It’s a strange world out there. And it’s getting stranger all the time.

I saw the other day where a federal judge ruled that Ottawa, Illinois’ traditional Christmas paintings of the life of Christ had to go. At the same time, judges in Maryland were striking down a law that had kept adult bookstores out of the county.

Boy, I’m sure glad that my kids won’t have to worry about being influenced by any of those awful pictures!

Then there’s the Media. Ted Turner, the chairman of Turner Broadcasting and CNN, recently declared the Ten Commandments null and void. “I’ll bet nobody pays much attention to ’em, because they are too old,” he said. “Commandments are out.” In their place, Turner offers his own “Ten Voluntary Initiatives,” including: to help the downtrodden, to love and respect planet Earth, and to limit families to two children.

Gee, thanks Ted. It’s always good to know we men of such keen spiritual insight are deciding what will and won’t be put over our airwaves.

And how about your insurance policy. Have you rad it recently? Try it. You’ll find it contains some interesting theology. Apparently, God is out to get us – and get us good. What else would the phrase “act of God” be used to denote only the worst disasters known to man? Foolish me. I always thought things like love, little children, and sunsets were “acts of God.”

Finally, have you noticed baseball’s skyrocketing salaries? Just teach your kids to hit .220 and you’ll have a multi-millionaire to take care of you in your old age. What happened to the good old days when people played for the love of the game? I came across a quote that says it well, “The great trouble with baseball today is that most of the players are in the game for the money that’s in it – not for the love of it, the excitement of it and the thrill of it.”

The problem? Ty Cobb said it in 1925! And it goes to prove a point. Things aren’t getting so bad after all. They’ve always been pretty messed up. Clear back to Genesis chapter three if you care to look. So rather than ringing our hands over today’s liberal judges, immoral media, and an increasingly secular culture, maybe we should do what God’s people have always done in the past: Quit complaining, quit worrying and start trusting God to do what he promised – to give us everything we need to make it in this world and the next.

I mean, is it really so hard to raise a godly son or daughter in Southern California? If you think that’s tough, try raising a Christian family in first century Corinth…or modern day China. And our “liberal courts”? While I don’t agree with (or for that matter like) many of their decisions, the last time I looked, all we’ve lost are a few nativity scenes and tax breaks. Our forefathers lost their lives.

So the next time someone tries to tell you that we are on the brink of destruction, or losing that key court case will send America to hell and render our Christian witness mute, remember what Jesus said, “I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.”

Christians shouldn’t be nay-saying worrywarts, we ought to be the happiest people in the world. No matter how things might look today, we know that lies ahead. And for those of you who are new in the Lord and haven’t read that part of the Bible yet, I’ll tell you a secret: In the end, we win!

This article was first published in the North Coast News February, 1990 edition of the church newsletter.