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“Because I have sinned against him, I will bear the Lord’s wrath. ” – Micah 7:9
If, like myself, you grew up in an American church, you have undoubtedly heard how “things have never been as bad as they are now.” For some sectors of the church, we are convinced that America is falling headlong down the steep hill of inequity and rolling to a stop on Satan’s back porch. We are sure that the world is collapsing, and we just have to hang on tightly before Jesus rescues us from the calamity.
Of course, I have heard this since I was five years old. Technically speaking, I suppose it could be true that every year is worse than the previous one, in a never-ending fondue fountain of dungitude. Seems somewhat unlikely though. Seems a little more likely that we just aren’t aware that things have been bad (arguably, much worse) at other points in history.
But for the sake of argument, let’s accept that it’s true. That this time, right here, right now is the worst in our country. The church is under attack, the people are more immoral than ever, believers are oppressed, and so forth. Why is that? What led to this situation?
IS IT I?
It’s pretty easy to point to unbelievers around us, and point the gnarled finger of blame in their direction. Surely it’s because of our righteousness, and they hate us for it, right? Surely, it’s because they hate Jesus in us. I mean, Jesus did say people would hate his followers, right? So if we are being attacked, that must mean we are following Jesus?
Or, and go with me on this, perhaps the struggles here are not from OUTSIDE the church at all. When Israel was struggling with its enemies, did God say “you know the problem, all those heathens out there are out of control”? Afraid not, my friends.
“Because I (Micah standing in for Israel) have sinned against him, I will bear the Lord’s wrath.”
Note the reason for Israel’s troubles – not the outsider, not the secular culture, not forcing Israel’s morality on someone else. Nope. It’s US. We are the ones falling away from God. We are the ones disregarding his commands. Judgement starts with the House of God.
Maybe the reason you feel that things are going so badly is because the church has been more concerned with preserving its comfort and safety than in actually following Jesus commands.
MAN IN THE MIRROR
If you truly believe that your country is falling from God, rather than blaming nonbelievers or the immoral culture, you might need to look in the mirror. We all do. Where have we (the church) and I (personally) fallen away from God’s direction? Am I showing love to the poor and the foreigner? Am I helping the orphan and widow in my city? Am I bringing peace by overlooking an offense? Would I rather be wronged than prove I’m right? If not, perhaps fighting the evil forces of the world isn’t the real war I should be focused on.
We need to focus on dying daily to ourselves. That is our calling. Not to fight for our rights. Not save our country. Not even to make sure God blesses us with wealth and comfort. We are called to serve others – our neighbors and our enemies. It’s pretty hard to serve someone if you are focused on defeating them.
If you really want to see God move, winning the culture war might be more about correcting the culture in your own heart than passing Christian laws.
