Society is awash with anger, anxiety, hate, bigotry, racism, violence, fear, and bewilderment. We are continually battered with a cacophony of controversy and confusion. There is no letup and no escape. Look around — in all directions — and you see nothing but a tumultuous, viscous, swirling quagmire. And we’re all waist-deep in the muck and mire. And sinking fast.
In some ways, this all seems bizarre, even unthinkable. According to just about any reasonable measurement of progress, the human race is at its height of achievement. Marian Tupy, Senior Policy Analyst with The Cato Institute’s Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, lays out that case rather irrefutably:
The story of humanity over the course of the last two centuries is nothing short of remarkable. As late as 1870, life expectancy in Europe and the world was 36 and 30 years, respectively. Today, it is 81 and 72 years respectively. In 1820, 90 per cent of humanity lived in extreme poverty. Today, less than 10 per cent does. In 1800, 88 percent of the world’s population was illiterate. Today, 13 per cent of the world’s population is illiterate. In 1800, 43 per cent of children died before their fifth birthday. Today, less than 4 percent do. In 1816, 0.87 per cent of the world’s population lived in a democracy. In 2015, 56 per cent did.
In 1800, food supply per person per day in France, which was one of the most advanced countries in the world, was a mere 1,846 calories. In 2013, food supply per person per day in Africa, the world’s poorest continent, amounted to 2,624 calories. Slavery, which was rampant in most parts of the world in 1800, is now illegal in every country. Finally, for the first time since the start of industrialisation in mid-18th century, global inequality is declining as developing countries catch up with the developed world.
“The story of human progress in the 21st century,” Marian L. Tupy, CapX, 11 April 2019
Nevertheless, western society (and the United States in particular) has perhaps never been in such dire straits as today. We are quite literally coming apart at the seams. And I am very pessimistic about our chances at healing and recovery.
The challenges confronting us are many, but they include:
- Humanity’s failure to universally answer Pilate’s age-old question: “What is truth?”
- The decline of faith in (and perceived accountability to) a Higher Power
- The inability of any religion’s adherents to convincingly present themselves as consistently credible witnesses to the veracity of their faith
- Perpetual battles over Modernism vs. Postmodernism and Individualism vs. Collectivism
- Persistent bigotry and racial division
- Less patience for and experience with critical, nuanced thinking
- Diminished trust in (and, in many cases, outright hostility toward) civil authorities and heretofore established systems and norms
- A sharp decline in patriotism as well as the principle of honoring flags, institutions, people in authority, etc (often leaving people with little, if anything, to rally around)
- Increased politicization of and decreased trust in news sources as well as scientific and academic disciplines
- Growing confusion and controversy over sex, sexuality, and gender
The list could go on. The specifics are honestly innumerable, but I believe the above list is a fair representation of the core issues at stake.
To put it even more simply:
We are awash in controversy and confusion, without any agreed-upon clarity for how to achieve personal stability or collective justice (or even what those things mean or the means by which we should pursue them).
This grim reality of course hasn’t sunk in (no pun intended) for most people today. Most of us are either too busy with responsibilities and distractions to notice, or we’re too consumed with our “progressive” and increasingly frantic and relentless pursuit of that ever-elusive, yet tantalizing hope called Social Justice.
Ask ten average Americans what “social justice” means, and you’ll get ten different answers – at least. It’s a term that means different things to different people. And though it has been very effective in generating enthusiasm and provoking extensive thought and debate (often not healthy debates), it has failed to provide a clear framework of goals and the proper strategies to achieve them.
When a person is trapped in quicksand, their best hope is to grab hold of a strong branch, vine, rope, or person — something or someone OUTSIDE of the quicksand.
Our society today is stuck in quicksand with nothing outside of the quicksand for us to grab hold of.
What’s worse, most of us think the cause of the quicksand is outside of ourselves. In other words…
Most people today believe the problems vexing our society are outside of ourselves and, if we just look within ourselves and work together, we can solve humanity’s problems.
Listen to most people today — especially (but not only) those on the progressive side of the proverbial political aisle — and they will tell you the problems are systemic or personality-driven. They will point to Donald Trump, the rich, the racists, the police, and so forth. Or they will point to poverty, inequality, or capitalism or greed (which most consider a synonym of capitalism).
For the record, let me be the first to assign greed, poverty, and gross inequality as being in the “bad” category. I deplore hate, bigotry, and oppression – and fully recognize that some of these cancerous sins have indeed infected systems and institutions.
But… pointing to the “other” as the cause of all our problems doesn’t get us anywhere close to a solution. The reality is best summed up by the famous quote:
“We have met the enemy. And he is us.”
Want to know what’s wrong with society?
Look in the mirror.
We are the problem. And we won’t be able to solve the problem by looking into ourselves.
The problem is the sinful condition of humanity.
And sinful humanity will never, EVER, be able to achieve true, authentic, lasting social justice for itself.
People of faith, like myself, will obviously point to God as the Answer.
But the problem there is threefold:
- An increasing number of people either don’t believe in God or consider such a “God” to be irrelevant. The very idea of “thoughts and prayers” is routinely mocked on social media and in our society in general.
