Seeking the Peace or Welfare of the City

We have been studying Jonah on Sunday evenings at Edgewood.  This past Sunday we look at verse 5 of chapter 4 and drew from Jeremiah 29.  The point was to examine our hearts to see if we are moved with compassion for our city and community.   If so, are we  seeking to benefit the welfare of it.  We do this by doing the ordinary things that are necessary to life (having a house, working, eating, etc.), but doing them to the glory of God.

The application of this needs to be carefully done.  Peace and welfare can be general, in the sense of for the greater good (ie giving a cup of cold water in the name of Christ), but our ultimate goal must be redemption.  In our compassion and love for the lost, this sometimes means we must resist the practice of the world and go against the flow.   For instance, we work for the welfare of the city when we stand against things like abortion and abuse.   Engaging the world does not always mean coming alongside the world and its practices.  Kevin DeYoung gives an interesting application for seeking the welfare of the city in his examination of casinos and gambling.

The slot-machine is not a toy, or as it is so often dubbed, a bit of harmless entertainment.  It is a learning machine intent on finding your weakness and exploiting it.  Casinos exist to take your money.  They make no product.  They do not create wealth.  They do not contribute to the public good.  They hurt communities, hurt families, and by design try to hurt people by making them into coin-dropping addicts. Christians interested in seeking the shalom of their cities should do what they can to oppose the proliferation of casinos, lotteries, and the rest of the gaming industry. They could start by not showing up.

You can read the whole article here.