Each day we read the newspaper, open our web browser, turn on the television, see the demonstrators on the street corner, or hear the radio announcers constantly bickering over what is wrong in the world. Government run health care or not, more troops in Afghanistan or bring them home, global warming or just a conspiracy, swine flu as a worldwide pandemic or just another excuse for media headlines, investment in the stock market or its impending collapse yet again. People fear for their lives, their retirements, their jobs, their family, and their well-being. A few will stock up for the worst case scenario, gathering fresh water, canned food, medicine, self defense weapons including guns and ammunition. Others will go off the deep end and perform horrible acts to themselves or others. But most will choose to ignore it all, living in oblivion and saying to themselves, “I’ve always been okay so why should it be any different now?”
The choices are confusing. Most are screaming their opinions. “Follow us!” they yell. “We are right and they are the bigots!” “If we just do this, the world will be a better place.” Still others are whispering in our ears when we least expect it, slowly tearing us down until we start to believe and buy into their notion of how to fix all the problems we live in. Equality for everyone. Stop murdering babies. Think green. Peace, not war. Stop dependence on oil. Women should have a choice. Gay rights. The list goes on and on. Each of us listens to the voices. Even if we don’t want to, it is around us, consuming us. We form opinions on these subjects from the media outlets we have heard, speaking with friends and family, lessons we were taught during childhood, and teachers who shared their ideas, just to name a few. But one simple idea has simply escaped our minds amidst all the chaos.
IT DOESN’T MATTER.
Let that sink in for a moment… It doesn’t matter because there is only one answer for why these things are happening. We have lost our focus. Instead, our minds are occupied by fear, exhilaration, greed, remorse, grief, and lust. Our country’s housing market did not crash because of the banking system or government regulations. Our stock market did not crash because of a mortgage lending bubble collapse. Other countries are beginning to see the United States as weak, but not because of our President, collapsing economy, or the skyrocketing Federal budget deficit. It doesn’t matter because no matter what is happening, our focus should only be on one thing.
GOD.
You see, this isn’t the first time this has happened. Throughout history, civilizations that have focused on God and honored Him have been blessed immensely. Great power and wealth have been bestowed among God-fearing people. England was one of those countries blessed by God. It was a light into the dark world; a beacon sending missionaries throughout the world. The Bible was revered and the Gospel was taught among its people. God blessed England with prosperity, riches, and power. But over a short period of time, a Godly nation turned its back on Christ and greeted the world with open arms. Spiritual riches gave way to paper money. Sunday church gave way to alcohol and parties. Jesus’ bride opened her bedroom door and became an adulteress.
England began persecuting Christians and chastising the church. God is loving, He is patient, but He is also just. God will not sit back and watch His people, those who love Him and have kept their focus on His truth, to be persecuted. England’s reign as a world power was crashing to a halt. In 1665 and into 1666, the Great Plague of London ripped through the city, killing over 100,000 citizens. Shortly after, the Great Fire of London destroyed over 85 percent of the homes in London. Skeptics may argue these events were just coincidence. I will let history speak for itself, from Sodom and Gomorrah, to Rome, Greece, the Middle East, Germany, and Russia. Each, at one time a great power of the world, was destroyed; not after becoming corrupt, but after mocking God and attempting to destroy His people.
Our country is much the same. We began with God in our hearts and a mindset to spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth. Even some of our most liberal universities today, such as Yale, Harvard, Princeton and Columbia, started as Bible schools. Over time they have conceded to the worries of this world, losing their focus on what is truly important. Violent crimes, drugs, prostitution, pornography, and corruption run rampant in this country. As early as the late 1920’s, greed was running the United States. Second mortgages were taken out on homes to invest cash in the stock market. The boom of the radio incited a new wave of corruption. In 1919, Congress passed the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote. This was a good step, but what came with it was not. Women’s rights groups continued to pursue ungodly privileges. Women were leaving behind their example of family values in exchange for worldly desires. Hollywood movies began showing pornography, until regulations were imposed. For the first time, cars were made with closed tops, quickly gaining the nickname “brothel on wheels”. It became a place for men and women to hide their acts of fornication and extra-marital affairs.
