I have long loved Walter Williams. A boy from the projects. A boy who had no father in his life for many years. A boy who grew to be a man. A man who is quite brilliant.
Oh my. We could use many more of his kind.
He said in this video that he wanted 5 kids and his wife wanted none so they compromised with 1. I wish he’d had more.
One place where I disagree with him is in the many interviews where he says it’s too late for America. Well, he answers the question, “Is it too late for America?” with a question. He asks, “Are Americans any different from the Romans or the Portuguese or the French or the English . . . ?” And I agree with his point. We are all sinful. We are all fallen. History repeats itself. We grow rich, we grow fat, we grow proud and haughty. We are shameful. We fill up with sin. The blood of innocents cries out. So why should we assume that God will not send an opposing army to knock us off our pedestal?
In a discussion that Jordan Peterson has with Camille Paglia they talk about how men with male sensibilities are thriving in radical Muslim communities while men in Western countries are being raised to act like women. They think that’s dangerous. It seems they too believe that America will fall.
I also think it will. I think it must.
But I’m not sure Western society has to fall in the next fifteen years. I’m not sure that it’s too late to turn it around. I’m not sure I believe that God won’t give us another hundred years. Or two hundred. Or five hundred.
Because here’s the deal: If we pray, God may answer.
Jordan Peterson is a theist, I believe, and Camille Paglia? I’m not sure what beliefs she holds, but she’s not a Christian. So while I want to tell all the young people I know to listen to these folks as they discuss history, I don’t think they predict the future as ably as they speak about the past.
I have this outlook: Today if you hear his voice, it’s not too late. It’s not too late to be saved. And it’s not too late to obey and pray and preach. It’s not too late for others to hear his voice. It’s not too late for them to turn and be saved.
I’m hearing his voice today. I’m hearing his command to pray. And I’m praying first and foremost that I’ll be faithful to pray. And then that other Christians will be faithful to pray, as well.
Because I believe prayer can change the world.
Walt Williams is a Christian and I believe he’s right to say America will fall, though I’m not convinced the fall has to be imminent. But if it falls sooner rather than later . . . . It’s not a big deal if America falls. It’s a big deal if Christians give up on prayer and preaching. We need to be praying and preaching and expecting God to give us success. Expecting God to advance his kingdom. Walter’s right–we Americans are no different from any of the ones that came before us. But Christians are commanded to storm the world. To convert the world rather than to be converted by the world. To live holy lives and to live sacrificial lives, rather than to adopt the world’s complacency and methods of self-medication.
Men are sinful. Americans are sinful. And sin is the same today as it was yesterday. We still have to occupy our time. We still have to preach the gospel. And every day is a good day to pray for peace.
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