The Times They Are A-Changin’

by G.S. Augustine

Freedom Attacked in the Name of Equality

What scares me the most is that my grandchildren’s future will be much more difficult than the life I had. Even my children (their parents) had more opportunities than their kids. Political and religious freedom is eroding. Freedom of speech is going away. Economic and entrepreneurial opportunities are becoming limited as taxes, regulations, and woke policies interfere and crush creativity. 

Freedom requires diversity of thoughts, beliefs and values. It allows for some to do nothing if it pleases them and others to pursue dreams and goals. In that environment, equality of outcomes is impossible, simply because all our free choices come with their own set of results.

The Bible’s Case For Inequality of Outcomes:

I went past the field of the sluggard / past the vineyard of the one who lacks judgment / thorns had come up everywhere / the ground was covered with weeds / and the stone wall was in ruins. / I applied my heart to what I observed / and learned a lesson from what I saw: / A little sleep, a little slumber / a little folding of the hands to rest / and poverty will come on you like a bandit / and scarcity like an armed man

Proverbs 24:30-34

On the other hand, if one chooses to pay attention and works hard the result will be better:

Be sure you know the condition of your flocks / give careful attention to your herds / for riches do not endure forever / and a crown is not secure for all generations. / When the hay is removed and new growth appears / and the grass from the hills is gathered in / the lambs will provide you with clothing / and the goats with the price of a field. / You will have plenty of goats’ milk / to feed your family …

Proverbs 27:23-27

Discrimination Is Common in the Fallen World

Freedom to live how one wishes produces inequality depending on which approach one takes. Admittedly this is not the only factor. Social factors also play a role. Discrimination of one group over another denies opportunities that would have made for better results absent the bigotry. But the reality is, discrimination takes place toward just every group in every society in the world:

• Ashkenazi Jews discriminate against Sephardic Jews.
• Full blooded Japanese discriminate against half bloods, Koreans, Philippinos and just about everybody else in the Pacific rim.
• Okinawa forces Americans who live and own cars there to be identified by a “Y” on their license plates so police can target them.
• Saudi’s execute any non-muslim who dares enter the holy city of Mecca.
• Indians subjugate Sikhs, the Cingalese and the Tamil people.
• The Burmese instigated genocide against the Karen people of northeastern Myanmar and the Rohingya in the west.
• Chinese slaughter the Uyghurs
• Bosnians hate Croats and Kosovars.
• Hutus killed Tutsi’s and vice-versa in Rwanda
• Just to name a few!

Discrimination Does Not Have Final Say

And all this takes place without the freedoms that we in the U.S. enjoy. But in America at least, most groups that suffered discrimination found productive avenues in spite of it.

• Irish emigrants were called “micks” and denied most jobs except those in the police force. So a great many Irish men became police officers. After a while, Irish were identified with the profession. Now, Irish fit into any field.
• Chinese emigrants were just about chained to railroad work in the 19th Century. Afterward, they were denied anything but manual labor and laundry work. However, they went on to excel in math and science and dominate there.
• Italians were called “degos” and relegated to making a living in coal mines and factories. Lucky ones opened fruit and vegetable stands, yet they eventually became entertainers, businessmen and professionals.
• Jews were called “kikes” and discriminated against everywhere but found work in jewelry stores and pawn shops. Eventually they rose to dominate in banking, business and entertainment.
• Poles were called “polocks” and considered too stupid to put into management of anything and were the punch line to a whole genre of jokes. Today they can be found in any field of endeavor.
• Japanese were rounded up in WWII and put into concentration camps for no other reason than they were Japanese–even when their family members fought and died for the U.S. But their work ethic made them dominate in hotels, the auto industry, manufacturing and just about anything they want.
• Pakistanis, Iranians, and Greeks were blocked from many professions but they found openings in restaurants because others considered it beneath them. Now it’s hard to imagine great restaurants where those nationalities don’t dominate.

When Helping Doesn’t Help

The list could go on to include Hispanics and other Latins as well as other Asians such as Vietnamese and those of Indian descent. All who have found a place to grow in American society despite the roadblocks. But one thing is common among all these particular groups. They received no special help from the U.S. government either economically or socially.

