American Doomsday

When we have a tragedy like last week’s killing of police officers in Dallas, TX, it’s easy to look at the bleak side of America. It’s easy to point to episodes like this and say that our country is going down the tubes. We have to be careful when we do this.

Both the secular and Christian media love to amplify stories like this to support their desired outcome. For example, a Christian group will point to a particular case where a Christian business is forced to do something against their beliefs. Or an African-American group might be in an uproar over a death at a traffic stop and treat all police as the bad guys. While in some instances a group may indeed have a legitimate case, it’s easy to point to what are still exceptions and say that they are the norm. We need to resist the temptation to confirm our emotions and biases by ignoring the overall picture.

Having said this, I do think America is in trouble. Deep trouble. Certain aspects of our country’s direction—both secular and spiritual—don’t bode well for our future. For example, on the secular side, I do think the racial divide is larger than it has been in recent decades. Also, the economy is falsely propped up at a level that can’t be sustained given the amount of debt we are creating.

From a Christian standpoint, the wholesale execution of American lives through abortion is reprehensible. The number of pastors falling from grace and the overall lackadaisical nature of the church today is appalling. In our society we have moved from being the vocal majority to a nearly mute minority. Should we then be at all surprised at the current situation?

A country dedicated to God that then turns its back on God will lose the favor of God. A + B = C. The Bible has clearly shown that sooner or later His patience will run out, and a new reality will exist for the country under His judgment. My non-Christian friends don’t have to believe this to be true. Just file it away for future reference.

If America’s doomsday happens in our lifetime—and I think it will actually happen “soon”—remember that you were warned. Without repentance and revival in our country, you should have no notion whatsoever that its prosperity and peace will continue. No politician or law will fix things. Instead, these isolated incidents of mass murder, racism, abuse of power, financial insanity, etc. will indeed grow to unprecedented levels and have grave, irreversible consequences. We’ll be less worried about the troubled legacy we are leaving our children and grandchildren and more concerned about surviving the here and now.

Until that day, we could all improve on being a reflection of Jesus in our spheres of influence.