Not the Way Things “Ought” to Be

The late conservative talk show host, Rush Limbaugh, published a best- selling book back in the early 1990s titled, The Way Things Ought to Be.  Although I have not read the book, I understand that it basically lampooned modern culture and its emphasis on political correctness, multiculturism and the liberal bias of the media.  It essentially emphasized the “rightness” of a conservative socio-political world view, and the destructiveness or “wrongness” of the prevailing (then and now) leftist, liberal world view.

The operative term in the title is ought as it denotes how things should be, even must be for a particular situation to exist or outcome to be achieved.  Examples: You ought to turn on your headlights at night if you wish to return home safely.  We ought to have a budget if we are to pay our bills on time. 

It is a term used most often to denote that which is morally right and wrong, that which should be done or not done to meet a standard or achieve an outcome that is essential to the achievement of a just society, a society that champions human dignity and enables human flourishing.  We ought to be kind to one another.  We ought not to judge others.  We ought to be tolerant of other people’s point of view.

There is another book, which I have read, and that is the Bible, which makes it very clear, that nothing in creation, including and especially the human race, is the way it ought to be, the way God created it to be, wherein upon the completion of His glorious work, He proclaimed all that He had made to be “very good”, perfectly fit for His purposes in creation (Genesis 1:31).

This truth is highlighted in another book I recently read by theologian Cornelius Plantinga Jr,. titled “Not the Way Its Supposed to Be – A Breviary of Sin”

In it, Plantinga speaks of the beauty, glory and harmony of God’s original creation that surrounded Adam and Eve, who were created to image God’s glory in the totality of their being, in their nature and character, in their minds and emotions, as well as in the beauty and perfections of their bodies.  As such they were able to experience and enjoy the pleasures and delights inherent in that creation, and more importantly the joys and pleasures of intimacy with God and one another.  All their needs and desires would be fulfilled within the context of those relationships.  They lived in perfect peace, in what Plantinga (and the Bible) refer to as Shalom (Isaiah 26:3), under the sovereign rule of the God of Peace (Hebrews 13:20).

Shalom is the Hebrew term for peace.  It is translated in its various forms as peace in the Old Testament, 237 times.  It is translated into Greek, the original language of the New Testament, as Eirene.  It is a term that first and foremost refers to the harmonious relationship between man and God, man and man, and man and nature that God intended upon His completion of creation. It represents wholeness, prosperity, contentment,  completeness and rest, as well as unity of purpose – that purpose being the glory of God, the infinite perfections of His being – being proclaimed, displayed, enjoyed and rejoiced in by all of creation.

Now It does not take a social scientist, political historian, theologian or a radio talk show host to accurately perceive that our present world, our present society, is not as it ought to be, not as it should be in regard to what God intended.  In fact, I would suggest that our world is presently as far from how it ought to be as it ever has been (2 Timothy 3:1-9). And unfortunately, mankind, with our present, almost universal naturalistic, materialistic, evolutionary world view, has no basis, no transcendent “oughts” from which to achieve such a world, apart from the opinions, theories and observations of sin corrupted, prideful men and women.

And thus one writer notes that we live in a world of “complete madness”, with a history of devastating wars, both civil and international, as well as riots, insurrections, and terrorist attacks, motivated by differing political ideologies, philosophies and religious convictions.  All of this keeps humanity in a state of tension and conflict within ourselves, and the world around us, void of the peace, the Shalom if you will, promised by these divergent worldviews.

We have made little progress solving the social problems that have proliferated throughout human history.  Crime, poverty and drug addiction remain well entrenched tormenters. In addition we have little defense against the ravages of natural disasters, and with increasing technology, comes the increased threat of technological disasters. Sickness and disease, mental illness and suicidal despair remain formidable foes, and our last and most formidable enemy, death, always wins.

The popular Christmas carol, I Heard the Bells On Christmas Day, summarizes the present human condition when it laments, “And in despair I hung my head, there is no peace (Shalom) on earth, I said, for hate is strong and mocks the song of peace on earth good will toward men”.

Both the Bible and Dr. Plantinga rightly present the reason for the absence of Shalom in this world is sin, man’s rejection of God’s purpose for and rule over our lives, and sin’s many manifestations of its destructiveness throughout human history, as the reason life is not the way it ought to be.

The Shalom that was inherent to the garden temple where God first created man and woman (Adam and Eve) to know, love and be loved by Him and one another, was shattered by one sin, their one act of high-handed disobedience against their Creator, in which they believed and acted on the lie of the serpent, the devil, a created being, joining him in his rejection of God’s purpose for and rule over their life (Genesis 3:1-6). Their one act of disobedience (what Plantinga refers to as “the vandalism of Shalom”), brought upon them (and all who would proceed from them) God’s promised judgement of death, being cut off from the life of Shalom with God for which they were created.

Their one act of opposition to the person and purposes of the good, and wise, and holy and loving God who created them resulted immediately in the corruption of their minds and bodies from the perfection of being in which they were created (Genesis 3:7).  They experienced guilt, fear and shame, all of which are contrary to Shalom, and are subsequently exiled from God’s gracious presence (Genesis 3:23-24) into a world that will now, in judgement, be cursed by God (Genesis 3:17-19) and ruled by the devil (Revelation 12:9) (John 14:30), a world where hatred, hostility, violence and discord would prevail (Genesis 6:5) (Genesis 6:11) (Romans 3:9-18).

However, God, who is rich in mercy (Ephesians 2:14), who delights in displaying His mercy (Micah 7:18), promised to send One who would rescue mankind from His just judgement, the One who is referred to in Genesis 3:15 as the seed of the woman.  He would do so by taking that judgement upon Himself (Isaiah 53:5).  In doing so He would restore Shalom to us individually (Romans 5:1) and to His creation as a whole (Colossians 1:20).  That One who would and has done all of this is the person we know as Jesus Christ, God the Son, who will, as the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6-7) grant us Shalom, both now and forevermore (Ephesians 2:13-14). Amen

Grace and Shalom ×