We Didn’t Start the
Fire
By
Carolyn Hulliberger
“What has been will
be again, what has been done will be done again; There is nothing new under the
sun.”
Ecclesiastes
1:9 (NIV)
In
1989, Billy Joel’s song, “We Didn’t Start the Fire” hit #1 on the United States
pop charts. The song is a stream of consciousness listing of 40 years of
historical events that had happened during his lifetime. After each long list,
he sings, “We didn’t start the fire. It was always burning since the world’s
been turning…” [1] Consider this partial list, you might find some familiar
topics: Richard Nixon, Marilyn Monroe, H-Bomb, James Dean, Bay of Pigs
invasion, Disneyland, punk rock, Ayatollah’s in Iran, Afghanistan, AIDS, crack,
suicide.
To
add some hot topics from the years since, I would include 9-11, Apple, meth,
climate change, obesity, Y2K, Al Qaeda, hanging chads, H1N1, 50 Shades,
bullying, Columbine.
You
get the idea. There are days I turn on the news and I get so discouraged. Our
world is a mess! But here’s the thing… it’s ALWAYS BEEN THIS WAY! The Old
Testament talks of child sacrifice, incest, thirst for power, victimization of
the poor, war, famine, slavery, adultery, murder. Solomon’s words from
Ecclesiastes in the verse above ring true, “There is NOTHING new under the
sun.” (Emphasis added). Humanity has been depraved and destructive since sin
was chosen in the Garden of Eden.
Oddly,
there can be comfort in that. Man hasn’t come up with anything new. And God is
still God. He:
- created the universe and all that is in it,
- formed man for the purpose of loving and glorifying Him,
- gives each of us the ability to choose who (or what) we will serve,
- enters into a relationship with us when we accept His free gift of salvation.
And
through that all, He is still in control. Our world can feel like it will
implode at any given moment. We can choose to be fearful of the future for
ourselves or our children and depressed about the state of our society. OR… we can take heart in knowing His Truth
and Promise, “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and
who was, and who is to come, the Almighty” (Revelation
1:8, NIV).
GOING DEEPER:
1.
Read the paraphrase of Job
chapters 38-41 in The Message.
2.
What do God’s own words about His creation and power say to you?
FURTHER READING:
[1] Billy Joel. We Didn’t Start the Fire. Album:
Store Front.
Along
with caring for her family, Carolyn works as an insurance representative,
serves in Oakwood Church’s Student Ministries with an awesome group of junior
high girls, and is the treasurer for Women’s Ministries.
