I feel I want to give a little more treatment to the prior post, somewhat based on the provacative nature of the title itself.
First, I do not want it to come across that I'm rejoicing in the falleness of our country, or any country for that matter. My point is simply this: we should not be surprised at the evil surrounding us. There will always be falleness around us, and to wish for any other reality till the return of Christ is unbiblical. I am not saying we don't work for the Kingdom, I'm saying we do work for the Kingdom and the voice we use to describe what is around us is one of compassion and not accusation. Jesus was pretty frank when he said "in this world you will have trouble." We aren't to be surprised because of it, but rather work in a Christ-like way for its redemption. It always amazes and convicts me that Jesus only judges the self-righteous, but to the sinner he gives mercy and compassion, for it's his "kindness that leads to repentance."
So the challenge before us is not to wish we were in a better or different society, but to work for the revelation of the Kingdom in the society we're in. This is done through love, service, patience, and suffering...among other things. I long for the voice of the church to be one of sincere compassion and action on behalf of the fallen world rather than an accusation of what's wrong with the world around us. The darkness is pretty apparent. It exposes itself for what it is. It's not like we have to say "There's too much violence." No kidding. Or how about "Human rights on many levels are being violated." Sure...they are. So what are you going to do about it? How are you going to work to redeem it? It's one thing to have a voice, it's entirely another to turn it into action.
