Commentator and author David Brooks was always considered one of the establishment republicans even though he called himself a conservative. Possibly you recognize his name for his views have been consulted and reported on in the news and on television for decades now.
Well....in his latest column for the New York Times....(you can read the full article by Googling....'realpolitics, David Brooks')....he asked the question....in the title of the article...."What If We're The Bad Guys Here?" By....'we'....he means the elites of the left. Remember....Brooks still considers himself a conservative....(he is actually a genuine moderate....sometimes very correct....and sometimes very blind)....but also admits that he is part of the 'modern meritocracy'....ruled by the left....that dominates so many professions in our society.
It's an honest question from Brooks as he knows that the left just bullied their way into newsrooms and colleges and universities....and are paying the price today....in the reactionary ascendance of the Trump wing of the Republican Party. Fox News....predictably....highlighted the column....that is definitely worth reading. Interesting as this is........it is David Brooks himself that this post is on.
He was raised Jewish but was non-observant. He was married to a woman who became very Jewish....they divorced....and he later married a woman with strong Christian views. A few years ago it became known that he was considering Christianity. Then we....Christians....did what we do in such situations....we bombard him with books. I've done this myself a number of times. Brooks said that he probably received a couple of hundred copies of Mere Christianity.
So where is David Brooks today? I'm not sure that even he knows. His comments on questioning what Christianity teaches sounded very sincere. I have absolutely no idea where he is at. He was questioned about it at times....but they were always the wrong questions....by interviewers who do not know the right questions....the answers to which give hints....but no real insight. David Brooks is certainly worthy of our prayers....for we ourselves were at one time in the exact same situation.
Here is my point in this post. Whether it be David Brooks or Elvis Presley....or Bob Dylan or B. J. Thomas....or Charles Colson or Justin Bieber....or C. S. Lewis or J. R. R. Tolkien....or George H. W. Bush or George W. Bush....or John MacArthur or Martin Luther or John Calvin....or me or you....one has to be....born a second time.....from above....born anew....with a new heart....yes new and frail in the faith but that faith started and sealed by the God of all creation!
We believers can rejoice in such stories....and even the bright hopes for a celebrity in today's culture....but we must never let those hopes....wonderful as even they might turn out to be....compromise the gospel of Jesus Christ itself! We do no merely change our ideological or philosophical or religious beliefs. Anyone can do that and not have been regenerated....not born again....not saved. In this case....David Brooks has to realize that all of the books that he had authored....and all the influential articles...and all the television airtime....and all the renown that he has.....means absolutely nothing to God. He is no more needed or loved than a man who digs graves for a living....or a woman who cleans the college cafeteria floors! That is the temptation that celebrities often have....but then again...for those who are humbled....prostrated before a Holy God....it is indeed wonderful to observe....as it was with Charles Colson....author of that 1976 bestseller....Born Again!
One interesting anecdote: David Brooks recalled....this in a New Yorker article on him a few years back....on his conversion....mentions that one book had a particular effect on him....as he described it...."a book of Puritan prayers.' Could this be....yes I think it must have been....the Banner of Truth's.....Valley of Vision...A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions....edited by Arthur Bennett....first published 1975....a copy of which is in my hand right now....and of which I mentioned in posts many times!
Addendum: As with yesterday's post....I posted....and then chose a sermon to listen to....and again it was from John Piper's desiringgod.org....and again I recommend it to you....just go to the website and it is right there....Jesus Overcomes Our Darkness!
