This nation's founding fathers penned a document based on what they referred to as "self-evident truths", such as, all men are created equal and all men have certain inalienable rights to freedom and justice. They deemed these truths to be irrefutable and without need of any substantiation outside the conscience of every man. Such truths are the basis for the civil and criminal codes of virtually every society of men whether it be Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Jewish or even atheistic. Within these codes you see the same basic concepts of what is good and what is evil and is clearly demonstrated in the universal idea of what a hero is and what a villain is. A hero is someone who is willing to suffer loss or injury for the good of another. A villain is someone who is willing to inflict loss or injury on another for the sake of personal gain.
Of course, in this society, the word hero has taken on a broader meaning to encompass anyone with a good batting average. However, the movie makers seem to understand what a hero is and depict the true hero as one who puts his life at risk for the sake of the weak and oppressed. The ultimate movie hero is even willing to risk his life to save the very villain that has been oppressing him. This is a perfect picture of what Jesus was talking about when he spoke of loving your enemies, doing good to those who hate you and laying down your life for others. 1 This means that every time you cheer the hero and boo the villain you are saying "amen" to the teachings of Jesus and testify that the self-evident truths our forefathers eluded to are indeed written on your own heart.
All such truths are obviously spiritual in nature and transcend the physical world in which we live and breathe and should never be underestimated in regard to their importance in our lives. For example, which is more important to the quality of our daily lives, the house of our dreams or love? a beautiful car or peace of mind? nice clothes or joy? lots of toys or hope? These facts substantiate the self-evident truth that man is more spiritual than physical and that satisfaction is not found in the selfish pursuit of tangible stuff, rather within some intangible spiritual reality.
In spite of these undeniable facts, mankind, in general, seems somehow powerfully drawn to the pursuit of that which is obviously unsatisfying. However, there are always a few "self-aware" individuals who seem to realize stuff is not at all personally fulfilling and seek "self-fulfillment" and "inner peace" in some kind of mystical spiritual enlightenment. Unfortunately, most of those adventurous souls soon discover that the search for spiritual enlightenment is much like grasping at the wind and eventually find themselves being blown here and there by all manner of faddish and even bizarre teachings. But, if the tangible is unsatisfying and the intangible is so illusive, just what should we be pursuing?
Hebrews 11:6 says, "And without faith is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." Here we find three scriptural yet very self-evident truths that all other truths must be built upon.
- God exists.
- Only true faith that causes us to earnestly seek God pleases him.
- God rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Merely believing God exists and seeking spiritual things for the purpose of self-fulfillment is not real faith at all, rather just a more intellectually appealing and socially acceptable brand of selfishness. It is only in our earnestly seeking Him by consistently calling on the name of the Lord for his strength and wisdom that our faith is pleasing to God and equitably rewarded.
God's rewards come to us in the form of revealed spiritual truths that set us free from our guilt and fear, our selfish desires and villainous behavior and reveal in us His priceless gifts of love, peace, joy, unity and all good things.
Endnotes:
Go To Part 4 of 4 - Six Doctrines