The Kingdom of God Flourishing in a Corrupt World
Proof of His presence
For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. (2 Timothy 3:2–5, ESV)
Corruption is everywhere
The degradation of morality can be seen and heard in societies, politics, governments, schools, universities, sports, and even in churches. But has it truly?
Sin and evil have been around for a long, long time. It’s nothing new; the only difference is that people are more vocal and more connected. The means of spreading news are at our fingertips, and information is readily available. Whether we are receiving valid information is another thing.
Corruption through deception and distortion
Recently, a friend rangled me into her half-truth narrative. She seemed so believable, and I took her bait.
She came out unscathed, but I got burned. I will forgive her because Christ has forgiven me, but I’ve learned some lessons. I do not need to subject myself to her manipulations, and lies usually have a touch of truth, making them difficult to decipher. Even Satan quoted scripture but distorted it for his benefit.
Corruption through perception
My sister asked me, “Why is there a perception that I am not Christian because I am one particular political party?”
I assured her that one could be a Christian and be any party one wishes. Do political ideals prove God’s perception of the heart?
Corruption through inclusion
People are confused about political contenders because of corruptive half-truth information. Does this make all candidates evil? We are most definitely all sinners.
Does a crime happening in a church make all churches untrustworthy? Maybe. We hear about a horrible incident in a neighborhood, but does that make the whole city bad? Possibly. However, we can see the fallacious logic behind this being preposterous.
Corruption through consensus
Undoubtedly, our world is foul, with even the atmosphere, land, and water contaminated with pollution. It made me sad to hear my granddaughter say, “What do we have to look forward to? Global warming has robbed us of our future.”
Whether we agree or disagree, her feelings are valid. She sees a dismal future.
But there is hope!
Jesus told us that a bit of yeast in flour dough would make several loves of bread. He also said that a tiny mustard seed takes root and grows a whole tree when it is put into the soil to die.
The most important was this: Jesus, just like the mustard seed, died and was put in a burial tomb. Then He arose triumphantly, conquering death to bring new life–abundant life–to the whole world–forever!
One grain of faith is all it takes to change this world.
If one news commentator can spread half-truths to sway several chiliads of people with incorrect information, then can we not be the seed of truth to combat this corruption?
We absolutely can and must! It’s not through actions of hate and manipulation but acts of love that bring about obedience to God. Christ’s righteousness proficiently equips us for good works, and these good works can bring about real change, a change that grows hope, peace, and love.
We must show purpose to our children who believe that there is nothing good to believe in anymore, a generation that feels hopeless. We only need to be one tiny mustard seed! God’s kingdom is flourishing despite corruption because His domain is within you.
But I am like an olive tree, flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever. (Psalms 52:8, NIV)
