By Martha Bailey
Demented. Deranged. Unhinged. Hatred.
These were the type words used in the news I heard the day after an attempted assassin brutally wounded Congressman Steve Scalise and three others. Sadly, it seems he intended to leave much more carnage.
It was premeditated and deliberate. Had it not been for two valiant police officers on the scene, he would have succeeded.
How sad. How evil.
What has happened to America?
When did we forget that there are lines over which we dare not step? What happened to good manners and common decency? When did everything become gray where we don’t know what is right and what is wrong? When did truth mean whatever we want it to mean?
Our country crossed the line when it compromised its values many decades ago and has been on a slippery slope ever since. Morality went out the window as did respect for other Christian principles.
In his instructions to Timothy, a young minister, the apostle Paul warned him about what would happen to men’s hearts as the time grew closer to the Second Coming. Look at Paul’s description in his letter to Timothy (2 Timothy 3:1-5):
~There will be terrible times in the last days.
~People will be lovers of themselves.
~People will be lovers of money.
~People will be boastful, proud.
~People will be abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful.
~People will be unholy, without love, unforgiving.
~People will be slanderous.
~People will be without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good.
~People will be treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.
~People will have a form of godliness but denying its power.
All you have to do is listen to or read the news and observe the people around you to see an example of everything listed above.
Narcissism is rampant — lovers of self, boastful and proud. Money talks and can buy many people. Abuse is rampant—for the unborn, children, adults and parents. Selfishness reigns and holiness is no longer sought after but mocked. For many, even love is based on selfishness, and forgiveness indicates weakness.
People today hide behind the First Amendment to slander others even when they know that what they are saying is untrue.
They are brutal with their remarks and crude with their humor having no self-control nor desire to have any. They will stick a knife in your back or spray you with bullets and not bat an eye. Even worse, they will brag about it on social media.
America is in trouble.
In his State of the Union Address in 1961, President John F. Kennedy spoke these poignant words:
“I speak today in an hour of national peril and national opportunity. Before my term has ended, we shall have to test anew whether a nation organized and governed such as ours can endure. The outcome is by no means certain. The answers are by no means clear. All of us together–this Administration, this Congress, this nation–must forge those answers…. I feel I must inform the Congress that our analyses over the last ten days make it clear that–in each of the principal areas of crisis–the tide of events has been running out and time has not been our friend.”
The clock is ticking, America!
“Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD” (Psalm 33:12a).
Oh, God, our nation has turned its back on You and created a society where senseless acts of violence are becoming more and more commonplace. It’s sad when a baseball field is no longer a safe place to be. We know we have presumed upon Your grace and mercy and, while You are long-suffering, Your patience is not without end. We pray today that our country will recognize that “the tide of events has been running out and time has not been our friend.” Oh, how we desperately need You, Father! We ask Your healing hand to be upon Congressman Scalise and the others who were wounded in last week’s unconscionable shooting. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Martha Bailey is an author, conference speaker, Bible study teacher and women’s ministry coordinator. She is the wife of Waylon Bailey, pastor of the First Baptist Church in Covington, Louisiana. Originally posted on her blog.
