He builds up nations, and he destroys them. He expands nations, and he abandons them.
24 He strips kings of understanding, and leaves them wandering in a pathless wasteland.
25 Every generation throughout recorded time has had their share of skeptics, cynics, religious fanatics, atheists, agnostics, and philosophers of varying beliefs but no where to the degree have the cynics had so much gravitas, and credence paid to them as they do now.
As a "second half" Boomer (born 1958), I would like to call myself a skeptic about most things that come from people's mouths. Boomers (short for Baby boomers born 1946 to 1964) are now retiring in large numbers. Most would say that I have a good education--with a Masters and Doctorate; likewise, my wife--although she is, by anyone's estimation smarter than me, having attended gifted classes as a grade school child in much better New England schools.
I was a product of Florida public schools which were, and continue to be, inferior. O.K., you can call me a cynic now that I've retired to my emeritus years. My wife was born later, and is a Gen-X (born 1967). As a result of our educational experiences and backgrounds, our now 30 year old son (Millenial, born 1994) went to private, Christian schools, except for professional schools for his career. He's doing very well, thanks.
All this meandering to come to the point that we all--three generations of us-- have come to a conclusion. And that is none of the systems in place in the world as it is now, are of much value to us, and are not to be trusted with our future, by and large. I think we have all become cynical to a large degree, and have abandoned hope in institutions of our construction, especially in America. Skeptics, at best.
Even our religious fixtures as Christians are in a state of decline, although my family remain devoted attendees of non-denominational churches (don't like outsiders telling me what words to pray) and have many friends in, and derive much support from, our church. We are in the minority, though. Many people have left church. The Covid-19 pandemic gave many people a convenient excuse to go away and stay away permanently, I think. There have been many more stories in the news about wayward pastors with sins of various kinds, and how much this has affected Christian church attendance, as well.
Somewhere in the last couple of generations things changed drastically here in America, and we were so busy with our lives that whatever these were flew right by us, hardly noticed.
Lack of trust in just about every institution that we came to trust in America in the 19th and 20th centuries, with industrialization and the emergence of the so-called American Century, has been called into question in the 21st century. With the internet and social media, attempts to dethrone the American institutions we have grown to rely on, even love, have accelerated apace. You could say with some certainty that started with the assassination of President Kennedy, the Vietnam War, Watergate, and the various scandals into the latest decades that we have good reason for cynicism of government, at the very least.
It seems fitting on this Independence Day to observe the wonderful freedoms that we have enjoyed as traitors of the British Empire these last 248 years. It's been great, and I have throughly enjoyed it. Can't wait for the fireworks and sparklers later.
I mentioned in previous essays how we were given the illusion that we were a Christian nation, even when we behaved in distinctly unChristian ways toward our fellow human. Well, as a Christian--and I may be totally wrong--it may be that our time is winding down and we'll need to face the music as a country.
Sure, America has had some truly fine, brilliant leaders in all three branches of government in the nearly 250 years we have governed ourselves. But can anyone identify anyone else currently displaying the acumen of any of these former people whose brilliance, forethought, and vision for our country is what we really want and need to thrive for another 250 years? Think hard. Yep, me neither.
Federal elective politics has become a debased sewer of greedy, monetized corruption. It pretends toward higher, even godly values, but it is all for show. The entire voting population knows it. We vote for the least damaging alternatives, in nearly every instance.
I'm a devout follower of Jesus Christ, and look forward to His return to the only righteous judgment this earth will ever see in the future. Churches, synagogues, mosques, and their leadership will never substitute for this. But that the church in America is in decline is a sign of what has been happening for a long time in our culture.
We the People, have done everything in our desire to be free, to free ourselves from the influence of religion as a way of life, especially in the Internet Age. Covid-19 made this a way of life. "Living in your parent(s) basement" scrolling for gigs has all but become a way of life for many young adults. Some have even ventured out on job interviews with a parent!
The rise of cancel culture, along with its unforgiving, subjective, and permanently damaging nature is anathema to Christianity but this same culture can adopt convenient targets at a whim, when it wants to cancel something. Sometimes Christianity becomes an easy target.
When Job suffered as he did in the Bible, it didn't happen in a vacuum. It happened as the result of a conversation that the Enemy of our souls had with God. Basically, God asked the Devil if he had considered Job, his good heart, and good deeds, and how he had prospered as a result of his faithful walk with God. God, as he does with all of our hearts, knew how Job would respond to Satan's persecution if God allowed him to do that. This is key--Satan needed that license. God gave it to him.
After much suffering and anguish, the loss of all his worldly wealth, the death of his family, and the betrayal of his closest friends, God repaid Job many times over for what he had lost at the hands of the Devil. Maybe you know the story, or have discounted it as myth.
Whatever you have done with Job, there is a lesson in it for America.
God inflicts nothing on nations. We declare our independence from nations, ideas, systems, and anything and anyone we don't want to deal with. If it's God and His Son Jesus we don't want to deal with, there are a myriad of philosophies that God will allow people to dabble in. The Devil is, as they say, in the details. God lets us have our way, without ever inflicting anything on us. It's disturbing to me when people blame God for bad things happening in the world, when we have declared our independence from Him in so many ways.
As often happens these days, we allow ourselves to mask underlying beliefs in something else while pretending to be something we're not. Politicians do it. Cultural icons do it. Media Mavens do it. After all, appearances must be maintained.
For a week now, America has been struggling with two potential disasters, for the title "Leader of the Free World". Talk about inflicting harm on the nation. I would like to have been a fly on the wall when Satan had that conversation with God.
"Have you considered my debauched, adulterous, porn-star dating, morally, and economically bankrupt servant Donald Trump? Or how about my equally morally bankrupt, pro-infanticide, pro-debtor nation, lose-marbled Joe Biden? After all, he kissed the Pope!" Realistically, neither one of them did what they said they were going to do in the years they had in office, and then they covered it up with willing accomplices in the legacy media.
Satan would say something like, "Not much of a challenge to me, Lord. The people have already surrendered most of their options, anyway."
Absolutely.
25 They grope
