Without vision, the people perish

Without vision, the people perish

This statement from Provers 29:18 probably explains the demise of many churches

A fuller translation would be : “Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint”

The core idea is that people need a compelling vision of the future which affects their motives and actions. Proverbs 29:18 highlights the necessity of a compelling vision for guiding people’s actions and beliefs. This vision influences what is considered “good” or “bad” and motivates people towards a future goal.

If we look at the current picture in the world we can see this tension even within states. Separatist movements such as Scottish nationalism come from a sense of history and more immediately from a sense of neglect. London is a long way from Scotland and many Scots believe that Whitehall politicians do not understand Scottish needs.

The statement “Without vision, the people perish” from Proverbs 29:18 highlights the necessity of a compelling vision for guiding people’s actions and beliefs. This vision influences what is considered “good” or “bad” and motivates people towards a future goal.

The Conservative Party’s failure to present a unified and compelling vision led to their downfall, allowing Labour’s negative campaign to gain traction. Disaffected Conservative voters either switched allegiances or abstained from voting.

The decline in Anglican Christianity and smaller denominations can be attributed to internal conflicts and a lack of clear, inspired vision. In contrast, Christianity is growing in South America, Africa, and China, where it is presented as a strong alternative to oppressive regimes.

This more “fundamentalist” understanding of Christian faith comes from a close relationship with the Biblical teaching rather than the weak accommodation with society put out by many “Western” churches. The clear vision of Jesus Christ was “To love God with all your heart, mind and strength, and your neighbour as yourself”

Why then did it take only 3 years for a Palestinian Jewish peasant to make such a world-changing vision become effective?

If we look again to the phrase in Proverbs it says “Without a prophetic vision, the people run wild” so what is a prophetic vision?

Christians of every denomination believe that God speaks and hears. This is why they pray. They look for action from their God, who encompasses the characteristics of fatherhood, humanity and spiritual nature. They believe that this is the only true God. They believe that the bible is a record of his communications with humanity specifically and finally revealed in Jesus Christ.

This compelling vision of goodness, forgiveness and a community of believers sent to tell the world how great he is has resulted in the largest multinational group of billions of people united, however loosely in a mission to do good for others in the world. ?

This altruism in Christians led to laws and social behaviour of immense human benefit. It overturned savagery and oppression. If leaders became tolerant of their society’s human corruptions of depravity and savagery , it led to divisions and wars. Believers produced a culture of kindness and compassion seen In fair laws, hospitals and welfare of the poor.

So without this biblical vision of the role of humans on earth, society becomes corrupt, unfair and uncaring. The worst in human nature of greed and dominance tends to take over.

Why, then, doesn’t society adopt Christianity?

In a most fundamental way, faith in Jesus Christ can only come through a belief in a God who is Father, Son and Spirit. It only comes from a profound and deep realisation of the corruption of the natural human nature and the need to turn to a belief in a God who deserves worship. This is labelled “conversion” and it is an experience of transformation that only comes when the pride of a person is subordinated to a higher vision of life. In a faith that they have a Saviour who died to reveal the purpose of God in their lives to be wholly good and worth sharing with others.

This vision of life is so fundamentally against the self-determination of “liberal” society norms that it is often ridiculed. This vision of justice competes with oppressive regimes and corruption such that harsh oppression is often used by the powerful. However whenever a society adopts more elements of biblical faith, it becomes happier, more tolerant, more prosperous through fair sharing of the resources available.

Without this vision, the people turn and fight one another. Black against white, woke against traditional, man against woman.

Turn that around and the opposite is the vision of Jesus.