Friday, October 21, 2011

Failed rapture prophecy exposes my own sins

I'm sure if Christ wanted to return today, he'd do it in a heartbeat. But so far on Friday, Oct. 21, Harold Camping's prediction of world-wide annihilation with the exception of Christians is once again false.

That part isn't surprising. What is surprising to me is how I feel about the situation. Namely a little bit of guilt.

It's so easy to goof on people like Camping and his followers, and to a certain degree they deserve it. It is a very evil thing to convince people to give up their life savings, quit well-paying jobs all in the name of false prophesy. I'm betting Camping forgot about that little verse where Jesus says no man knows the hour of judgement day. Actually, I think Camping did read that, but tries to use other Bible verses like Ecclesiastes 8:5 to say that true believers will have the judgement day revealed to them. 

And while Jesus did warn of false prophets in Matthew 7, it doesn't mean that I can't ache for these people who were deceived by Camping and similar phonies. Yes, they should have known better. But that's where my guilt comes into play.

All this time, I should have been praying for these people. I mean REALLY praying, not the five second "Lord help them" line that you say while preoccupied with other things. Instead, my heart was filled with cruel laughter and malice. What does that say about me? That I would see others who are in need of Christ's love and care and become a source of Christ-like comfort for them makes me just as bad as Camping or any of those other glorified sinners I mock.

When Jesus told me and other believers to love our neighbor, he didn't say to mock them for being misled by false prophets. He meant to show them compassion. He wants us to pray "without ceasing." I should be praying that they are able to move past this horrible stage in their life, not pulling up Youtube videos to mock them. 

Just like most things in my life that I strive for, I've failed. But with God's help, I will succeed from this moment on.

While October 21 might not be the end of the world, it is a fresh start in my way of thinking.

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