To my Surprise, There's Nothing New to See Here

Up is down, and down is up. Right is wrong, and wrong is right. Does it sometimes seem that everything is backward, and nothing makes sense? Believe it or not, this isn’t anything new. In fact, Proverbs dealt with this same topic almost 3,000 years ago!

I was listening to a podcast by John Cooper of Skillet, and he brought up the topic of Proverbs 17:15, which says, “He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both repulsive to the Lord.” It took me by such surprise that I had to read it multiple times.

What hit me so hard is this verse got written such a long time ago: Britannica.com says the earliest collection titled “Proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah, king of Judah, copied,” came into being around 700 BC. The latest collection came into being sometime during the fourth century BC. WOW. And they tell me the Bible isn’t relevant for our “modern, enlightened age.”

Unintended consequences of allowing sin in the US

Tell me something: have you noticed any justification of the wicked lately? Californians thought it would be a good idea to pass Proposition 47 in 2014, which reduced certain theft and drug possessions from felonies to misdemeanors. In simpler terms, shoplifting in California is a misdemeanor unless the total value of what you stole is at or exceeds $950.

Do you know what happens when you don’t punish the guilty? California Retail Association CEO Rachel Michelin told the Associated Press (via the San Diego Union-Tribune here), “We feel a little bit like we’re under assault.” You can find security video up and down the internet that shows people robbing stores with calculators, just to make sure they don’t cross the $950 barrier! As long as the monetary total is under $950, it’s just a misdemeanor offense.

And 60 percent of the voters approved that measure. No wonder people are moving out of California in droves.

That’s what happens when we kick God out of our country and place man on the throne instead. Man’s nature means he cannot be like God. Not even close. And humans have been trying to take God’s place on His throne since the fall in the Garden of Eden. The BibleReasons.com website says it this way:

“Ever since our first earthly father and mother- Adam and Eve- made the catastrophic mistake of taking from the forbidden fruit (to gain knowledge of good and evil, thinking it would put them on equal footing with God), we are born with the tendency to choose sin over obedience.”

In simple terms, man has no BUSINESS being on God’s throne. Human nature does not change, and it will never be good enough to be God, let alone get you into Heaven.

Now, with all that gloom and doom, there is a simple answer. Second Chronicles 7:14: “If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves (admit their sinfulness) and pray and seek my face (earnestly, with a repentant heart acknowledging He is God) and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from Heaven and forgive their sins and heal their land.”

God is waiting for you with wide open arms!

Can you put your pride aside? I know from my own experience what a challenge I have with that very task. But can you turn back to the God you once knew? Can you take a look at God and His Son, Jesus, who you maybe didn’t know, with fresh eyes?

What might happen if one person started that “repentance chain,” then another and another and another. Nothing is too big for God.

I know it doesn’t look like the U.S. is playing a big role in the Last Days, which might be hard for some to handle. But it doesn’t mean we can’t come to God and ask Him to steer this country onto a better path? God is a strong and righteous God that will punish sin, but He is also a merciful God. He’s like the father in the story of the prodigal son. He’s waiting there with arms wide open!

Turn back or turn TO Him. There is forgiveness and love that you just won’t find anywhere in the world. The meaning that you may still be looking for is there, just waiting for you.