Tony Evans - Kingdom Values: Character Over Chaos

I cant breathe .

Its a statement we have all heard over the past few years. It appears on shirts, signs, hats, and in a number of other places. Im sure you know its origins as it relates to the wrongful death of George Floyd at the knee of a policeman. But since that time, the statement has taken on a life of its own. It symbolizes a need for justice. It speaks to equality. It resounds with the hope of reforming broken systems in a broken world. It also reminds us of the stranglehold injustice can have on anyone who comes within its grip.

This statement has impacted us not only nationally, but globally. It has become personal to many of us as we have heard it said by loved ones or friends in an entirely different context: Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, millions have lost their lives because of an inability to breathe. Many people have experienced the powerlessness of not being able to help their loved one breathe. Gasping for air and being placed on oxygen or on a ventilator have become all-too-familiar occurrenceswhether experienced firsthand or through anothers retelling of the horrors of this virus that ravages the lungs.

Yet, despite the difficulties and death all around us, you and I are living in a day when we have gathered to collectively watch yet another potential demise. Huddled in a small room barely big enough for all of us to sit or stand in, we stare as truth appears to draw its final breaths. We watch as, with each gasping inhale and struggling exhale, truths strength diminishes before our very eyes.

Truth, which used to be a solid pillar in many peoples lives, lies there on a makeshift hospital bed, a mere skeleton of its former self. Hollowed jaws and protruding bones remind us of where vibrant life used to be. We watch, waiting. Wondering if truth will somehow pull through.

After all, our culture has already proclaimed that truth is dead. Our culture has already ripped off the life support and walked out of the room. Our culture has washed its hands and said good-bye to that which used to guard our land. Our culture has effectively sought to remove the remaining safeguard preventing us from falling into an abyss of chaos and confusion.

Not only would the actual death of truth usher in greater calamity, but the process of truths dying over the last decades has already led to a breakdown in the cultural immune system of our entire world. The starvation that has taken place in the organs and lifeblood of humanity is immense. Without truth flowing freely through the arteries of civilization, as oxygen flows through the arteries of a body, the organs that sustain order are shutting down. They are collapsing and can no longer provide what our society needs to function in a productive and healthy way.

Not much remains of honor, honesty, or character in our culture as we watch the ongoing plans for truth to not only be buried but also funeralized before us. Somewhere along the line, we have forgotten that truth matters. We have forgotten that we depend on truth far more than we realize. We have forgotten that objective standards govern much of what we choose to do; they dont govern just our values. Without truth, the whole world would collapse. Even the opponents of truth depend on it to function every day.

For example, how would you feel about flying on an airplane with an unsure pilot? If you heard your pilot come on the speaker before the flight and say, We are about to take off, and Im pretty sure I know what buttons to push to operate the plane properly, but sometimes I just like to mix it up, what would you do? If you are like me, you would get off that plane.

Or how would you feel about a surgeon who has discarded truth in his or her field? Lets say you were having a consultation with a surgeon and he or she said, I watched a surgery like this the other day online and that surgeon was doing some pretty cool new things that Id like to try to save time. I think I know just where to cut. Would you even stay for the rest of the consultation, or would you, like me, get up and walk away?

What about a pharmacist who admits to guessing about the accuracy of the dosage as your medication is put in the bottle? Would you take it? Or what if the pharmacist said, I have a lot of meds to choose from on these shelves. Never mind what the doctor prescribedlet me pick one that I feel is right for you!

THE FALLACY OF FEELINGS

Not long ago, I watched the Cowboys play the Eagles on Monday Night Football. One of the scoring plays Dak Prescott attempted involved his running a quarterback sneak into the end zone. It was not evident by watching it in real time whether he made it in. So the referees did what theyve been trained to do. They went to the sidelines to review the film.

After they showed the play from various camera angles, it quickly became evident to all of us watching that there really was no definitive angle that showed whether he got into the end zone. Usually that means the referees will stick with the initial callin this case, that he did not get into the end zone. But something struck me as I watched the game. One of the announcers for ESPN who is known for his experience in football said that it felt like Dak got in. He kept emphasizing that it just felt as though he scored, based on seeing the lunges of the players and the pack.