There are many things in the deep waters; and seas and lands may change. And it is not our part here to take thought only for a season, or for a few lives of Men, or for a passing age of the world. We should seek a final end of this menace, even if we do not hope to make one.

This quote is spoken by Gandalf at the Council of Elrond in Book One of The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. When I read it for the first time the thought that came to my mind, as a U.S. citizen, was the terrible burden that the United States is leaving for our progeny. Firstly, the national debt is daunting. No matter what promises are made by any president or congressman, the balance will not be reduced – much less eliminated – unless there is unprecedented cooperation among politicians. Balancing the budget this year doesn’t make the problem worse, but it doesn’t make it better either.

The second thing I thought of was the moral decline that is so obvious to anyone paying attention. The United States, which was initially pioneered by Christians, and may or may not have been built on a Christian foundation, is certainly not a Christian nation now. The acts of the sinful nature listed in Galatians 5:19-21 have bubbled to the surface of modern Americana: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. It is also quite likely that God has given much of our culture over to a depraved mind as described in Romans 1:28-32: And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. And the approval is overwhelming indeed.

As I pondered these problems, I wondered… if we were to convene a council today as was done at the Council of Elrond and someone made a point similar to Gandalf’s, what solution would we contrive to seek a final end to these menaces? Where would we put our hope?

Then the Spirit thumped me between the eyes with two points:

1. My Kingdom (God’s Kingdom) is not of this world.
2. I (Jesus) am the solution to the menace.

The problem of politics and intergovernmental debt is a trifle in the economy of God. In fact, it’s not even as important as that. Though the debt of the U.S. government seems to be a terrible heirloom, it is but a worldly burden. Our children’s true inheiritence is salvation through Jesus Christ… which is the essence of the second point that thumped me between the eyes. Jesus Christ is our hope. There is nothing that we could contrive in council that would drive our culture back to righeousness. Our only hope would be to cry out to God for delivernce from our national sin.

In fact, let’s get started…

This entry was posted on Monday, June 8th, 2009 at 8:47 AM and is filed under Featured, Social Commentary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.