THE CRISIS OF UNCONCERN

Larry Fluitt

Washington, D.C., is swirling in controversy! The media is in the midst of a “feeding frenzy”! Rumors engulf the White House! “Leaks” to the press seem to occur every hour on the hour! “The president’s future is in jeopardy!” we are told! Most of our citizens are convinced that we are caught in the throes of a crisis. With this assessment, I heartily agree.

However, in my view, the current “crisis” is not centered in our nation’s capital, but is spread across this country, from coast to coast, and from border to border! It is not simply a tragedy involving one man’s alleged infidelity, but one of national indifference! In polls that have been conducted daily, as well as in persona interviews by the media, the prevailing attitude in many quarters is, “So what? Who cares? What a man does in private is his business, not ours!”

Since when is anyone’s moral depravity, and particularly one who is entrusted with the role of leadership, nobody’s business but his own? At what point did character cease to count? The wise man of the Bible reminds us, “Righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a reproach to any people” (Prov. 14:34).

Perhaps the most glaring evidence of our predicament is the absence of a sense of shame on the part of all our people! In the passage above, the marginal reading is,”... sin is a shame or disgrace to any people. Zephaniah, the prophet, assisted in the reforms executed by King Josiah. However, despite many outward changes, the malignancy of sin continued to plague God’s people. The reason? An absence of an inward humiliation. Zephaniah cried out, “Gather yourselves together, yet gather together, O undesirable nation” (“Shameless” margin -2:1).

This nation can survive a presidential crisis. The 1970's proved this, However, surviving a crisis of moral indifference is another matter. The psalmist left us this reminder, “The wicked shall be turned into hell, And all nations that forget God” (Ps.9:17).