Trump is not behind this. RFK didn’t cook this up. Black Lives Matter didn’t initiate this. This isn’t a political war or a race war. I believe it was birthed with the advent of social media and the ability to say whatever I want to say without ever having to look someone else in the eye. It was fueled by the last five decades of “rights speeches.” These movements followed on the heels of civil rights, only they are more personal. The way they defined rights was to say “I want my way, all the time, no matter what.” Several generations of children were raised with beliefs that suppressed the community and elevated self. An example would include the disintegrating marriage culture. People are choosing to wait longer and longer to get married. Why? “I have things I want to do.” Once married, couples are choosing less kids. Why? “They get in the way of what I want to do.” These two trends cut the legs out from under community all in the name of self. And they are spawned directly from the generations that believe “I” matters more than “we.”
Another example looks at mental health. Anxiety, depression, and loneliness are at all time highs today. Why? In an effort to feed “my needs,” people isolate more and more. The AI market was invented and is thriving in an effort to meet this trend. Do you realize the stated number one goal of many AI companies is to “Eliminate loneliness?” Companionship is the way they market their bots. Why? Because people have lost or given up their human connections. A self-centered world is all alone and it leads to fear and stress we were not meant to bear. As long as we continue a laser sharp focus on ourselves, we will continue to see a struggle to co-exist.
God created us connected. It’s almost like we are bound to each other with invisible ropes. Our culture is stretching those ropes to the max, seeking to sever those ties every chance we get. The result is great brokenness in culture, relationships, the family…brokenness in every area that matters to us.
Some say that culture only collapses when the Christians/the church stop doing what we’re called to do. When the church becomes shallow, so goes the culture. Do you remember Deitrich Bonhoeffer? He’s the German pastor who stood against the grain of his culture; a culture so broken and focused on self, it intimidated the whole world. Bonhoeffer is known for saying that Rome fell because “the commitment of most of its Christian population remained too shallow to restrain God’s wrath.” Does this have any weight? Well, God would have reserved judgment on Sodom, not because of their lack of sin, but for just 10 believers who lived there. When they didn’t meet that number, He destroyed them and rescued those who belonged to Him. Anytime a city is destroyed in the OT it is not because their pagan leanings outweighed the Godly ones. It’s because there were not enough Godly leanings to preserve it.
I suggest the only successful route we have of returning to a peaceful state is to look to Christianity. Not the self-driven Christianity that tries to adapt every time the direction of the wind changes, but biblical Christianity that looks directly to the Word of God to inform its beliefs and mode of operation. Instead of fighting to preserve our culture, it seems that Christians should be fighting to preserve their first love. If we return to what Christ has offered us and repent of our sin of neglect, it’s very possible the country we love will be rescued.
Only those who know God will be able to initiate this. Knowing about God isn’t enough. Being aware of the facts allows you to categorize the values of Christianity alongside every other set of values you hold. But to know God is to set aside your broken system and submit to the life He offers, under the influence of His Spirit. Which reality will you choose? The one where you are the President and CEO or the reality God offers you in Christ that is tightly bound to the world around you. I promise you, the life we fight so desperately to preserve is only found in the latter.