Living Right Side Up in an Upside Down World - #1

In Acts 17:6 we read "And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also." (EVS). Jason and "some of the brothers" were proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ in an upside down world. Obviously they were living in a counter-culture fashion that was having much effect and getting noticed.

The response of the city authorities tells us that Jason and his coworkers were bucking the trend, proclaiming a message that would in all truth set the world right-side up. Only the Gospel has the power to do that. All too commonly however people resist Jesus' counter-cultural paradigm shift (John 15:18) or even outright oppose it. We shouldn't be surprised. They just don't get it (Mark 4:12) so instead approach life in ways where good is spoken of as evil and evil spoke of as good (Isaiah 5:20). We think that's a modern day issue but as this account in Acts shows us there is nothing new under the sun.But such Upside down thinking is all too prevalent today which is the point of this new section of the Living Sent Today blog.

"Living Right Side Up in Our Upside Down World" will be a new regular feature of this blog.I'm adding these blog posts to look at the news stories that scream::"we live in an upside down world!" Each post we'll feature one or two glaringly examples, among many, of a story that clearly shows us that people are living like the guy in this picture (above) but are clueless about it. This week to start I offer two fine examples.

First, there's the story of the Rubio water bottle. Perhaps you know Senator Marco Rubio gave the Republican response to the SOTU this week. It was the first time an Hispanic gave the SOTU response so the event had an historic element and should have received coverage based on that fact.  While on camera Senator Rubio, apparently nervous or just thirsty, grabbed a bottle of water and took a swig. Of course, it's not the first time a politician took s sip on camera. But the media and blogishere went nuts. Just Google "Marco Rubio water" and you get 196 million hits! CNN opined if this was the end of Rubio's political aspiration. Really? Sipping water can do that?

My response was to echo Hillary Clinton's comments when she gave testimony before Congress about Benghazi, "what difference does it make?" Does it even need to be asked, "where was the media coverage of Benghazi?" In our Upside Down world drinking water gets more attention than 4 dead Americans and an Administration that covered-up their involvement or lack thereof?  However, you got to love Rubio's response.for a Right-side Up approach to the media onslaught. Laughing at yourself quiets the critics. Well played, Senator.

But then there is this story: CNN Panelists Compare Christopher Dorner to ‘Real-Life Superhero,’ Say His Actions Were Like a ‘Denzel Washington Movie’

So some demented nutbag who kills 4 people in LA is a "real life superhero," at least if you're Prof Marc Lamont Hill? Can anyone see any rational in the good professor's thinking or is he the clear winner of this week's "Upside-Down" award? Only in an upside down world does Hill's response even begin to make sense. Perhaps Hill has some competition from the other guest on CNN, Jack Moore, who said the story "in some ways resembles a Denzel Washington movie where someone is wronged and he stands up for himself and he goes down in a blaze of glory." Huh?

I have to wonder on what basis any sane person justifies murder with thoughtless analogies like Hill and Moore foisted upon Americans this week.But then I remember we live in an Upside World. We need to be Jason's, no not the Jason of Friday the 13th, but the Biblical Jason, who sets the world Rights Side Up. We must live juxtaposed to our Upside Down world for Living Sent Today.