The All-empty gOD of Pragmatism

I watch the news and see a barometer of our culture. News outlets tailor their content to attract viewers and thus advertising dollars. So, the stories they choose to cover and the way they cover them is aimed more for their viewers' entertainment than knowledge. It reflects the whims and interest of the culture at large. I heard Tom Brokaw on the Today Show give his "two cents" on the "top" stories. He is a staunch pragmatist. He was asked what he thought about Facebook's CEO giving $100 million dollars to a failing school system in New Jersey. Was it to sway public opinion in the face of criticisms and an unflattering movie about the social network? Tom's answer was that "regardless of the motives, he [Facebook's CEO] gets three cheers for putting much needed money into education."

Tom's answer reflects how many of us think and live. We often worship at the alter of pragmatism in America. We often go for the quick answer if it appears to be "what works." But case in point, why was this NJ school district failing? Is throwing money at it really the best thing to do? Is it possible this $100 million will simply fund more failure? I don't know all of the details of this situation, but our illustrious pundits in the news do not seem to be interested in the details either. Just throw money at it! Surely $100 million can fix it! This fits perfectly with our worship of the all-empty gOD of pragmatism!

Now, before you think I have jumped onto a political soapbox and violated the whole direction of this blog and website, hear me out. I only brought this up because this morning's news reminded me of how easy it is to be so pragmatic that I miss the truth. I can miss that my son's motivations count more than his performance. My motivations count more than my performance. If we let pragmatism govern the way we think and act with family, church and society, then we will be empty. When it all becomes about results, then our value is based purely on performance. Then how do we value those who cannot perform due to a disability? How do we value those who are sick? If we are less able to perform, then we are less valuable to the gOD of pragmatism and his worshipers.

But the true God values us because we were made in His image, not because of our performance. In fact, since sin has entered the world, He point blank said that we cannot earn our way to being good. We can never perform good enough to meet the true standard of good, namely being holy. We all sin. Sin is anything we think, say or do that violates God's word or breaks His heart. That's why He became flesh in Jesus Christ and died for us on the cross. He said that we could never be good enough, but God the Son is. When we trust Him as Lord and Savior, then we have His good placed on us and He gives us the grace and power to overcome our sin as we continue to follow Him. The true GOD destroys the gOD of pragmatism! We start with faith in the true God. Then our works will flow from that faith. For sure, faith without works is dead, but works without faith are empty. I pray I can stay focused on the true God and serve Him, not the shallow gOD of pragmatism. I pray I can show my son that my love for him is not based on performance, but because he is my son, made in the image of God. Pass, fail, or excel, he is valuable.