- Adherents of every spiritual and religious faith (including Christianity) have thoroughly discredited the idea of trusting in and following God by their own hypocrisy and corruption.
- To quote Abraham Lincoln: “The Almighty has His own purposes.” God is not a cosmic pet we can summon to do tricks. God has his own objectives and priorities, His own methods, and most certainly (and frustratingly for many of us) His own timetable. This admittedly makes “proving” God’s existence and relevance (to skeptics) to be challenging.
Please do not misunderstand me. I personally have no doubt (at this point in my life) of God’s existence or His goodness. (I say “at this point,” because I have experienced such doubts in the past). God is real. I know this. But God has called us to faith, not knowledge.
This should humble all of us. It’s not possible for me (or you) to lay out an air-tight, irrefutable, mathematical, or scientific formula to convince every skeptic or persuade every non-believer to immediately repent of their sins and shortcomings – and embrace Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
All we can do is plant and water seeds. God is the One who gives the increase. Each person is on his or her own spiritual journey. And we must respect this reality.
And yet belief in God is the only way OUT of the quagmire.
Why?
Again…. because we can’t save ourselves from a quagmire by trying to leverage other people or beliefs or practices that are likewise in the same quagmire of confusion and controversy.
What’s the solution?
Well…
It’s not easy, but it happens on two fronts: the individual and the societal.
As individuals, we must recognize that we have contributed to the sin and injustice in society. Whether we’re talking about poverty, racism, violence, sexism, the abuse of children, whatever…. we must accept that both individual and collective responsibility.
As a side note… the Bible endorses both collectivism and individualism as a framework for looking at the issues of society, depending on the context. That should be a lesson for all of us. Depending on the context, it’s appropriate to sometimes look at life from an individualistic perspective and, at other times, from a collectivist perspective. To go all the one way or all the other is both wrong and problematic.
Each individual must accept his or her accountability to God, his or her personal responsibility to invest in that relationship with God, and to follow Him accordingly. At the same time…
Each individual must accept that his or her life choices contribute to a collective whole that affects others beyond themselves. And in this respect, it is appropriate to have a prayer like Nehemiah’s where he not only repents of his own sins, but confesses the sins of all of Israel (see Nehemiah 1:4-11).
In addition to calling on each individual to turn to God, there is a collective responsibility with all the nations and communities of the earth.
We see this represented, in a positive and prophetic manner, in the seventh chapter of the book of Revelation. We also see it in George Washington’s first Thanksgiving Proclamation, when he declared:
Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor…
President George Washington’s First Thanksgiving Day Proclamation, 1789
Speaking from an American perspective, as Washington did, our nation — collectively — must “acknowledge the providence of Almighty God” and do so with gratitude, humility, and a commitment to work toward obeying His will.
This was something that was fairly common in the founding era of our country. Despite their flaws, the Founders passed repeated calls for prayer and fasting. They did this in the various colonial, later state, assemblies as well as via the Continental Congress.
This practice of what one Supreme Court justice called “ceremonial deism” continued rather unabated until the middle of the 20th century, when the courts turned increasingly against anything that smacked of government-supported, public recognition of God.
The increased diversity in our country, the hypocrisy and corruption within religious circles (especially Christianity), and the ever-growing secularism in our society has created in recent years what many have called a post-Christian America.
For the record, I support religious freedom, and respect the rights of all people in the United States to worship or not worship according to the dictates of their conscience. And…
I also freely acknowledge that the sins of professing Christians has decimated our faith’s credibility. For example, the historic malfeasance and complicity on the part of most white American Christians with slavery, segregation, and racism has been abominable.
Add to this the fact that professing Christians can’t even get their act together when it comes to what they believe and why they believe it. Talk about confusion and controversy…. the Christian church has both in droves.
Therefore, I can’t blame or be upset with many Americans for looking toward the church with skepticism or even cynicism and contempt.
We have blown our credibility. There’s no way around that sad fact.
Nevertheless… and I say this with nothing but love and humility in my heart … the sins and shortcomings of Christians don’t negate the problems confronting us today.
Let’s say you’re headed toward a downed bridge, and a public safety worker waves you off, telling you to go a different route. And let’s say that, somehow, you recognize the safety worker — and you know he’s a liar, a cheat, and an adulterer.
But let’s also say…. for the sake of illustration… that the bridge really is out.
The fact that the safety worker is compromised in his credibility doesn’t change the truth of what he is saying, nor does it alter the stakes facing you if you refuse to heed his warning and instructions.
Likewise, whatever you think of the American church or the American Founders, the reality is…
Much of what has come from both sources is true.
With this article, I’m not asking you to trust in any politician or political party. I’m not asking you to trust in any institution (including any church) per se.
I’m asking you to trust in God. As an individual. And as a citizen of the United States (or whatever country in which you live).
We must trust God – individually and collectively.
As Ronald Reagan once said, “If we ever forget that we’re one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.”
This statement is either true or it’s not. Doesn’t matter how you feel about it or about the person who said it. None of that matters.
What matters is…. Is the statement true?
I fear that we, as Americans, are soon going to find out that it is – and we’re going to find it out the hard way.
