“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for ever” (Hebrews 13:8). Jesus wasn’t a political activist 2,000 years ago and, therefore, He’s not attempting to better the world through politics now. The boisterous, sarcastic, and contemptuous criticism that is being proliferated by professing Christians, about unrighteousness in the United States, other nations, and government leaders, will do absolutely nothing to reverse the downward spiral occurring in America and around the world. All the diseases, corruption, and violence of this world are rooted in spiritual darkness, and since they are, there is nothing of the physical realm that can reduce the manifestations of it. So, man’s attempts to overcome these things through politics, military might, science, and technology are just as futile as attempting to destroy a thorn bush by merely pruning it — the root is not harmed so more stems grow and produce more thorns. Carnal attempts to right the wrongs of this world are practiced by worldly people because that’s all they know. Professing Christians ought to know the Truth.

You’ve probably seen the yard signs and church billboards that reference 2 Chronicles 7:14 and say, ‘Pray for our Nation’. Prayer is essential, but the verse also says that the people who are called by His name must ‘turn from their wicked ways’ in order for things to get better. This is so because all the problems are rooted in spiritual darkness and it can only be overcome by the invisible light of God. The spiritual elements of hell are pride, lust, envy, and wrath. These are the elements of darkness in which Satan and the fallen angels live, and move, and have their being. So, when the lives of people are being generated by the fallen nature, which is the nature of pride, lust, envy, and wrath, Satan and his kingdom are living, moving, and having their being both in them and through them, to produce unrighteousness and corruption of every kind.

Jesus is the Light of God (John 1:6-9, 3:19-21, & 12:46). His heavenly Light is only present in, and can only shine through, His nature of selfless love, humility, long-suffering, and total resignation to God, just as darkness can only be found in, and working through, pride, lust, envy, and wrath. When God is TRULY given place to kindle a birth of His Spirit and Light within the soul of a person, and they continue giving themselves up to the new life within them, the spiritual darkness of their own soul is overcome and they subsequently become a vessel through which the Light of God may shine to overcome the darkness around them. Heavenly Light will never fail to overcome darkness whenever and wherever it has place to break forth and this undeniably proves who is responsible for the present state of things. It’s the people who are professing to be the children of God while their lives are confessing otherwise. They are the same as those who are referred to in Titus 1:16 saying, “They profess that they know God; but in works they deny Him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate”. Their lives are still being generated by the fallen nature (Galatians 5:19-26), they’re illegitimate children (Hebrews 12:6-14), unified with the powers of darkness (1 John 1:5), and on the course to everlasting torment, in spite of their outward forms of godliness (2 Timothy 3:1-5).

Instead of complaining about all that’s wrong in the world, and making sarcastic remarks about government leaders, professing Christians need to turn away from the pride, lust, envy, and wrath that’s in their own heart by giving themselves up to the selfless love, humility, long-suffering, and total resignation to God that is in Jesus. Positive change can only come when people get real about giving God the place to kindle a birth of His Light and Spirit in their inward man to illuminate and govern their mindset, all they allow, all they consent to, say, and do. Then, and only then, darkness and the manifestations of it will be overcome in the soul, the body, the household, the community, the state, the nation, and around the world. Otherwise, in spite of all the rhetoric and efforts of man, the U.S. and world economies, infrastructures, morality, and civility, along with the physical and mental health of the world’s population, will continue to spiral downward at an ever-increasing rate until nothing remains but desolation.