I just had a moment of clarity, and figured it would be a good thing to blog about. Please be aware that what follows may be offensive to many, and is certain to be controversial, but I think it holds at least some element of truth.
The American economy is in a dangerous position, with the falling stock market and the general instability among many large banks and lenders. I was lamenting this earlier today, and discussing with coworkers what the root of the problem is and what could be done about it. I'm not an economist, though, so I'm sure most of what I said would be laughed at by anyone with actual experience in that field.
When that was over, though, I reflected on the state of our country and how attached I am to the idea that it needs to keep running. Of course, my job and my family's livelihood depend on our economy not falling apart - I have a horse in the race, so to speak. Still, it seemed like I was overly attached to the sort of life I am leading and that I was not seeing the situation from a balanced viewpoint.
As I pondered this more and more, and a few other conversations at work played out, I began to realize that there are things our country has done and is doing which probably - in God's eyes - would merit all sorts of judgment. Some of you might assume I am speaking of the current war in Iraq, but you'd be wrong. I am referring to the disintegration of the family, the rampant abuse of various drugs and other addictive materials, the wholesale slaughter of unborn babies, and a whole host of other evils that we either endorse or overlook. We still do some things right, like supporting Israel, but I think anymore that our sins as a nation far outweigh our good.
Furthermore in the past, a king or emperor could be pointed to as the origin of policies that led a nation one way or another - but today in our culture we all bear the burden of electing leaders who make those policies. It isn't a single person, then, who will reap the rewards of those actions: it is the whole of our society!
Perhaps, then, some of the trials we face as a country are not unfair. Perhaps we are being judged for our crimes. Maybe, just maybe, a lot more of the horrors we see and hear about every day are our 'just deserts'.
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My belief is that God judges us as individuals. One of the things that God sees of course is our relationships with others, and guess what? If we really have good relationships with the people in our lives, we have a good effect on our country.
If you want to argue about what God judges us for, I think its hard to deny that God is judging individuals right now for the killing of their fellow men in Iraq. Jesus said to "do unto others as you would have done unto you." He didn't say "do unto others when its convenient, or when they aren't trying to kill you". He said, "But whoever strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other to him as well.", and to "love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you". I think the ultimate rebuke of war is in Matthew when a bystander tries to defend Jesus as he is being unlawfully arrested. Jesus says “Put your sword back in its place! For all who take hold of the sword will die by the sword." Do you think that Jesus argument about how many legions of angels he could send holds any less truth today, for you? If you have faith, and God doesn't want you to die, you will not die.
Personally I could care less about the continuance of the 'great' nation of America, when put into context and compared to my relationship with God and my neighbor.
Where do you draw the line with drugs William? Is caffeine ok? alcohol? I don't know of any place in the Bible that Jesus says anything about judging people for doing drugs. Not to say that drugs are good, because thats still up for debate in my mind, but I think its far less of a black and white issue and I would never opine that God was going to judge people just for doing drugs (neglecting their children, committing suicide, etc. of course would be different issues altogether).
My stance on abortion is that I will never understand the experience of pregnancy, so I'm not going to say whether I think its morally wrong to abort. I will say that if I were a doctor, I would not do the procedure, at least not with the intention of aborting. I think it would be unfair for me to put laws in place to make abortion illegal. I do think its a great idea to make regulations that ensure only qualified personnel handle abortions though. My current stance is that I think women should have a 'right' to abortion in the sense that it is not illegal when done in accordance with the proper regulations, but not in the sense that we are going to require someone to perform the abortion for them, or pay for it.
We also need to make sure that doctors who decide not to perform abortions are not penalized in any way.
On a related issue, I think that people who petition abortion clinics and do not present a loving attitude towards people coming in to get abortions are misguided. If we really 'value the life of the unborn', why aren't we negotiating with the people choosing to get an abortion so that we might adopt the child instead? Isn't taking care of a child a small price to pay for saving a life, if that's what you believe you are doing?
