C.S. Lewis famously coined the term
“chronological snobbery” which expresses the belief that ancient ideas (or in
this case religion) such as Christianity have no relevance in our 21st
century culture. Since society has grown and advanced and is more knowledgeable
about science, technology, etc., ancient Christianity in particular must be
out-of-date and foolish to believe because we are clearly smarter than the
apostles and prophets who wrote the books of the Bible. This is very much a
prominent view in today’s society as America has become more and more
de-Christianized despite the fact that many of our values and beliefs as a
country were once grounded in ancient Christianity.
I bring
this up because I think it’s easy for us to believe we are so much better than
our predecessors; that we have come so far. This is surely true in some cases,
but as I’ve been reading about William Wilberforce’s early childhood and
adolescent years, I am struck by how similar his world is to our own. First of
all, Wilberforce grew in a fairly wealthy culture; his parents were rich as
well as his aunt and uncle by whom he was raised due to the death of his eldest
sister and father when he was 8. In that
culture it was highly valued to “live in the moment” and enjoy the pleasures of
life. It was looked down on to seriously think about life and its meaning or to
delve too deeply into introspection. Metaxas paints a clear picture of the accepted
religious practice of the time: “One attended one’s church, and one stood and
one kneeled and one sat at the proper times and did what was required of one,
but to scratch beneath this highly lacquered surface was to venture well beyond
the pale in that society and invite stares and whispers and certain banishment.”
This is not exactly the same today as spirituality is valued and it is
encouraged to “find one’s self”. However, as a Christian, it seems we are
looked down upon if we believe the Bible to be inerrant and if we strive to
follow it to the tee. We can be seen as ignorant, closed-minded, and bigoted.
We have been called “Bible-thumpers” and “Jesus Freaks”. Wilberforce’s aunt and
uncle would have been considered these types of people, however, he grew to
love the faith they raised him in. His mother, on the other hand, was not
excited once she found out how they were raising young Wilberforce, and he was
removed from there immediately. Over the years, Wilberforce lost interest in
his faith especially once he entered college.
Additionally,
pursuing and seeking the pleasures of life is prevalent in today’s culture. We
live in an age where you “do-what-makes-you-feel-good” or to put it more
succinctly, “YOLO”. This seems to be especially true in college where
experiencing all kinds of different things is encouraged, and there’s really no
limit on what you can do. It was quite similar for Wilberforce who, at the age
of 17 began attending Cambridge University. He describes his first day as such,
“I was introduced, on the very first night of my arrival to as licentious a set
of men as can well be conceived. They drank hard, and their conversation was
even worse than their lives.” Wilberforce was well-known as an entertaining guy;
he was funny, witty, a great singer and dancer, and loved to party well into
the night. He studied when he needed to and passed his classes. It’s eerie how
similar his experience was to mine in college considering I attended more than
200 years after him.
Wilberforce
continued this lifestyle when he joined Parliament at the age of 21. He rose in
the ranks and was a valued member in 5 clubs in London. This may not sound like
a big deal to us, but back then to be a member of any club was huge; to be a
member of 5 was astonishing. Now welcomed to the upper echelon of society,
Wilberforce drank it all in, partying and dancing well into the wee hours of
the morning. This was a nightly occurrence. His career in Parliament was his
life, and his reputation exploded after he won the county seat for York, one of
London’s most prominent neighborhoods; a feat that was deemed impossible
especially at the age of 24. His best friend, William Pitt, was the Prime
Minister. He was literally at the height of his career; ambition and pride
abounded. However, as time went by, Wilberforce began questioning, “Is this all
there is?” Is this life’s true purpose? He began feeling empty.
I had the
same questions as I was indulging in all life had to offer. Is this really it?
It was as if there was a hole in my life that I was trying to fill with all
kinds of earthly things, but they just couldn’t fill it. As Wilberforce soon
discovered, and as I myself discovered, there is only one thing that can fill
that hole, and that is Christ. We are created in God’s own image (Gen. 1:26),
precious in His sight. We were created for so much more than pursuing earthly
passions, and seeking pleasure wherever we can find it, no matter how fleeting
it is. Now I’m not saying earthly things are bad. God actually said everything
He created was good and very good. We make the mistake of elevating these good
things above Him, thus creating idols that control us and leave us wanting
more. A man who lived 200 years before me, experienced the same struggles I
dealt with and am still dealing with. However, our hope is in Christ who is
never-changing and is the only true satisfaction to be found in this world. And
what a miracle He seeks and saves us.
So it
appears I have a lot in common with a dude who lived two centuries ago. It
would be arrogant to think I know better than he does when humans have
struggled with the same sins since the beginning. I’m only scraping the surface
of Wilberforce’s life and am eager to share how God uses Him for His glory.
“If pleasure is our
aim, then we’ll find it when our God is who our target is” – Jackie Hill Perry
