Lawlessness is rampant in the urban areas of Western society. The police do a good job, but must be dismayed when convicted criminals are given a slap on the wrist and released back into the community. In 1991, as I flew out of LA, the spirit of God said to me, “You have seen the world at its best.”
You might query this, thinking of the amazing developments in medicine and technology over recent decades. However, as good as most of them are, they cannot solve the biggest problem, which is the inherently sinful nature of people. Until the sixties, this was kept in check by restrictive laws and customs commonly accepted by civilized societies and based on Judaeo-Christian ethics. But situational ethics, as in “I will decide what’s acceptable in any given situation,” and “If it feels good, it must be right” — did away with absolutes and replaced them with options. This changed Western society to what it is today: sleazy, corrupt, amoral, increasingly dangerous, and driven by envy, resentment, hatred and greed.
The only hope for Western societies is a return to the unchanging truths of the New Testament. We can’t just moralize and lay these on those who don’t believe, but instead spread the Good News of the life-changing person and redemptive work of Jesus Christ, his coming rule over the nations and the life-empowering Spirit of God until that great event.
Don’t bother looking to poll-driven politicians for direction, but rather the teachings of the New Testament. Jesus Christ came not just to bring us life but to bring us life full to overflowing; spiritual life that satisfies like nothing else on earth ever has or ever could.