The philosophy of the here and the now
Nahum 3:4 All this because Nineveh, the beautiful and faithless city, mistress of deadly charms, enticed the nations with her beauty. She taught them all her magic, enchanting people everywhere.
Nahum 3:5 “I am your enemy!”
says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
Nahum 3:14 Get ready for the siege Store up water! Strengthen the defenses!
The wicked nations deserve their punishments. These people are sadists. They are skilled in the tactics of seduction, sorceries, prostitution, witchcraft, and cruel acts of terror against their enemies. In 663 b.c. the Assyrian armies leveled Thebes, the capital city of Egypt. All the nations who were victims of Nineveh’s had suffered untold suffering, but now this evil monster is laid low at the hand of God. That great city of blood suffered incurable wounds. Nineveh was never to rise again. Justice has at last been executed against this evil kingdom.
What happened here?
Why is God taking such extreme measures to deal with these people?
Well...Nineveh is named here as a city of blood, they were particularly corrupt in their terrorist ways both against their enemies and among their own people. No one was spared their wickedness. And it's not that they were just pagan and worshiped false gods. This nation was founded on secularism, they are called a "faithless city". And it's under this uniform secular banner that they commit many horrific acts of violence throughout history. Enforced conformity. Monolithic domination. The people lived in fear and terror of their masters, and this humanist culture breeds fear of their own people. They practiced "whoredoms" and "prostitutions". The people were sold to the highest bidders. And they allowed these things because people were seen as property. The only unifying national philosophical principles are the pursuit of their prey, and that everyone must do whatever it takes to enrich themselves. This is their value system.
"she sells families" Nahum 3:4
They were the metropolis of the world. She seduced the neighbouring nation's, compelling some, deluding others, into subjection to her secular philosophy. She synthesized her ideas to those of the world. This nation, by deception and by force used her idolatrous whoredoms to conquer all human activity. She is a nation of slaves to her tyrannical rule. No concern for an eternal significance. A one world government. No absolutes. No abiding principles but the now. A nation that thinks only in terms of the now, the here and now. These were her witchcrafts, her secular worldview.
What is secularism?
Secular means "world".
The philosophy of the here and the now. You only go around once. Do it with gusto. Just do it. There is no tomorrow. Get it now.
Contrast this to Jesus' gospel message of...
Matthew 6:19 “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. 21 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.
Do we live for the present or do we live for eternity?
Every action has a consequence. From day to day every act is recorded until the last act is taken. Why should anyone be concerned about the consequences if secularism is true and right?
It's really just a philosophy of despair. It results in violence. Chaos and slavery. Escapism through drug use. Suicidal cultism. And in the case of Nineveh, terrorism and the destruction of all humanity. It's full allegiance to humanism, it's the nations ethos.
Jesus demands that his disciples give their full allegiance and devotion to God rather than the accumulation of wealth and influence.
Why should we?
1. Material things and temporary influential popularity offers no security. There's never enough and the prophet Nahum points that out when he says of Nineveh, their prey never ends. Your culture will find you and make you conform. You give in once, and you'll be forced to conform again and again until you find out you've become a slave to it. Jesus tells us to seek things from above. Above all this worldly secularism. Christians cannot escape the culture, and technically they must infiltrate the culture. But they are salt in the wound, not compromised by it.
2. The quality of personal character determines the object of commitment and devotion. The Christian cannot have divided interests. You cannot serve two masters. Invade the culture yes, but you cannot become like it. You are the body of Christ, you are not of the world you are in it only. You find common ground but not common natures. You do not voluntarily choose to accept loose living standards of morality. You strive to live for thing from above.
3. If you attempt living a divided allegiance between God and secularism, you are doomed to failure. God will know. You might be deceived by the city of blood and her whoredoms, but God is not fooled. But worse than this conflict between God and you, is the ultimate destruction of your soul. This self deception will lead you into despising God (For you will hate one and love the other). You won't think it can happen but it will. The creeping deception of secularism and all its selfish motives will slowly win you over to her influence. She's a whore and she knows how to give you what you want. You play around, and you'll find out.
Final thought:
Your Faith is an investment in the future, a future that will last forever. The secular world is all about getting what you can from the here and now. It's about taking your reward today. A reward taken from a whore. And she will force you to marry her, and she'll give you children, and generations of your kids will be lost in that deception.
Your destination should be your obsession. And what you leave behind will tell your story. Nineveh is gone. Her influence is gone. Her wealth is gone. She is nothing because her god was nothing to her. Your eternal story stands in the balance you try to make. You're trying to have a foot in both worlds. But what you don't see is the shackles around your ankle on the foot that's in secularism. You won't be able to escape no matter how much you play around with the truth. In times of testing you'll be caught up in the seige. The enemies will find you out.