A Backward World

“Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey” (Isa. 59:15). We are living in times where reality and truth have been turned around so far backward that just about all semblance of sanity has been lost. The world is in such a condition of corruption, deceit, and perverseness; that it has cultivated a state of paranoia like never before seen. Oh, it’s all been there all along, but it has all been escalated to a level beyond anything in history, and it WILL get worse. If you are someone filled with God’s Spirit, and walking therein, you can expect to be suspected of evil for doing good. Would you stop and help an elderly person who is having trouble crossing a street? Be careful, you may be accused of trying to mug them. How about a small child lost in a shopping mall from his/her parents? Wouldn’t you try to at least help them to a security officer and report the problem? Of course, but again, be very careful; for you may be accused of kidnapping or child molesting. Or if you visit an elderly shut-in individual by the love of God, you may very well be suspected of family or neighbors of trying to steal from them, or something else evil. The sad fact is, there is plenty of reason for the paranoia among men, because of the prevalent condition of evil all around.

I was stopped by a policeman several months ago with my family in the car around midnight, coming home from a shopping center. He held us for a little while, questioning us and examining our driver’s licenses. And for what reason were we stopped? Because we were four adults in a car. It took him a while to actually believe that we were a family out together, and that we weren’t just out looking for trouble. The truth is, the mind of this world that almost everyone operates in, is often times going to suspect people who have a right kind of spirit, and are doing good, more than they suspect others; simply because they stand out so much from the crowd. Isaiah called it like it is: “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (Isa. 5:20) Whether or not someone is good is not really the measuring stick for this world, as much as whether or not someone is like themselves. But nevertheless, the Lord on high is the refuge and safety of all those who put their trust in him, and who put their lives securely in his hands. And it is NOT in the calling of God’s elect to be paranoid or fearful of the evil condition of the world around them (Prov. 1:33; Prov. 3:25; II Tim. 1:7). But it should be duly noted that like never before, God’s true people need to be “wise as serpents, and harmless as doves” (Mat. 10:16). Amen.