The Pretty Tents of Wickedness
If you’re a Christian, there’s a particular passage that should shape your social life. It’s in Psalm 84:10-11, and it reads:
“For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD bestows favor and honor: no good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.”
It’s easy enough to reject the uglier “tents of wickedness,” but we may find it harder when the tents looks pretty. If you haven’t noticed, wealthy tents—their circles of prestige, beauty and accomplishment—usually look very pretty!
We might envy those wealthy friends who glide among prominent social circles. It seems that life, for them, is full of pleasures, treasures, and prestige. Their unexamined lives seems to work for them, not against them. If you’re a believer living in such a culture, you may fee out of step with this dynamic, even if you enjoy similar financial success.
I live among many such people, and some are my friends. They’re members of the best clubs, with homes on the best streets, and second homes on the best lake, beach, or mountain. Their kids are usually popular in high school; in college, they’ll join the most exclusive sorority or fraternity. Later, they’ll graduate and find a fantastic job—often because they know the right people. This isn’t unique to my city, nor is it inherently wicked; it’s just life among the accomplished and connected.
Sadly, though, many of these pretty (and politically conservative) people also give lip service to “God and country” but have little interest in knowing God, taking him seriously, or seeing his kingdom expand. For all their family money, success and vaunted philanthropy, they are spiritually impoverished.
To be sure, they will claim a connection to the Christian faith, but it’s a tenuous one at best; Christian holidays, weddings and funerals are the only things that inspire their visits to the fashionable local church. They may
Article from LewRockwell
LewRockwell.com is a libertarian website that publishes articles, essays, and blog posts advocating for minimal government, free markets, and individual liberty. The site was founded by Lew Rockwell, an American libertarian political commentator, activist, and former congressional staffer. The website often features content that is critical of mainstream politics, state intervention, and foreign policy, among other topics. It is a platform frequently used to disseminate Austrian economics, a school of economic thought that is popular among some libertarians.
