Kingdom Building
I have always been enamoured with Kings, Queens, and royalty in general. As a young child, I often fancied the idea of my backyard as a kingdom. Aye, I wanted to conquer and take dominion. Indeed, deep inside, I had a desire for power and conquest. I wanted prestige, power, and a name for myself … even if it meant I was conquering a territory of dandelions taken captive by a ruthless sibling. Not much has changed from my childhood. I still have the desire to conquer. I believe it is an inborn trait in all of us. God created us to take dominion. He created us to create kingdoms.
Truthfully, all of us are creating kingdoms. The question is … which kingdom are we creating? You see, we all start out being enticed by the notion that we can get a higher education and take our position in corporate America, work 8-5, and enjoy a full benefits package. I suppose the building of this kingdom was a welcome thing when it was first presented. America, a largely agricultural country at its birth, was no stranger to disease, hardship, and drought. There is nothing so devastating as working sun up to sun down only to lose all your income because of a hail storm. Then a call came from the halls of academia, joined by a few counterparts, “Don’t ever be a poor dirt farmer. Get an education; see and experience the world. Never be hungry again.” Many embraced this call, and women were noted saying, “I promised I would never marry a farmer.” Why? It means poverty, suffering, and worse.
The call first came to the men. Leave the farm. Let machines, chemicals, and technology do what the family once did. We can do it better, faster, and more efficiently. We can genetically alter plants that you can’t douse with chemicals in order to prevent disease and disaster of most kinds. We bought it, hook line and sinker. The call next came to women. Leave the drudgery of being a stay-at-home mom. Stop having babies that tie you down and deplete your physical and emotional resources. Join the workforce; earn what your spouse earns or close to it. Let the little ones go to daycare, or afterschool programs. Don’t suffer; don’t slave over a hot stove. Let Ragu®, TV dinners, and microwave ovens take dominion of your life.
Examine with me this kingdom that promises neither pain nor suffering, and offers insurance if one does suffer. The result, dear friends, is that we have houses (instead of homes), that are laden with debt and sit empty all day. We have families scattered and broken. We have fast food and instant gratification of every variety. Don’t forget the companions of such gratification, including diabetes, heart disease, suicides, depression, and divorce. For most, the 8-5 job turned into a salaried job requiring 50 plus hours a week. The position of leadership in corporate America is ever elusive for most. Just work a few more hours, rub elbows with the right folks, and forget your family life, and you might be promotable. “But, don’t forget economic times are tough and we have to cut your wages while we increase your hours.”
Ahh … the kingdom is more of a nightmare. We all want castles, but we fail to realize this kind of castle is built on the sand. We have forsaken God in so many ways that it is hard for this author to list all the ways. First, we failed to see work by the sweat of the brow as a blessing and a gift from God. Our society developed the delineation between blue collar workers and white collar workers, the nobler being the latter. We forgot that our King, the noblest of all, gave us the noble work of being tillers of the soil and keepers of the garden. But we loathe hard work. We loathe agriculture. We loathe the disease and suffering that comes with living off the land. Second, we traded our reliance on God to endure hardships and grant prosperity for reliance on industry, corporations, benefit packages, and a variety of insurances. Third, we despised entrepreneurialism, family businesses, and fathers leading the home. Society, schools, and daycares became the parents for our children, while we work, hoping to achieve success. Our children spend more time in the educational system, yet are profoundly uneducated. Finally, we failed to see that when disease and suffering would strike, God would see us through. Suffering is for our good. Such hardships spark a resilient creativity in some, who pave the way to provide for their familes in spite of all the heartache.
While the state of affairs in this country is undeniably bleak, there is hope. God is calling many fathers home. Many all across the United States and abroad are seeing the problems for what they are. Some are embracing hard work as the true gift and blessing it is. They are returning home to lead their wives and children down a different path. Some see that the American dream is a nightmare, and a kingdom that is not worthy of building. They have returned to building a kingdom for the Lord, by taking dominion of the land. The hard economic times ahead hold great promise for a restructuring of this nation. Many will be forced to return to simple living to survive. Local economies will once again flourish. If we can but remember trials and hard times are good for us, we will find a restoration of the barren wastelands.
(Isa 58:12 NKJV) Those from among you Shall build the old waste places; You shall raise up the foundations of many generations; And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.
Hope
June 19th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
Hey BHF,
This was a great post. I found your comments over at Rural Missourian and Reformed Farmer’s blogs. I agree with you whole heartedly. As bleak as things seem to look, the beauty is there too… the beauty of father’s hearts turning back to their children and family. It seems so slow in coming, though and only in very small pockets around the country. Lord willing, it will be these small groups of God’s people that will be in a position to lead in advancing the Kingdom of King Jesus.
Keep up the great posts. I am going to put your blog in my favorites.
In Christ,
Matt
July 2nd, 2008 at 12:02 pm
I was blessed by your post…certainly enjoyed the message.
I will be visiting often. ;o)
Blessings! Kris in WA