Polishing Brass on a Sinking Ship

By Evan Murch - Posted at Evan's Scattered Thoughts:

When a Christian routinely brings up an issue like politics, or combats an evil like abortion or homosexuality, there will inevitably come a time when he is told by fellow professing Christians political or social involvement is merely “polishing brass on a sinking ship,” and one should only be concerned about saving souls. However, much of what is confused for “brass polishing” is actually hole plugging, which I will address later.

The “Ship” in this analogy represents the world, and the idea is that the world is irreparably falling into destruction and chaos, and therefore, we should only be concerned with saving as many people as we can before the end. I happen to really like the imagery of the analogy, but I think it needs some tweaking in light of what the Bible says about the world and our duty as Christians.

To whom does the Ship belong? The psalmist David wrote, “The earth is the LORD’S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.” (Ps.24:1) Psalm 2 says that God the Father has given the whole world to Jesus as His rightful inheritance:“Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.” (Ps.2:8)

God so loved this “Ship” that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

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