The title of this article comes from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah:
Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! (Is 5:20)
Isaiah conveyed this message of God to His people 2,700 years ago; and it’s as relevant today as anytime in the history of Christianity. Our society is under attack from forces that are attempting to destroy our Judeo-Christian culture, and they are doing so under the cover of darkness and confusion. These forces include principalities and powers aiding and abetting those who have rejected God and His eternal truth.
A partial list of actions prevalent in our society today that are relevant to this passage of Isaiah are: (1) abortion, which is the killing of an innocent and helpless preborn life; (2) trans-sexual rights and activities, especially aimed at young children, while parents are most often kept in the dark concerning the efforts at promoting gender confusion; (3) human trafficking of women and children into the sex trade, which is tolerated by (and in some cases fostered by) those in powerful positions within our society; (4) the fentanyl epidemic, which currently claims the lives of nearly 100,000 Americans each year, the equivalent of two Vietnam war deaths every year; (5) tolerance (or fostering) of crime, bringing about real-life Gotham Cities, where the criminal element controls the streets; (6) inflation, mislabeled as economic growth, which reduces wage increases and impoverishes the lower and middle classes; and (7) indoctrination in our school systems, especially in higher education, which aims to divide and to ultimately destroy our Judeo-Christian culture.
And these are only a few. There are many, many others. This is not by happenstance.
All of these are symptomatic evils that are portrayed by many as “good.” Made out to be great lights of freedom, in truth, these practices are obfuscations and enslavements to darkness. Presented as sweet, they produce in one’s spiritual palate great bitterness. Is there any wonder why suicides have increased so dramatically in our recent past?
What are we to do? The problems appear monumental in scope; it’s enough to paralyze the majority of good people. But Americans are resilient.
I think St. Paul said it best; in his letter to the Romans, he sums up where we are and what we must do now:
It is the hour now for you to awaken from sleep. For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed; the night is far spent, the day draws near. Let us then throw off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us conduct ourselves properly as in the day, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in promiscuity and licentiousness, not in rivalry or jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh. (Rom 13:11-14)
If one closely examines the partial list of actions that I referenced above, then you will see that they all have at their root desires of the flesh. And their consequences are causing great strain on the very fabric of our nation and of the world at large.
In my view, we must take to heart these words of Paul. I think many of you may well recognize that the night is indeed far spent in the present hour. If you believe this, then believe what Paul tells us is the necessary next step: to put on the armor of light, which is eternal truth. We can no longer tolerate the obfuscation of the truth.
An election looms over our nation. Examine the partial list above and ask yourself, are these evils in the eyes of God? If you believe all or most of them to be, then ask yourself, where do the candidates for the U.S. presidency stand on each one?
In my view, this election is the most important and consequential election since that of Abraham Lincoln in 1860. His election led us into the Civil War, fought over slavery—a heinous institution that denied the basic and inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to black Americans solely on the basis of skin color.
Today our great nation faces an even more sinister enemy. I say this because it’s faceless and multifaceted—every bit as evil as the proponents of slavery were in the 18th and 19th centuries. Its true aim is to enslave the masses, to enslave all.
As citizens we have a civic duty to vote. Exercise your constitutional right as a first and important step in putting on that armor of light—God’s eternal truth! When casting your ballot ask yourself “What would Jesus do?” Let His wisdom lead you to choose wisely and virtuously.
Photo by Elimende Inagella on Unsplash