Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain. Philippians 2:14-16
Throughout human history, the conditions people have endured have varied considerably from one location to another and one time to another. The ideals and values of various cultures have ebbed and flowed from periods of deep distress to periods of relative bliss. This is true of these United States like all other nations and cultures in history. One of the reasons the founders moved to the new world was to escape a long standing darkness which had shackled the human spirit for long ages. The cornerstone of the Declaration of Independence is the biblical concept that all human beings are created equally with certain unalienable rights given by our creator.
While the application of these self-evident truths has often been inconsistent, this principle produced a nation of tremendous freedom and opportunity. The religious moorings of American society established certain moral and ethical norms which for many generations were largely unchallenged. As a result, many Christians who have witnessed the rapid moral degeneration of the United States in the past sixty years or so are greatly perplexed as to how we ought to respond. While there are definite causes for concern, we must remain a people of faith and hope in order to avoid becoming paralyzed in our service to God. Some have seemingly thrown in the towel and determined the gospel has no power in America anymore and have surrendered the battle to the increasing spiritual darkness. What are we to do in times when it seems like darkness is taking complete control?
A little historical perspective is in order. Moral decline ought to be disturbing to those who love the Lord. We are supposed to abhor evil and cling to good (Romans 12:9). However, contrary to popular belief, these are not earth's darkest days. In fact, these are not even close to earth's darkest days. If we remember the flood of Genesis 6-9, we must remember there were only eight people who were faithful to God. There will be more than eight faithful people who will read this article. A further and even more meaningful example is the Roman world into which Christianity was born.
Some of the issues plaguing our culture include sexual deviations, abortion, greed, violence, etc. With regard to sexual sin, men in the Roman Empire of the first century were often guilty of everything from adultery to pedophilia with little or no opposition to such practices. Abortion was rare but only because the mothers almost always died. Their solution was to give birth and throw the unwanted babies onto the trash heap to die of exposure. As for greed, Judas sold Jesus for thirty pieces of silver and the poor were consistently abused by the wealthy ruling class. As for violence, in the early centuries of Christianity the Romans watched as gladiators fought to the death or wild beasts ripped people (often Christians) to shreds in front of a raucus, cheering crowd. It is evident from Romans 1:18-32 the world of Paul's day was filled with a great deal of darkness, yet the church exploded onto the scene and grew at an astounding pace.
If the church could thrive in the midst of that evil empire, it most certainly can grow in our current darkened culture. In truth, the power of Christianity is the sharp contrast it provides to the world around it. In other words, light shines brightest in the darkest places. As the light of the world, we must not give in to a spirit of fear because God has given us a spirit of "...power and of love and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7). The gospel of Jesus Christ has the power to shed light into the darkest of human hearts. We just have to remove the basket and let our light shine out in the world around us.