The news stories of the past few weeks, remind me of a great scene from the movie, “Wizard of Oz”. Events in the political arena, international conflicts, houses of finance and natural disasters, all seem to clamoring for our attention. Like the characters in the Land of Oz, when walking through the chambers of the great wizard, are awestruck by what they see.
When stepping back to look at the larger picture of world events, I can’t help but think of the scene in that great chamber room in Oz, when Toto the dog pulls back the curtain, exposing the ‘wizard’ to be an ordinary man making a lot of noise. And why is he putting on a show? Because he is powerless to address their real concerns.
In an effort to ‘save face’ he looks them in the eye, then turns back around and thunders into his microphone, “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. I am the great and powerful Oz.”
By this time however, the charade is over—the truth is now known and Dorothy and her friends are each faced with a crisis—what to do now that the wizard is a fake.
As I take into account everything that is happening and how it seems to be accelerating to some unknown point on the horizon of time, questions of “why”? and “to what end?” have to be answered. Yet the politicians, financial gurus and world leaders seem to be yelling out “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain” in hopes that no one will realize that they too are asking the same questions.
Shortly after the last U.S. Presidential election, incoming Obama chief of staff Rahm Emanuel told a Wall Street Journal CEO conference on the economy, “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste.” He continued saying, “Things that we had postponed for too long, that were long-term, are now immediate and must be dealt with. This crisis provides the opportunity for us to do things that you could not do before.”
A few months later, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addressed a European audience on the environment stating, “Never waste a good crisis…” A good crisis!
A crisis has a way of getting our attention and breaking through the peripheral stuff that tends to get in our way. Unlike a politician that seizes a crisis to try and manipulate an agenda on distracted people, a truly “good crisis” can help us see through the agendas and schemes of others—even our own misguided beliefs.
The everyday events on the world stage should cause us to step back and ask the question “why?” and be determined to listen and accept the truth God reveals within the pages of the Bible.
The actions of a little dog brought forth the truth to the people of Oz. Though its actions created an immediate crisis, once the truth was known and accepted, the outcome was far better for everyone.
The pages of Scripture reveal the prophecies of events to come. They pull back the curtain of the unknown and allow a person to see the real events as they are and will soon be. The end result is the truth is liberating, brings a new freedom in living, opens our eyes to the 'bigger picture' and gives one confidence to the final outcome!
So we can choose to listen to the pundits of our day that pull the levers and wave their hands in hopes of persuading us that they know what they are doing and to follow them. Or we can listen to the One who was, and is and is to come, forevermore. The One who knows the end before the beginning. The One who said, "I'll never leave you, nor forsake you." The One in whom all things are created and held together...Jesus Christ.
I think I'll pay attention to Him and what He says...everything else is just smoke and mirrors!
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