But the group that received the most help from the U.S. government has not thrived. In 1968, 70% of African-American families were in tact, two parent families. Since the advent of Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society” where Black families received welfare in single mother families, in tact black families have all but disappeared. At present, 77 out of 100 black children in the inner city grow up in fatherless homes.

And as expected, this creates a cycle of poverty, ignorance, drug use, violent crime and death that most do not escape. But rather than admit that what we’ve been doing has only made things worse, we double down on it. We blame all those failures on the claim that white people discriminate with every breath they take. It’s as if African-Americans haven’t thrived simply because a white race exists. But it doesn’t take a genius to see that the problem wouldn’t be solved if all white people disappeared tomorrow. The real problem lies elsewhere.

Diversity Aims at Anything But

Added to this is the 24/7 LBGTQ publicity blitz that America must celebrate homosexuality and transgenderism as if that orientation is superior. “Cis-gender” is now the derogatory word for the majority of slobs that identify as heterosexual. It’s a designation that one is supposed to be embarrassed about. Any kid suggesting that God ordained men to be men and women to women, as has happened, received school suspension at best or a trip to the hospital at worst. Serves them right for opposing diversity!

“Diversity” now requires letting biological boys dominate girls sports if they “identify” as women and shower in the girls locker room. If a teen girl is uncomfortable with this arrangement, she’s a racist. Any other view not only isn’t tolerated, it must be violently opposed. Without needing sustained analysis, it’s obvious this same approach was used by the Brown Shirts in Germany during the 1920s.

America: Christian in Name Only

When our Constitution was ratified, John Adams remarked that it would only work for a religious and moral people–that it was “wholly inadequate for any other.” The U.S. today remains Christian in name only. We are becoming a “non-religious” people in practice if not exactly in creed. Those who claim to be Christians are actually at odds with much of Biblical morality. Political leaders for the most part lie every time their lips move. And money interests displace justice whenever it suits them.

My grandchildren will need to find strategies for dealing with “the times they are a-changin” if they plan to live as committed Christians. Jesus said once, “if they hated me, they will also hate you.” For kids who grew up in the mystique of the American dream, this is a bit of shock. To help them process it, I wrote the following letter to them.

The Light and the Dark Letter to My Grandkids 

Dear Grandkids,

As I get older, I see the world very differently than I did at 20. I think you will too. It is both exciting and wonderful but also dark and dangerous. Yet like a bacteria poised to overthrow the immune system, darkness always threatens to destroy beauty. 

When you only look at the wonder, the dazzle of light of it makes you think there is no dark. And when you look only at the dark you forget there is light. But remember—until the Kingdom of God comes, both light and dark are true in the world. God created it to be good, but he also let people rule it and they can be very bad.  

When Nations Forget God

There are seasons in the history of the world. You see this when you read the Book of Judges in the Bible. It would be a good idea for all of you to read the stories in that book. Sometimes people trust and look to God. That trust produces a just and orderly society. And that causes production to increase which makes everybody rich. But there are thorns among those roses.

When people get rich, they don’t feel a need to look to God for survival. They have money and homes and nice cars. They stop worrying about what they will eat because they have stores for that. Clothes are no problem. They have closets full of them. And they start thinking God is never part of the solution to anything they need. When they have a problem, they look to their own bank accounts, pantries and closets. If those aren’t sufficient there’s always family, government, science, and technology. Recreation fills their time and life seems to be under control. God seems unnecessary.

The Myth of Control

However, it doesn’t take much to remind us that we aren’t really in control. A tornado or hurricane destroys all we have; we get diagnosed with cancer or some other disease; violence outside overflows into our homes and somebody dies; the economy collapses or pandemic hits and our lives are upended.  It’s easy to forget what Moses said:  

   When you have eaten and are satisfied when you build fine houses
   and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and 
   your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then
   your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your 
   God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt …  You may say
   to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced
   this wealth for me.” But remember the Lord your God, for it is HE
   WHO GIVES YOU ABILITY TO PRODUCE WEALTH ….
   (Deuteronomy 8:12-13, 17-18)

Signs Things Are Going South

The trouble is once people forget God, they begin to distort the truth about themselves and redefine what is right and wrong. People who want power, particularly political power, start exchanging truth for lies to maintain or increase their power. Powerful people are also rich people who can “buy” other people’s support by offering benefits regular folks don’t have. Before long, they insist that lies are truth, darkness is light, and bitter is actually sweet. And their bribes insure that influential people will go along. The Bible tells us this will happen: 

