Getting Back on the Right Track

In Luke 14, Jesus elaborated on the concept of total surrender - in attitude and action, so that we might show that we are His disciples, that we belong to Him:
33So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.34"Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?35It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, but men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"
We can make it our aim to reflect the glory of Christ, and surrender is a key component.  In order for people to see Jesus in and through us, it's important that we are emptied of self, so that His nature flows in and through us.  We seek to be an influence for good, for God, in our culture, as salt and light - salt that enhances and preserves, and light that is on display for all to see.  We are placed in this nation, at this unique time in history, for a reason, and there are opportunities that we will have to make statements that are consistent with our faith, as we're dedicated to not merely decry the trends that we're experiencing, but seek in some way to help provide solutions.

There's a passage in Colossians 4 which can underscore, for us, our role in the world and the potential to communicate Godly wisdom:
2Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving;3meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains,4that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.5Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time.6Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.

So what do you think?   Is America on the right track, or not?  A recent Rasmussen poll indicates that about one-fourth of likely U.S. voters - 26% - think that the country is heading in the right direction, according to its national telephone survey for the week ending July 20.  That's up a point from the past two weeks, which was the lowest finding since last December.   Sixty-seven percent (67%) of voters in this weekly survey now think the country is headed down the wrong track. That's unchanged for the past month and remains the highest negative of 2014.

The number who say the country is heading in the right direction has been less than 30% 21 out of 29 weeks this year.

Early last October during the federal government shutdown, confidence in the country’s course fell to 13%, the lowest finding in five years.  80% felt the country was on the wrong track in early October.

In an attempt to pinpoint some areas in which the country is on the right course, as well as the opposite, the Heritage Foundation has released its 2014 Index of Culture and Opportunity, which tracks key social and economic indicators of opportunity in America, and provides expert commentary.

As Jennifer Marshall of Heritage writes on The Daily Signal website,

Many of the indicators in the 2014 Index are not headed in the right direction. For instance, the marriage rate has declined and unwed childbearing continues to rise. Self-sufficiency has not improved—even though it was the original goal of the War on Poverty launched a half century ago—and food stamp participation has significantly increased in recent years. The student loan burden for college graduates continues to grow.

There are areas that are showing improvement. For instance, the abortion rate and violent crime rate have decreased, showing the importance of focused effort in policy and civil society. Divorce is down. More students are participating in K-12 school choice programs.  These findings are based on a 10-year period of available data.

And, if you dig deeper in the study you find an analysis from Byron Johnson of Baylor University that offers some hope for us.   He writes, 

Media accounts suggest a consistent if not dramatic decline of the faith factor in America: that young people under 30 are deserting the church; that women are rapidly falling away from religion; that millennials are leaving the faith of their parents; and that the religiously unaffiliated (a.k.a., “nones”) have increased twofold in recent decades.

But upon closer examination of additional data from the General Social Survey (GSS), as well as other data sources, these headlines are revealed as misleading, inaccurate, and biased. The real story is that across 40 years, there have been only small variations in church attendance.

Regarding that subset known as the Millennials, Johnson writes that they, like the vast majority of Americans, consider themselves religious. He highlights how many people, including that age group, switch churches, and they do so for a variety of reasons. But, he said that this change does not mean, as many have wrongly concluded, that they have departed the faith.  He sees this as a potential sign of religious vitality.

And about those "nones" - people reporting no religious affiliation:  He said that, "Most surveys, including the GSS, do not ask respondents enough questions to accurately sort out religious affiliation. In the Baylor Religion Survey, we not only asked the identical affiliation question used by the GSS; we also asked respondents—including the nones—if they attended religious services. Some of the nones not only indicated they regularly attended, but provided us with the name and address of their church, and a surprising number were nondenominational and evangelical." Johnson points out that the reaction that all nones are unaffiliated—or atheists—is false.  In fact, he says that only 4% of Americans are atheists - a number that has remained steady since 1944.

There is a wealth of information here:  a few surprises, but generally information that has been widely reported.  The question is "what can we do about it?"   Turns out that there is quite a bit.   I think this information reminds us that we have been placed in this country, in this time, in order to be an influencer for Christ.  Not only are we to be solid Christian witnesses in our homes, our churches, and our workplace, but we can view ourselves as citizens with a vital role to communicate the truth of God with all those we encounter.   There is a seed of hope, carried by the church, and God's people are present in our society and can have a strong impact.

We also recognize that we are to pray for our country.  Certainly, in accordance with 1st Timothy 2, we pray for our leaders, but we also can be in prayer for some of these cultural areas and those who bring Christian truth into various arenas.  In most, if not all, of these 31 areas, I believe that you could find a Christian organization or group of believers that are working to provide Christ-centered solutions.  They need our prayers and perhaps our involvement.

And, there's the role of community.  Two interviews I have had recently stick out - Dr. Ben Carson and Jim DeMint, who is President of the Heritage Foundation.  Both emphasized the importance of community and a desire to see conversations take place around the nation about some of the dilemmas that we are facing.  And, they shared a sense of hope in what America could be in the future.  

In fact, in the preface of the Heritage study, Mr. DeMint writes, "The presence of opportunities may influence an individual’s prospects for the future, but the culture of a family or community affects the extent to which the individual takes advantage of those opportunities."   And, one of the leading sources or displays of community can be found in the church, the body of Christ.   Now is not the time to withdraw into our enclaves or behind our computer or smartphone screens, but to look around and look up to see how God might use us to share His wisdom.