Behind the Curtain
Isaiah 5:12
They have lyre and harp, tambourine and flute and wine at their feasts, but they do not regard the deeds of the LORD, or see the work of his hands.
During the year I spent living in Wales, one thing that troubled me deeply was the way my soccer buddies could drink, dance, and party hard and still seem like the happiest men on earth. I tried to share Christ with them, but they genuinely didn’t seem to need God. In fact, the joy their booze and music and revelry gave them was palpable, and I couldn’t make sense of it. I became disillusioned, even depressed, and began crying out to God for understanding—and He answered me. One night, as I quietly slipped away from the campus-pub, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned to see Elliot, the team captain, who’d silently followed me out the door. With trembling hand and stammering voice, he said to me, “Seth, everything you see is a lie. I pretend like everything’s okay, but I’m breaking on the inside.” Wow. Like Habakkuk of old, I saw through the curtain of the comedy show to the tragedy within.
Christian, it may seem like the world’s having all the fun, but take it from Isaiah: the party doesn’t last the night.