All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages.
Or so said bard excellent William Shakespeare in 1599’s play As You Like It.
And during the past two weeks we have witnessed what it is like to be held hostage by our great nation’s actor/politicians in Washington. And the thought I had about this while driving to work this morning is this: Is there anyone up there on Capital Hill actually looking out for the rest of the 316,869,000 people in the USA as of January 1st, 2013.
And while I am certainly not “apolitical” or “apathetic” toward’s our system of governance, I am not the person you would come to in order to find out about the Affordable Care Act or whether or not the United States is really a Republic or a Democracy. I have slept a few times since the Political Science class I attended as a college student in the late sixties.
However, like most of us, I have my opinions about the state of the union, foreign diplomacy and the two party system we seem to be mired in (to mention just three).
I am stuck somewhere between being a “prepper” and person who believes that we have a Father God who looks after us in a deeply personal way. I know that if I prepare for hard times and have food stored for my family and if the rest of my neighborhood doesn’t, and they see the lights on in my house because my generator is working, they will be knocking at my door in short order and might be a little agitated after missing a few meals. I have come to the conclusion that there is no easy answer towards this “end times” dilemma. In other words, can anybody really be prepared for a major disruption in our food or power supply chain. At that point, worst case scenario, all the guns or gold in China won’t be enough to protect us from what will inevitably happen. We will share what we have until it is all gone and be the better for it.
Yet, this is not the point of my post, rabbit chasing aside.
I am fearful (might be to strong a word) that there is no one in power in America that fully understands the mess we are in and/or has the where-with-all to offer us a real solution for all that we are facing as a nation. The fact that our currency/economy is only as strong as we have faith in it is a case in point.
The stock market seemingly rises and falls on whether or not Wall Street suits are happy with the way things are going, like it or not. Trouble in Iran, stocks go down—home building starts increase, stocks go up and so on and so forth. Simplified to be cliché—almost certain: forgive me, I can’t help myself.
After 40 years of legalized abortion in all fifty states there have been an estimated 54,559,615 abortions since the Supreme Court handed down its 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision.
I am convinced that the United States has not yet felt what would biblically be called the wrath of God. Yet I do believe that we are reaping what we have sowed in an equally biblical sense. I can’t help but think that at least one or two of those babies aborted could have had the cure for cancer, been a musician the like of which has not been since since Bach or better yet, had the strength and/or intelligence to figure a way out of our current situation in America.
Yes, these are very broad strokes that I have painted with the last few sentences. These ideas represent only those on top of the heavy heap that I carry around in my mostly conscious mind.
I often wonder if we as a people are equipped to carry on the conversations that would lead to an agreement or unity of purpose that might be the first step in halting what seems to be the decline of another great nation or people group.
In other words, there is more that I could say but don’t have the words for today. What I will do however is continue to trust God, enjoy my wife, kids and grandkids and hope for a warm winter inside my house and an excellent garden next year. It’s been a good ride so far with a lot more to come.
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Looking For The Long Ride 
It all points to the insufficiency of human government, as indicated in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream that Daniel interpreted. And with such lethal technology as we now have at hand, those human governments are destined for an apocolyptic fall.And so ultimately It all points to the Lordship of Jesus. Under his guidance, I believe you can, at the time of trouble, demonstrate faith to keep your house lights on while all the neighbors and friends (including me) show up at your(excellent steward that you are) door, looking for a handout. Got veggies?