   Woe to those who call evil, good and good, evil
   who put darkness for light, and light for darkness
   who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter
   Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes
   and clever in their sight …        
   who acquit the guilty for a bribe
   and deny justice to the innocent.
   (Isaiah 5:20-23)

When a society gets to this season in their journey—and in a fallen world they all get there sooner or later—things fall apart. Corruption spreads to every corner of the culture. Government officials trade justice for advancement and destroy the confidence of the people. Corporations create improper ways of making a money and damage the economy. Foreign wars drain resources and threaten security. Interest groups seize opportunities to press their demands through violence. Unrest forces the government to clamp down with force to reestablish order. Differing opinions are no longer tolerated and the whole citizenry divides into warring camps and drawn battle lines. It’s a recipe for a totalitarian horror to step in. But even if that doesn’t happen, the situation produces widespread suffering.  

The Bottom of The Cycle

In the book of Judges, when it got to that point, people turned back to God and he graciously sent them godly leaders who led them back to freedom. But getting out of trouble usually meant a fierce fight and many casualties. After that, the people were once again faithful to God and committed to truth and justice. That of course made them productive and profitable which made them rich, complacent and self-satisfied. And the whole cycle started over again.

You are all now near the bottom of the “God isn’t necessary” corruption cycle. Since World War Two, America has become richer than any people in history, but it has also lost touch with faith. In 1957, 77 people out of every 100 were in church on Sunday morning. Fifty years later only 22 people out of 100 were in church. And 21st Century America has seen corruption spread like fourth stage cancer. Government, corporations, interest groups, and the people, in general, seek their own interests at the expense of others. Violence now threatens all we have and only widespread revival of faith can calm this storm.

Strategy for Weathering the Storm

So how do you live through it and get to the other side? In the Bible book of Habakkuk, the prophet complains that the people of his country are corrupt liars and violent. He asks God to do something about it. God tells him he is sending the Babylonians to destroy Jerusalem and end all the violence. Habakkuk is dumbstruck, “Wa-a-a-ait a minute here God! Those guys are worse than we are. You wouldn’t let the wicked destroy the righteous, would you?”

God answers quite calmly, “Yeah, I know about the Babylonians. They’re arrogant and violent. It is going to be trouble, BUT don’t worry about the righteous “… the righteous will get through it (actually they will live!) by being faithful to Me” (Habakkuk 1:12-2:4). “You see Habakkuk, the wicked do not really live! Only the just who trust me through their actions actually live.” And the rest of Habakkuk 2 and 3 spell out a plan for doing just that!

God Himself Equips You For the Challenge

Do not worry that you aren’t ready for the challenge of the times you live in. God called you for such a time as this from before you were born. He has equipped you and will continue to equip you not only to face the storm but to subdue it. Throughout history, God has called very young people to stand against the great powers of the world and succeed. God chose Jeremiah to command kings and nations to give account when he was only 17 years old.  

   The word of the Lord came to me saying:
   “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you
   Before you were born I set you apart
   I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

    “Ah, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I’m only a 
   child.”

   But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I’m only a child.’ You must go to     
   everyone I send you to say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of 
   them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord 
   (Jeremiah 1:4-8).

Your Job is to Stand

And when God calls you, he gives you power to stand firm. But you must choose to stand. Remember courage doesn’t mean you aren’t afraid. Courage is doing the next right thing even though you ARE afraid and then trust that God is with you. Esther was a very young woman whom God helped become the Queen of Persia. But her people, the Jews, were threatened by an enemy. She wasn’t sure she could do anything to stop it. But her uncle said to her:

   If you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will come from 
   another place and you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows 
   but that you have come to this royal position for such a time as this.
   (Esther 4:14)

Esther risked her life to save her people. God powerfully stood by her, and she became one of the great heroes of the Bible. I have confidence that you are as smart as Esther and as powerful as Jeremiah.

You Are Not Alone

Grams and I will give all the help we can. Habakkuk’s plan from the story above shows that when you decide God is worthy of your trust, his power floods your life. The Apostle Paul wrote: “But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one” (2 Thessalonians 3:3) “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in King Jesus (Philippians 4:19).

With all the confidence in you all,

Grandpa and Grams