Common Sense

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. (Galatians 6:7-9 ESV). I love the story that is told about the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright. In 1937 Wright built a house for his friend, industrialist Hibbard Johnson. One rainy evening Johnson was entertaining distinguished guests for dinner when the roof began to leak. The water seeped through directly above Johnson himself, dripping steadily onto his bald head. Irate, he called Wright in Phoenix, Arizona. "Frank," he said, "you built this beautiful house for me and we enjoy it very much. But I have told you the roof leaks, and right now I am with some friends and distinguished guests and it is leaking right on top of my head." Wright's reply was heard by all of the guests. "Well, Hib, why don't you move your chair?" Common sense is a quality that is seldom expressed in the midst of our trials and difficulties. And yet it is the simple answers that bring the most profound of results. The Apostle Paul in our reading today says as much. You’ve heard me reference this passage on many occasions as the “Law of the Harvest.” Paul simply says, “You reap what you sow.” I say it a bit differently: You get what you get because you go where you go; if you don’t like what you’re getting, don’t go where you’re going. Not following “common sense,” the wisdom God desires for us all to possess, has resulted in our culture being a very strange mix of suffering and inequity. You may have read of the disbanding of Chi Alpha at California State University Stanislaus. There, Chi Alpha, a Christian ministry, lost its official university status. If you are wondering what deplorable crime the organization committed, the answer is that they insist its officers must be Christian. Understand, anybody, with any kind of faith, or even no faith at all, can join the organization. But if you want to be a leader at Chi Alpha, you need to acknowledge Jesus as your Savior. According to the school, such a policy is unacceptable. According to the school, Chi Alpha is guilty of discrimination. Bianca Travis, who is the president of the local Chi Alpha chapter, disagrees. She says having Christians lead a Christian organization is just plain common sense. After all, she says, "How can someone lead us if they don't share our mission?" She added, "It's impossible to genuinely lead a worship service or Bible study unless you believe what you're teaching." Travis is right. I don't think the school's chess club would want to be headed up by a checker's expert and the Spanish club wouldn't want a leader who demands only English be spoken at its meetings. I'm even pretty sure the Stanislaus' faculty would be perturbed if the school's Board of Regents selected a president who was illiterate or was dedicated to the concept of home-schooling. I'm sure you wouldn't want an imam preaching from your pulpit. In the name of political correctness we have seen our culture sit in the leaking roof rather than merely move their chair. Maybe it’s time to use some common sense. We can find that common sense in the Scripture. Let’s use it!