We have all seen it now. The 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony was an excellent visual of the mood of our age and the embodiment of the lie that humans’ highest virtue is following their hearts wherever that leads (article and image links here, here, and here). Following your heart sounds harmless, but don’t let that fool you. According to Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick.” We saw where humanity’s deceitful hearts can bring us in the opening ceremony. We are witnessing another clear example that ideas have consequences. The ideas France has championed for the last 200 years are now simply being lived out on the world stage.
When the French revolutionaries in 1789 cried for liberté, égalité, and fraternité, they were not just seeking liberty from the French monarchy. They were also calling for liberation from all Christian morality. It was a revolt against God Himself, one in which man could rid himself of biblical truth and be liberated to follow his heart.
This idea has now become deeply embedded in French culture and the worldviews of many of its people. French people are well aware that liberty, equality, and fraternity are emblazoned above every government institution and every school and is symbolic in the Tricolour flag. France’s rebellious cry has influenced its neighbors, and today, much of the West has also sought this revolutionary liberation from God. Ironically, this removes all basis for liberty, equality, and fraternity, not to mention all that is true, good, ordered, and beautiful.
So, were you really all that shocked during the opening ceremony, when just after you read the words liberty, equality, and fraternity on your screen, you were confronted by the provocative scene of the drag Last Supper? Or is it just that France is being consistent with its worldview? In the words of one of the ceremony coordinators, “We imagined the ceremony to show our values and our principles… The idea was really to trigger a reflection. We wanted to have the messaging as strong as possible.” To that, I say, mission accomplished. The messaging of your values and principles was crystal clear. And yes, it did trigger a reflection. My personal reflection was, first, gross; and second, Christians, we really need to wake up and be aware of the state of our world.
Today’s landscape is shifting beyond a “post-Christian” world to one that’s outright “anti-Christian.” The score is against us, and the momentum is not in our favor. Do you understand your role at this moment in the game? Are you prepared to be just as consistent with your worldview as those in the Last Supper mockery were to theirs? Do you understand biblical liberty and equality and how they differ from their secular counterfeits? Will you play your part in stopping the distorted call to follow your heart?
Let’s be people known for our bold convictions and find inspiration in one of the athletes from the last Paris Olympics exactly a century ago: Eric Liddel, who courageously held to his Christian convictions in the face of incredible pressure to stay silent.
Christ saved you for such a time as this. Why? So that you would run the race! You’ve been handed the baton from the likes of Liddel and the Apostle Paul. Years from now, will you be able to reflect on your life as Paul did, saying that you have also kept your faith and run the good race?
