Habakkuk 1:12
"O Lord my God, my Holy One, you who are eternal—surely you do not plan to wipe us out?"
God,
Is it asking you to condone the unholiness and immoral conduct of our nation when we pray that you would not send wicked treacherous enemies against us. They're idolatrous, worshipping false gods, why bless them and protect them from the watchers? God you are pure and cannot stand the sight of evil, why employ them, they're more evil then we are?
And God said:
The watchers watching from heaven give warning and order that the prideful tree should be cut down. [Daniel 4:23]
[Habakkuk chapter 2]
The righteous will live by their faithfulness to God.
Look at the proud!
They trust in themselves, and they're crooked...
Wealth is treacherous, and the arrogant are never at rest...
Like death, their greed is never satisfied...
They become rich by extortion.
They will turn on you and take all you have, while you stand there helplessly, because you believed your wealth will buy you security...
What good is an idol carved by man, or a cast image that deceives you?
How foolish of you to trust in your own creation—a god that can’t even talk!
The Just Live by Faith
Romans 1:16-17
I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Gentile. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”
Galatians 3:11
No one is justified by the law in the sight of God, this is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.”
God, the pragmatic still have questions...
Is it practical for you to punish your people while they struggle to live out their lives in this secular culture? Father, your Son Jesus prayed that you would, "Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth." But Lord how can that word sanctify them while they are still subjected to the abuses and pressures of their idolatrous progressive governments? Isn't there a way Lord in which we can use more practical means to overcome these too big to fail managerial bureaucracies? Must we only resist in our prayers and through our faithfulness? Is there not a more pragmatic approach? For instance, would it be sinful to overcome the wicked by whatever force of expediency we have at our means if it's for the greater good? It's not that I reject the principles of righteousness, but couldn't we define truth as “that which works" when we're doing battle against greater evil?
And the Lord reminded me:
In the days when they put my Son Jesus on trial, Caiaphas and Pontius Pilate made their decisions to have Jesus executed on the basis of expediency (Mark 15:15; John 11:45–53). They were pragmatists with a vengeance. They were focused on short term gains. They had a problem, and they did what seemed right to them in order to solve it. In their attempts at being thoughtful they were very shortsighted, to the detriment of their souls.
A question about elections:
Is there anybody on Capitol Hill who thinks about the next generation instead of the next election? Is anyone concerned about the welfare of the nation rather than for their own political interests?
The answer is no...because everyone today, no matter the party, is living for expediency.
So, the simple truth is no nation, or church, or business, can ultimately survive when its leaders are driven by a spirit of pragmatism, making their decisions according to political and cultural expediency.
And so, because everyone is living for expediency, everyone must face the consequences of their actions. Even if it means greater evil overcomes the faithful in the short term.
You want to be more pragmatic, but you don't see what I see, says the word of God. If you take away principle, righteousness dies in the streets. Expediency is obscene in the fruit that it ultimately bears. A person who is Christian must LIVE every day and in every way by biblical principles. Without that principled moral code, the nation and the church will decay, and it has. Their nation and culture will become an echo chamber for pragmatism and secularism, and it has. No discernable distinction between warring parties.
Take a look at the Old Testament...Abraham was being pragmatic when he determined that he and Lot should divide their herds and go off into new territories. It seemed practical at the time. And ultimately his plan developed into absolute decay and depravity among the wicked people of Sodom. A righteous man having to live with the consequences of his pragmatic choices. He wasn't just a hapless accidental tourist. He sat in the city gates. He was one of the in-crowd. He's "Brat", no doubt an influencer. And his wife, loved the status quo so much so, to her own salty tastes, that she couldn't pull herself away from it.
Lot didn’t consider all the potential consequences of his practical considerations. He didn’t ask questions like, “Where will my family live? Where will they go to church? Where will my children be educated? What kind of value system will be institutionalized into the minds of my wife and daughters?”
Food For Thought:
His wife becomes a pillar of salt, his daughters are total degenerates because of the pagan lifestyles they lived.
But hey...Lot increased his cattle and reputation. That's what pragmatism gets you.
And as for Abraham? Not really known for his herds or political contributions. Just the father of many nations.