In 1929, God warned this great nation. Do not put your trust in material things. Turn your hearts back to Me. The stock market crashed and people lost everything. They tried to sell their shares, even at a huge loss, but no one wanted to buy them. The United States crumbled overnight, not because of the stock market, but for a much more important reason. “We’ve seen that throughout history God has brought down cities, nations and entire empires just to protect his testimony on earth” (Wilkerson, 78).
Even after the era of sex, drugs, and rock and roll in the U.S., this nation was still hanging onto its Christian roots. As late as the late 1980’s, long-term missionaries were reaching out and being supported from here. But the church was changing. Values and morals deteriorated at a rapid pace. Pastors began buying into worldly thinking and leading their flock astray. Not purposely, but devastating nonetheless. Christians have opened their ears to the mainstream media. Preachers are afraid to speak out on certain subjects. Perhaps they are afraid of lawsuits, or even just hurting the feelings of those they have been called upon to serve. Being politically correct has become the new status quo. How can our church survive when our leaders become afraid to speak out on politics, or even how to raise our children with discipline and to love the Lord?
But what have become truly alarming are current events; Christians are being persecuted within our own country. It wasn’t enough for the evil to persist on its own. These people have turned their hate and worldly desires against God’s people. It seems to be a daily headline. Tearing down the Ten Commandments from a courthouse. Illegalizing the pledge of allegiance. Forcing public schools to teach sex education and homosexual rights. A father pulling his children out of public school to save them from these immoral ideals; the school attempting to force the children back because the government wants control of our children’s minds. Astonishingly, even some churches have accepted openly homosexual pastors to serve on staff. You can’t live a single day without hearing the Bible or the concept of God being hounded and discredited. President Obama said it best. “Whatever we once were, we’re no longer a Christian nation.” Should we even be surprised by such a comment? The immorality, drugs, violence, decline of family values, destruction of the church, ultra sensitivity to everything morally wrong is evidence to the path of this country. “Now we’ve completely forgotten why we were ever blessed” (Wilkerson, 71).
You hear it every day. People love to say the reason for our greatness is due to our ingenuity, work ethic, inventions, and technical skills. But where did they come from? God works through people to give and take what is His. Our prosperity and power came from God, and God alone. God blessed us and that blessing has gotten to our heads. We no longer focus on the Giver, but the gift. We no longer invest in the Giver, but the gift. Where is your time being invested? Are you spending your evenings watching Sportscenter, writing friends on Facebook, surfing the internet? A pastor may ask, “Are you leaving time for God?” So is that what we need to do? Leave some time for God? Everything else has become the priority… and then we spend what little time we have left, if any, to God. It disgusts me when I see churchgoers wearing earpieces, listening to the big football game during the sermon, or when worship service attendance is mysteriously down each time the Seahawks have a morning game. Apparently, God does not even deserve His own day. Let us change our focus. Let’s give God all of our time, and if we have some left over, then enjoy the multitude of gifts He has graciously given to us.
We also have a responsibility to maintain our gifts. If we have been blessed with a home, protect it by locking the doors. Preserve it by keeping up with basic renovations. If our blessing is in retirement or investments, do the best we can. Let’s not ask God what mutual fund to invest in or what the next big stock will be. Remember, these are gifts, not necessities. At anytime, they can be taken away. As long as our focus is on Him, it will not matter. We do not need a house. We do not need retirement. God has promised to provide for his children, and he will provide us with what He knows we need, not what we believe we need.
Everything of this world waivers and dies. It is only after we began to focus on God alone that we will truly have peace. This is important, because things are only getting worse. More drugs, more suicides, increase in terrorism both home and abroad, stock market crashes, persecution of Christian rights and values, and higher crime rates are just the tip of the iceberg. We are to just do the best with what God has given us, without worrying about if we have enough put away for retirement, if the stock market crashes, if our house forecloses, or whatever else happens. First and foremost, we need to focus on God, and Him alone. Only then will we truly have peace. Because we will finally understand that no matter how bad it seems, He is standing beside us, ready to provide us a miracle. Are you prepared for Him?
The following reference was used:
Wilkerson, David. God’s Plan to Protect His People in the Coming Depression. 1998.
Well written Paul!
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