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:
- Read the paraphrase of Job chapters 38-41 in The Message.
- What do God’s own words about His creation
and power say to you?
FURTHER
READING:
Along with caring for her family, Carolyn works
as an insurance representative, serves in Oakwood Church as a Community Group
leader and a High School home group leader.
[1] Billy Joel. We Didn’t Start the
Fire. Album: Store Front.
