"Crack"ing Up The Church

  Those of us that lived thru the 80’s will remember the “Crack Cocaine” epidemic. When the “crack” version of the drug cocaine hit the streets, news outlets screamed about the dangers of this new drug that was 50 times more dangerous than cocaine. Stories of “crack babies”, infants exposed to drug by their mother, which were permanently damaged and unable to function as human beings. Congress reacted to the crisis by drafting legislation known as the 100:1 rule, which meant that having one gram of crack was as bad as having 100 grams of cocaine. That made anyone in possession of 5 grams of crack was enough to classify a person as a dealer, leading to a mandatory minimum sentence of five years.

  The only problem was that the information that led to the outcry was bunk. The expert that testified before Congress had made up all his statics, just as he had his credentials as an expert. In reality, there is absolutely no difference in danger between crack and powder cocaine.  Later studies would show that “crack babies” were no more damaged that those that had mother that drank or smoked during pregnancy.  While still very bad, it wasn’t it was dangerous as it was made out to be.

  However, the consequences of the reaction to these lies are still with us today. Much of our prison overcrowding comes from the laws passed. The mandatory sentences for small time drug users led to murders and violent offenders being released early. Resources that could have been used to combat other problems were funnel into a battle against an illusion. Other evils grew because we were over committed to a manufactured crisis.

  The church can find itself in a similar situation with some of the problems it faces.  We may see a problem, a drift towards liberalism, casualness to towards worship, lack of growth, and know something need to be done. However if we rely on bad information, or overreact to the negligence of other areas, we too may find ourselves facing similar consequences.

 I wonder if Satan doesn’t sometimes try to get us to commit all our troops to one area just so he can attack from the other way. You see just that in preachers that spend all their time trying to help others, yet end up losing their own families to the world.  Elders trying to keep the church from falling into error, forget about preaching the truth. Youth ministers so focused on teaching young people on what they shouldn’t be involved in, never telling them what true Christian should be. Teachers that want to help struggling families so they gear all their classes to that message, yet never getting to deeper discussion on the word of God. Churches so focused on growing, believe the lie that growth comes from comprise with the world, cease to be the true Church of God.

    We need to wise not only about the dangers we face but also about how big we let those dangers become in our lives.  Any issue or problem will only be as big as we let it become. God’s people need to balance our fears and concerns with trust and hope. We need to wary of anyone that makes outlandish claims and promises.  2^nd Peter 3:17 tells us  “You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability” (ESV). Christians need to seek balanced and stable approaches to the problems they face.