"The World is too much with us"

 The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers,
Little we see in Nature that is ours,
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
The Sea that bares her bosom to the moon;
The winds that will be howling at all hours,
And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers;
For this, for everything, we are out of tune;
It moves us not.--Great God! I'd rather be
A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn;
So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,
Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;
Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;
Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn.

This poem has intrigued me for years as I comtemplated what Wordsworth meant. In the midst of the prosperity, the appreciation and love for nature is lost. This disconnect with nature has brought disconnect with God. Wordsworth yearns to be brought up in some ancient,pagan religion which is so connected to nature that they have created mythologies to explain the cycles of nature, rather than ignore them.

We even see this in our own culture. Picturesque landscapes are destroy for the latest shopping craze, or the most elite living quarters are built on luscious vistas. Our getting and spend, a drive to be at the top, has removed from our sight the simple, beautiful landscape that our Creator provided for us. To see nature requires a drive to a park or a protect forest. Life is much too busy.

This even infiltrates the church. The world is too much with us. They very thing we are called by our Savior to do is the very thing we least do. If you asked someone what the purpose of the church was, I'm afraid the answers would vastly miss the mark. Yet, if we asked what program or programs were the best, the answers would be immediate, varied and sharply defended.

We don't know the purpose of the church but know the type of catering we like. It's the getting and spending, the consumerism of the church that lays waste it power. We are not so much there for giving as we are for getting: the reason for all the programs is people want to be catered to rather than commissioned.

The purpose of the church is this: "Jesus came to them and said, 'All power in heaven and on earth is given unto me. After having gone into the world, make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: continuing to teach them to obey whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of this age.'" (my translation)

This is our commission, our marching orders, our calling, our purpose. We are to make disciples! Yet, when was the last time a church took this seriously. Churches have all kinds of programs for all kinds of people but there is no intentionality in creating both disciples and disciplers. Most would agree that's why they pay staff: staff can do the dirty work. Our churches now reflect this consumeristic ideal: church must provide me what I want or I'll find one that will, and they will -- it's the easy way.

It is easier to provide instant programs than to walk the long, difficult path of discipleship. It's the path that Jesus walked with his disciples and it led him to a cross. It's the path we're called to walk. It can't be completed in an hour or a day or a week or a month or even a year: the process begins with a new birth ends with our death and requires our lifelong adherence.

We have given away our hearts, a sordid boon! For this, for everything, we are out of tune -- with God. It is time to reclaim our power and return to our first love. It is time to be disciple, to be salt and light in a rapidly decaying world.

As E.M. Bounds says, "The church wants better methods, God wants better men."

Avoid the vomit,

keith