Occupy the Christian Faith

The longer this Occupy Wall Street thing goes on, the more bizarre it seems to get. It is hard to figure out fully what these folks want because every person interviewed seems to have a different idea. What is even more clear is that they have no idea about what to do to accomplish the goals they are so poorly articulating. It is a hodgepodge of people, ideas and philosophies.

What is evident, though, is the worldview basis for the movement. Based on the statements being made, it appears that the leaders of the movement have an agenda based primarily on economic considerations. And the proposed solutions seem to come straight out of the communist and anarchist play book. They basically want to redistribute wealth in a way which reduces the income disparity between the wealthy and the poor.

The worldview clues we get, though, come as much from their actions than from their words. Consider these actions:

• They have no regard for law.
• They have no regard for private property.
• They have no regard for the neighbors they have encamped among.
• They have no regard for hygiene.
• They have no regard for biblical morality.
• They expect to be completely supported by outsiders.
• They have no policy suggestions as to how to carry out their stated desires.

The list could go on, but what is evident is that the basis for their actions is purely self centered. The definition of “the way things ought to be” comes purely out of their own ideas. There is no place for God and no place for biblical morality. And interestingly, while not a majority, there is a large segment of the American population which is at least sympathetic to these folks.

As Christians, what should we make of this? First, we owe it to God and to ourselves to get up to speed on our own faith. These people obviously have no place in their lives for God. The same can be said about those who are sympathetic to their cause. God’s priority is that these people know him and, as Christians, we need to be lining ourselves up with God’s priorities. How can we share our faith if we don’t know what to share?

The goals of the Occupy movement are not bad because of their political inclinations. They are bad because they work against the purposes of God. If we, as Christians, are going to get serious about serving God, we must also get serious about sharing the truth with the people who are walking in ways which are contrary to God’s ways. We need to first occupy our faith, then share it with those who need Christ.