I pressed the up
button on the elevator to get on the walkway that extended over Tropicana
Avenue to get into the MGM Grand. We needed a bite to eat. The elevator arrived
and I stepped in. The lights of the casino were green and mesmerizing. The
skyline was the best that man could make. I was impressed. And then I stepped
out of the elevator. There, twenty feet from me, was a man digging through the
trash. Looking to get his next meal from something thrown away by the wealthy
partygoers. Reality shocked me. All the pretty lights, beautiful art,
groundbreaking architecture and design couldn’t keep the plight of humanity in
the darkness.
The shock to my
system was real. We want to have a magical pill to fix these things. We want to
develop a government program to eliminate these problems, but those aren’t the
solution to our problems. So what is the solution?
Oh, I wasn’t thinking about a solution for the homeless man digging through the trash. I care about that, but I think it will be solved if we actually solve another problem. I got ahead of myself.
If we actually fix the problem of the thousands of people just one thousand feet away from this homeless man – people waiting in line, extravagantly decked out in their finest to go clubbing. And who could really blame them? Steve Aoki was doing the mixing that night at the Hakkasan, a state of the art night club that the MGM Grand spent $200 million to build. A place where, if you’re feeling really extravagant, you can spend $500,000 on a bottle of Aces of SpadeGold Brut. The best that the world can offer. Anyone has the chance to mingle with the celebrities of our culture. But underneath that shiny veneer, all I could see were people desperately seeking to satisfy something missing in their souls. In the end, being decked out in the cutting edge of style wouldn’t cover that hole forever. The alcohol may numb it for a while. The beats and dancing may keep it at bay for a moment. Finding a person to sleep with for the night will just bring physical pleasure for a brief time. All the money spent will not fill the void. It can’t be filled by the material things of this world.
Oh, I wasn’t thinking about a solution for the homeless man digging through the trash. I care about that, but I think it will be solved if we actually solve another problem. I got ahead of myself.
If we actually fix the problem of the thousands of people just one thousand feet away from this homeless man – people waiting in line, extravagantly decked out in their finest to go clubbing. And who could really blame them? Steve Aoki was doing the mixing that night at the Hakkasan, a state of the art night club that the MGM Grand spent $200 million to build. A place where, if you’re feeling really extravagant, you can spend $500,000 on a bottle of Aces of SpadeGold Brut. The best that the world can offer. Anyone has the chance to mingle with the celebrities of our culture. But underneath that shiny veneer, all I could see were people desperately seeking to satisfy something missing in their souls. In the end, being decked out in the cutting edge of style wouldn’t cover that hole forever. The alcohol may numb it for a while. The beats and dancing may keep it at bay for a moment. Finding a person to sleep with for the night will just bring physical pleasure for a brief time. All the money spent will not fill the void. It can’t be filled by the material things of this world.
And yet we, the
church, hold the solution. There’s a vibrant church here on the strip, yet it
seems to barely even be putting a dent into the materialism, hedonism, and
desperation of our culture. It seems to be the same even if we remove ourselves
from the best society can provide, which slapped me in the face after seeing
the man digging trash, and think about our communities in our normal lives.
The change must
start with us. Jesus wants us to change. And when we change, things start
getting better around us. God wants to transform us and transform those around
us. That's really the core of the story of Jesus. God took on flesh and lived
among us. To show us a better way to live. To provide us with the ability to
live that better way. And to show us that even in the most dire situations, God
can bring life and claim victory. These aren’t just things that God was in the
process of doing two thousand years ago when Jesus dwelt on the earth. God
continues to do these things through us living for Him today. Letting God guide
our lives where we are, wherever we are. When we do this, our lives are
changed. The lives of those around us are eventually changed. And our
communities are changed.
The problem we have with this in practice is that it is a long game and not a short one. We like one step, quick, tangible actions that will change everything for the better. We would love to go back home and into our community and workplaces, do one great thing, and have everything changed for the better. I would love to do that here on the Vegas strip. That would be nice. We would like to master a convincing argument that would change those around us. But it doesn't work that way.
The problem we have with this in practice is that it is a long game and not a short one. We like one step, quick, tangible actions that will change everything for the better. We would love to go back home and into our community and workplaces, do one great thing, and have everything changed for the better. I would love to do that here on the Vegas strip. That would be nice. We would like to master a convincing argument that would change those around us. But it doesn't work that way.
This is about
total conversion. Our total conversion. The long game. This is about us really
giving our lives to Jesus. Our whole heart. Every part of who we are. And I
understand that it is very hard to commit to doing that and regularly do that
in a society that tells us to just compromise a little here and a little there.
It’s tough to do that when we feel that we are doing it alone.
But when we take that step, when we begin to live trying to bring God’s will into our world, things begin to change. We begin to change. And things around us begin to change. Not instantaneously as we would like. Instead, it’s about every day, bringing Jesus into our world, building His reputation, sharing His words, confronting people for Him when necessary, and then, being part of the transformation.
But when we take that step, when we begin to live trying to bring God’s will into our world, things begin to change. We begin to change. And things around us begin to change. Not instantaneously as we would like. Instead, it’s about every day, bringing Jesus into our world, building His reputation, sharing His words, confronting people for Him when necessary, and then, being part of the transformation.
It’s not so
much that we transform the world. Jesus does that. We really also shouldn’t
make converting the world our goal. The idea of the gospel is much more about
us living in community with each other in such a way that we minister to the
world and others want to join in on the Incarnational life that we are
exhibiting together. We don’t have to do this alone.
But in the end,
if we have lived faithfully and the world still isn’t transformed, that’s out
of our hands. We can’t control whether others are transformed by Jesus, but we
can make sure that those around us encounter Jesus. The question is whether we
have been a light in the world. They have free will just like us.
It's a lot like
buttoning a shirt. You have to get the first button right on the shirt. When
you do that, all the other buttons will then fall into place. Transformation is
about getting our lives right with Jesus first. When we do that, everything
else will just fall into place.
Jesus comes to
town. He doesn’t come in a $200 million dollar extravaganza. He comes miraculously
and beautifully. He once came in a manger. Another time, on a donkey. Today he comes through people like you and me, living for Jesus. It’s tough
to see the something so unassuming as Jesus in a world that can amaze us with
things like the Vegas Strip. But that’s just one example. Our distraction
can be something else. Whatever it is, in the midst of lights and noise, Jesus
wants us to see Him. He wants us to hear him. He wants to be the center of our
lives. Will we let him? For the lights and the noise aren’t the solution. Jesus
is. May we live in such a way that those around us experience the blessing of
Jesus through us. We can't control whether they see Jesus or not, but we can
control whether we show them Him.
