According to the dictionary, a crackpot is “an eccentric or foolish person; one whose head is full of abnormal ideas”. We are living in very trying times. Just today, I read about all the new gender options. I wonder if God has been notified of these new gender identities ... male, female, transgender, gender-neutral, non-binary, a-gender, pan-gender, genderqueer, two-spirit, third gender, all, none, and any combination of these? I read in Genesis 1:27 - “So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” What I do not read in Genesis is that God also created “... transgender, gender-neutral, non-binary, a-gender, pan-gender, genderqueer, two-spirit, third gender, all, none and any combination of these.” These are not creations. They are inventions. Anything outside of male and female is an invention of sinful man to justify his sinful desires.
The need to be declared “not guilty” doesn’t stop just because man rejects God. No, they take it further, and in doing so, they expose the real problem. “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind ... being filled with all unrighteousness ... wickedness ...” (see Romans 1:28-29). Every crackpot that I meet or read about, reminds me more every day that this world is not my home.
But this is not just society’s problem. Jeremiah says in chapter 2:13; “My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn themselves cisterns — broken cisterns that can hold no water.” Whose people? God said, “My people...”. In other words, God’s people forsook the fountain of living water in exchange for cracked pots that can’t hold any water.
Did you know that one of the most frustrated groups in America are ministerial families? Many of them are so frustrated, they don’t even have the words to explain why they are frustrated. If you are not careful, disillusionment will creep into your life. You begin to wonder if anything will work. You second guess everything. Then you become a skeptic, and skepticism will lead you into cynicism. Frustration leads to disillusionment, which leads to skepticism, which leads to cynicism. Where there is no hope in the future, there is no power in the present. If there is no hope of success, then why bother?
Remember Zerubbabel? The people came back to build the Temple. They laid the foundation, and then a crackpot King made them stop the work. The foundation was untouched for another 15 years. They came back to Jerusalem to build the Temple, but they lost the vision because a crackpot stopped them. When they lost their vision, they lost their function. Haggai the Prophet said, “Is this a time for you to dwell in sealed houses, paneled homes, while God’s house lies in ruins?” Instead of building the House of God, they were now building their own houses. They were now using their energy and resources on building luxurious homes for themselves. A generation raised to serve THEE (God), had now started serving ME (man).
We live in a “selfie” world. The new mantra for today is “it’s all about me.” Anthropologist Paul Hiebert sees a new “dominant religion in the West” in which “self has become god and self-fulfillment our salvation.” John Calvin famously described the human heart as an idol-making factory. Research done by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons state:
84% of Americans believe “enjoying yourself is the highest goal of life.”
86% believe that to enjoy yourself you must “pursue the things you desire most.”
91% affirm the statement “To find yourself, look within yourself.”
Here is the scary part. All of this makes you vulnerable and open prey to the devil. Pastor, leader, layperson, we were never designed to bear the God-sized weight of creating and sustaining our own identities. Our identity is in Christ. When we turn to other options, the predator waits just outside the fire line. He waits for the fire to die. As soon as it does, the predator moves to plunder. Therefore, we need the “fountain of living water”, verses “hewing cisterns for ourselves” that hold nothing. Our feeble efforts will always turn into cracked pots which eventually are left empty. Only a crackpot would put trust in a cracked pot!
As fathers and mothers, we must keep the spiritual fire burning in our family. As Pastors and Evangelists, we must keep the fire burning in our pulpits. And as Bishops, we must lead in a way to keep the fire burning in our states and regions. We begin by repenting, renewing, and reengaging with God. To be an effective minister of Christ, prayer rooms must always precede platforms. There is no other option. We will either be broken before God, or our cisterns will be broken before man.