They called it Japan's Lost Decade....beginning in 1990....as their economy imploded. These past roughly ten years have been our lost decade. We have been royally raked over the coals....beset upon by wars of words....violence increasing....psychological manipulation and real trauma. The division is palpable. We are today two warring tribes.
I had been a regular conservative talk radio listener for a long time....there was genuine discussion and opposing viewpoints presented....and accepted as just that....opposing viewpoints....but that changed in this decade....so much so that my tuning in decreased and decreased until I never listened in anymore.
Conversations were becoming more difficult....or it would be more accurate to say that free and open conversation became less and less. The pandemic started....we were handling it normal for a while....the announcement of a vaccine was cheered....and then we started talking about it from a political perspective....and it became a battleground. It all depended upon who we normally listened to for information....for we were now doing very little real analyzing on our own.
And then church doors became the issue....and some national ministers became super-patriots. Most of the national ministries that I pay attention to....men who also pastor....just followed the directions and either streamed services or met outside....but most of evangelicalism was by now fully indoctrinated into politics. There was no discussion or analyzing necessary. It was black and white....they were trying to destroy Christianity.
The election was stolen. Folks I'm not describing how I felt. I'm describing what the mood was. We were no longer soldiers for Christ....if we ever were....we were now soldiers in the fight. When Hillary uttered that word....deplorables....it motivated a lot of people on our side.....but in comparison to the past nine years since then....deplorables would be nothing today! Our character....and our personalities....had changed by the second half of this decade. Compassion and truth and ethics were things of the past. It's not that we came out and said that we were not going to be compassionate or tell the truth or stay on the high ground in ethics....(which is where we were at one time)....it's more that those traits just disappeared....and no one was there to take inventory.
Peter was brave....but in a minute he changed and ran. Elijah was brave....and when Jezebel threatened him he took off as running an ultramarathon. I'm the same way. I'm a little bit different in that I document things in my mind as time goes on. Ten years ago....actually it was in January of 2013....at about the beginning of this lost decade that I am documenting....I wrote a post with the title....All Is Lost. All was not lost then....I can say that after witnessing this past decade from a reporter's perspective. It is lost now. God had a lot of patience with Elijah....who thought that he was the only one left. God told him that He had reserved 7,000 others who had not bowed the knee to Baal.
There are many faithful men in our pulpits today....a lot more than 7,000....and a lot more faithful than I am! And they are vexed just as I am. Charles Spurgeon was vexed as it seemed that all of British Christianity was bowing the knee to Baal. It seems that a major winnowing must be coming....this delusion that has taken us captive must surely be the cause. The book of Revelation surely points to it. These last ten years have taken a toll on me. I've been discouraged and run for the hills more times than I care to remember...but it's as if I always hear....'What are you doing here....why is your soul so troubled....where is your faith?'. There is a balm coming....when we can all see each other clearly....for He has kept His promise when He said...."I will never leave you nor forsake you" Hebrews 13:5