I personally think God could care less whether we support Israel. If you have an acquaintance there, Jesus says to love them as yourself. Countries ARE NOT PEOPLE. God deals directly with individuals in this age, not countries. George W Bush has no more priestly ability to have a relationship with God than you or I. If I remember correctly, Jesus never even talks about countries. The only Kingdom he talks about is the Kingdom of Heaven.
I think God judges people individually, to be certain, but I think that over the course of history He has also raised up and struck down whole nations and groups. Sodom and Gomorrah is a good example, as are the various times that Israel either flourished or was destroyed (depending on whether they were following God or not). I totally agree with you, though, that we should focus on the individual relationships we have with each other as our priority: we can make a much bigger difference there in our culture than by lobbying politicians.
As for the issue of war, I think there is a big difference between murder or individual conflict and that between countries. Jesus is indeed very specific that we should not take personal revenge on people, even on His behalf (as in the Matthew incident you mentioned) - but I don't see any discussion about warfare in the New Testament. There are often references to soldiers, and none of those seem to be condemnations. We are told that those governing over us do "not bear the sword in vain" (NET, Romans 13:4), and while that passage seems to be speaking more about civil obedience I would point out that military action in the Old Testament was rampant - and often taken at God's direct instruction.
With drugs, I actually considered going back and clarifying what I wrote as soon as I had posted it. I believe that our bodies are temples of the Lord, at least for those who are His followers, and s such should be taken care of. This brings many of my own behaviors into suspicion, though: the way I eat, for example, isn't necessarily the best for my long-term health. Perhaps that shows that substance use itself is hard to draw a line on, but we can draw a line at behavior - and I would very much say that the abuse of drugs and alcohol (as well as pornography and perhaps even violent media) have detrimental effects on society as a whole because of the behaviors that they elicit in people. Drunk driving is a prime example, or the gang activity related to drug trafficking.
On abortion, I agree with you that those who want to protest it effectively should be caring in their approach and offer alternatives. There are a lot of folks out there who want to adopt, though, and I know there are many organizations that help facilitate such options. I don't think that we should allow abortion, though, even if we (as males) cannot fully understand what being pregnant is like. I've never been drunk either, but I can certainly say that anyone who is drunk should not drive based on other empirical factors without needing to experience it.
Lastly, on the issue of Israel, I would fall back on Genesis 12:1-3. This is where God makes a covenant with Abraham and his descendants, and a part of it is that He (God) says "I will bless those who bless you, but the one who treats you lightly I must curse". There are many who think this was isolated to just Abraham himself, or who think that it was a reference more to Abraham's spiritual descendants than his physical offspring - but I think that time after time in the past we have seen God's hand in Israel's history, and I would prefer that we err on the side of caution and support them and their claim to the land God gave them.
Wow...I don't even know where to start on this topic, William. I look at the state of our nation and I see the warnings Jesus gave us in Matthew 24, nation rising against nation, famine, earthquakes, false teachers, betrayal by family members, increase of wickedness, and love growing cold. America used to be a Christian nation; its leaders used to heed the voice of the Lord. Now its leaders are trying to stamp out the voice of the Lord, and we are reaping what we sow. It is true that the Lord judges us all individually, but those of us who love the Lord and live in this New Testament Promised Land called America are having to endure the repercussions of a Nation that has become stiff-necked and rebellious. The only reason America hasn't fallen flat on her face is because we do support Israel. When we stop, (and we will when the AntiChrist comes into power) that is when we will endure the full reward for our harlotry. Yes, I said Harlotry.
(For a more extensive view on this, go to the following link and find my post from October 10, 2007)
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.listAll&friendID=115484972&startID=352695505&StartPostedDate=2008-01-29%2007:01:00&next=1&page=2&Mytoken=357C4018-F288-48C1-ACAB3F097055F081115929036
People use the term "God Bless America," but God cannot bless America because she has turned her face from Him and her heart is far from Him. I am thankful, though, that I am not judged by what country I live in, but rather by the state of my soul. And, as individual Christians our reward, and the thing that will keep us afloat when the economy comes crashing down is our Savlation through Christ. We have that promise: that the Lord WILL take care of us if we are His. And that gives me hope, no matter what horrible things may happen in my home nation.
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