America's greatest problem few talk about

Photo curtesy of pixabay.com

My wife had cataract surgery a couple of weeks ago on one eye and she has been declaring what a difference her now "repaired" eye is from the other.  She'll look at an object and remark how much brighter and colorful it looks viewing from her surgically repaired eye minus the cataract as from her other eye which also needs cataract surgery.

I was thinking just how her experience with new vision is like how our lives can also become distorted, discolored and in need of some sort of operation.  Our culture is much like a cataract which slowly forms over our spirit and blinds us from the true life God has called us to live, the abundant life that we were created to experience. This distortion makes it difficult to see the world clearly and so we can easily be enticed to live a fraudulent life of death and destruction.

So many young adults have been deceived into believing that the good life is one of drugs, alcohol and sex.  One study indicated that 23.5 million Americans are addicted to alcohol and drugs. That’s approximately one in every 10 Americans over the age of 12 – roughly equal to the entire population of Texas.  And that is only those who have admitted to having a drug or alcohol problem, perhaps only the tip of the iceberg.

I'd say we have a serious problem - an epidemic.  I have personally felt the impact of this problem indirectly. I am close to seven couples, some friends and some family, who have young adult children struggling with drugs or alcohol. All of these young adults, men and women ages 18 to 37 have had children out of wedlock, that they are not able to take care of because they are not capable or just don't want the responsibility.  And much of the problem stems from their addiction to drugs or alcohol. And so this problem is not just one that affects the addicted person but it also wrecks havoc on the lives of their parents and has a great chance of being passed on to their children.

We have a lot of problems in our country but I can't think of anything that does more harm to the individual, families and to society than this.  None of the presidential candidates are discussing this problem. There are no demonstrations or protests. I think many families keep these problems hidden so we don't really understand the scope of the problem. You may hear people complain about the drug culture being an inner city problem but this goes much farther than the inner city.  We have a rotten culture nationwide which leads to broken lives of drug and alcohol abuse and it is an epidemic in all areas of our nation.  And its tentacles reach into all areas of society.

Faith based rehab facilities are our best solution now to this problem.  They serve much like cataract surgeons. These facilities remove the addicted person from the destructive culture that has so discolored their world view, so they can begin to see clearly, that there is another world full of color that is available to them.

However, only a small percentage choose to check into rehab and there are not enough facilities to handle all those addicted if they did. The Church is best positioned and has the potential to not only treat and heal but be the key to winning the war on drugs. Celebrate Recovery and identity groups are ways the church has addressed the problem but many churches aren't equipped or even want to do the messy work needed. Ironically ministry to those struggling with addiction may be the church's best opportunity for evangelism and life transformation. 

Only until one admits there is a problem and gets treatment will he or she be able to see the difference.  Then they can begin to understand their true purpose, their identity and the role they can play to make a difference in the world.  Then they will see a world of color and potential and hopefully be more inclined to choose life over death. God said "This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live!" Deut. 30:19 It is much easier to choose life when we see clearly the choices before us.

Perhaps we should take a look at our culture that promotes and encourages this life of death and destruction. Maybe if we dealt with the root issue, to understand that we do have a culture of death that permeates our society, then we could prevent so many broken and wasted lives.

When death surrounds you, what do you do?

“In the United States people die from sickness or old age. Here people die by murder. If someone here actually makes it to old age, it’s – it’s…really surprising...”

This quote came from Darwin, the Honduran husband of Jennifer Zilly, the young missionary working in Honduras. Darwin receives a phone call to learn that his brother had been murdered, shot to death when he complained that his cows had been stolen.  Darwin goes to be with his family in their time of grief only to learn that his mother has died of a heart attack when she learned her son was murdered.

In her latest post on their blog, Jennifer sheds light on how dreadfully dangerous life can be in Honduras.
"If we were to sit down with our kids and make a collective family list of all the murders that have skimmed close to our lives – all the family members, neighbors and local townspeople who have been murdered – we would need many sheets of paper."

How do you deal with life in the midst of such heartache of relatives and neighbors being murdered? How do you grieve and how do you deal with the fear of death so near?  Jennifer relies on her faith and focuses on her job as a missionary.

Read the entire post here.

This is real life in a third world country. We complain about our first world issues, which are incredibly insignificant compared to the life and problems many missionaries encounter.

Reading Jennifer's blog, we are given a real example of what life is like when there is little to no police protection. Those who complain about the police in our country and those who actually propose we don't need the police, have no clue what every day life is like without law and order.

I've seen it in many of the countries that I've visited. When there is an absence of local police, there is always a gang or entity that steps in to fill the void, using threats and their corrupt power to control the people.  And even here in the States in isolated areas where there is no respect for the police, there is an abnormal amount of crime and death.

Thank God that we have a country that values law and order. We don't have a perfect system and we certainly can improve on many aspects but our system is the best the world has to offer.  We have much to be thankful for.

I'm also grateful for the many Christians like Jennifer who sacrifice what they have to serve God in third world countries.  They are putting their lives on the line every day to bring real hope to people in cultures that provide no hope.  Pray for Jennifer and Darwin as they walk through this difficult time, that Jesus would guide and protect them so that they might complete the work that God has called them to do.

An Incredibly Powerful and Important Message For Our Time

If there was ever a message that is needed for every person in our nation, this is it.  It doesn't come from a politician running for president or a pastor or Pope.  It comes ironically from a basketball coach!  Monty Williams speaks from the heart at the funeral of his wife who was killed when a driver  crossed over the medium and collided head on of the car his wife, Ingrid Williams was driving. Williams' eulogy has been called "inspirational".  But it goes way beyond inspiration. With all the political and racial unrest in this country, Monty Williams' eulogy is the Gospel and one message that could somehow heal every person and bring this nation together, if only people would watch it and take it to heart.  Please watch the message, (7 minutes) and believe it!  Act on it!  Live it!