Is there hope for America? Looking back over the past forty years, it seems like the country I live in today is very different from the America I knew back then. I know most things change with the passage of time and every generation can make a similar claim. There are some things which have remained the same. Whether forty years ago or today, Americans have lived, and continue to live, in one of the most powerful, influential, affluent countries on the planet.
Yet, something basic seems to have changed; something fundamental seems to be missing. We are a free people, but seem to be burdened. Many have some degree of financial security, but have no contentment. Some are happy, but have no joy. We can choose almost any career path; yet few people have found fulfillment. We have one of the largest military forces on Earth, but we’re not a secure people.
The State of the Union
One might ask, “How could a person draw such conclusions?” Let’s consider the following trends:
- While most of the U.S. economy was being devastated by a recession in 2008, the self-help industry, a multi-billion dollar segment of the American economy, continued to grow.
- In 2016, Americans, which comprised less than five percent of the global population, spent approximately $446 billion dollars on medications, which was about forty-five percent of the global pharmaceutical market.
- According to the National Institute of Mental Health, more than seventeen million adults and more than three million adolescents suffered from depression in 2017.
- Research conducted during 1999 through 2015, indicates middle-aged non-Hispanic whites in the U.S., with a high school diploma or less, have experienced increasing midlife mortality. During this same time period, midlife mortality rates continued to fall among all other education classes in most of the developed world. This increase in mortality rates, dubbed by the authors as “deaths of despair,” resulted from disease related to drugs and alcohol as well as suicide.
- According to the National Institute for Mental Health, suicide was the tenth leading cause of death in the United States in 2017, claiming the lives of nearly forty-seven thousand people. Among those Americans ages ten to thirty-four, suicide was the second leading cause of death.
- According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the suicide rates increased more than thirty percent in half of our states from 1999 until 2016.
- According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, in 2017 and 2018 respectively, more than seventy thousand and more than sixty-seven thousand Americans died from drug overdoses. The death of Americans from drug overdoses more than tripled from 1999 to 2018.
The State of Our Society
Now add to that some of the societal changes we see in our country today. The two-parent family unit is eroding. In December 2015, Pew Research Center indicated:
- In the early 1960s babies typically arrived within a marriage. Today four-in-ten births occur to women who are single or living with a non-marital partner.
- In 1960, at the height of the post-World War II baby boom, 73% of all children were living in a family with two married parents in their first marriage. Today, 46% of children are living in a family with two married parents.
Other societal changes include:
- In America, marriage is no longer defined as God intended. In 2015 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled same-sex marriage to be legal.
- The sanctity of life, related to the unborn, was dealt a harsh blow on January 22, 1973; when the Supreme Court handed down its historic decision in Roe v. Wade, making abortion legal in the United States.
- Aside from unborn babies, we see a declining sanctity for life in general in our country. We are experiencing a significant increase in random mass violence. In 2019 there were more mass shootings, 417, than there were days in the year.
Something is Missing in America
These observations are not intended to be a scare tactic. Rather, they are intended to paint a picture, to show a pattern indicating something is wrong in our homeland. I love America. I always have. After living in a foreign country for two years, I came to appreciate and love America even more; particularly the freedoms we enjoy. I am privileged to have been born and raised in the United States.
God has blessed our country mightily in our short history. However, I don’t believe God will continue to do so if we, as a nation, continue to further separate ourselves from him. I am convinced America is in deep spiritual trouble and it gets worse with each passing year. It seems to me, a significant portion of Americans have been searching, and continue to search, for peace of mind despite the abundance of material wealth and opportunity in our country. As a Christian, I find it easy to understand there is something missing from the life of the non-believer. But this malady doesn’t seem to be confined to the unsaved. It appears as if a significant portion of believers are also searching for something which is missing from their lives.
Relativism is Replacing Truth
According to research conducted in July 2015 by the Barna Group, Christian morality and The Bible as absolute authority for Christian living is decreasing in America. This research revealed:
- Forty-one percent of Christians say knowing what is right or wrong is a matter of personal experience. This view is much more prevalent among younger generations than among older adults.
- Fifty-nine percent of Christians (59%) believe moral truth is absolute.
As a Christian, does my personal experience replace the Word of God regarding what is right and wrong in the eyes of God? No! This is diametrically opposed to what Scripture teaches us. God’s Word is truth (John 17:17); a lamp for our feet and a light to our path (Psalm 119:105). I think these points show an alarming pattern of relativism replacing the truth within a significant portion of the body of Christ. The picture painted by the aforementioned facts is revealing. They give us a clear indication; for many people in America, these days are dark spiritually speaking. God’s Word is the foundation of Christian values.
Paul Harvey’s Warning: If I Were the Devil
I am neither the first nor the only one who thinks this way. Consider what another American wrote about his homeland. More than fifty years ago, legendary radio host Paul Harvey warned us America is headed down the wrong path. In a piece called “If I Were the Devil,” Paul Harvey lays out a plan by which Satan could subdue the United States. What amazes me about this article is; many of the things which Mr. Harvey said have either taken place or are taking place. With each passing day we can see more of this warning coming true.
Satan understands the importance of eroding the foundation of anyone or anything he wishes to defeat. He also understands that erosion is a process that takes time. The devil is winning battles in America. This is one reason we see all-out assaults on:
- The institution of marriage between one man and one woman, having obtained favorable rulings from the highest court in our land;
- The basic unit of society, which is the family, where he has made significant in-roads to demolish that institution;
- The removal of sanctity of life through discrimination, abortion and violence; and
- The truth, God’s Word, by supporting relative truth in our schools, universities and across the airwaves.
Is there hope for America? Yes. We have a living hope if we, as a nation, turn to the truth. When all is said and done, the truth will prevail. Therein lies the hope for America; hope through the truth, which is God’s unchangeable Word; and in Jesus Christ, whose life exemplified the truth.
Notes
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.