didn't go off. The one-eyed monster still worked. But, we were counseled, "just wait." We waited and nothing happened. Some church folks got hot under the collar when the man with the collar didn't call a panic. They formed support groups to hover over and groan over all the impending disasters to befall the human race because of an alleged computorial oversight. I think, in a sense, they wanted a disaster to happen to break the monotony of their lives. It didn't happen. But, you do remember all the Y2K mania, don't you? I remember. I had some church folks to take personal insult that I didn't beat the drums of impending disaster. They came back and said, "Even if Y2K disaster doesn't happen, we'll have lots of food to contribute to community food pantries." I think what happened, however, that most folks just dedicated themselves to using their stored supplies for themselves. I know our church food pantry didn't benefit from a huge shipment the day after nothing happened. You may be saying, "Well, Hatcher is a bit vitriolic." Okay, I may be. But, I just have a hard time when seemingly well meaning folks want the local shepherds to jump on board every time they have an apocalyptic hiccup, a social whim, or hear about a new spiritual fad. Now, at this year's end we are fixated and fascinated with the two men and parties who have White House fantasies. People are growing weary of the mess. It's about politics, nothing more and nothing less. Personally, I am not growing weary of it because my life goes on regardless of who is in the White House. You see, I know who is on the throne of the universe. He is Jesus Christ. Y2K, "W," and Mr. Yawn aren't anything compared to my God. Let me quote from Psalms 46: "The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered; (but) he (God) raised his voice, the earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold." Now, if you want to bunker down and hunker in, let's do it in God's stronghold.
Rev. Dr. John Hatcher is pastor of River's Edge Community Church in Fayetteville. |
