Quote:
Originally Posted by Truth
Actually, this particular teaching in the LCs has always bothered me. We often say that the only way to bring peace to this earth is to bring Christ back. That part is true. However, many of the LC leaders continue on to say that what the UN and all other organizations are doing is useless because it will never bring peace. Also many in the Recovery interpret this statement as "All we need to do is to grow in life to bring Christ back; anything else we do is useless." ie... it is useless to help the poor, help stop wars, help with non-profit organizations that make the world a better place to live. Because the only way to resolve all problems in society is Christ's second coming. I have to disagree with this. This is a dangerous statement. We are living in a country that is *relatively* safe and wealthy because someone before us did something to make this country a better place to live. They didn't just live Christ and pray. They fought in wars for our freedom. Many lives were sacrificed. Not just from wars, but those who were part of various movements (ie. the civil rights movement). I am grateful to those we *did* something to make our society a better place to live. They did not just *wait* for Christ's second return.
We need to be careful when we say *none* of society's problems can be solved until Christ's second coming. Many problems can be solved without Christ's second coming, but not all. I hope as good citizens, we will contribute to the solving of some of the problems in society.
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I'm with you here, Truth. The Bible clearly commands us to "do good works" and included in those works are helping the poor and seeking justice. That covers a lot of territory.
Of course, the natural thought is to use the force of law to accomplish these goals (that's what political means ultimately do, leverage the force of law).
However, we know that the work of the Holy Spirit in men's hearts is more important than the force of man's law. However, often the effect of changed hearts is changed law, which is definitely a benefit. So there is some gray area. Our work is spiritual. But it has practical effects in this age. That's what salt of the earth means.