End Times?

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Seventh Day Adventists, its now-famous offshoot the Branch Davidians, and the Jehovah Witnesses all had one thing in common:  the founders of each group believed that they were the generation that would see the return of Jesus Christ.  The first two came out of the failings of traditional churches just prior to the Civil War. The latter two also were spurred into existence by a pre-war atmosphere of social failure, this time before the Second World War. It seemed inevitable that such institutions would come into being when all of the social, political, and economic constructs seemed to be giving way to chaos.

However, such social redefinition was not understood to be the precursor to the end times. Those times when war loomed were times of hardship, struggle, and uncertainty. It was also a time that leads to opportunity. Like the people who lived in fear and turbulence during previous hard times, we have the opportunity to form a new social contract, a new way to view one another. That requires that we find our common ground, first as Americans, then as citizens of the world.

America has a future that is bright and hopeful. It is up to us to decide what that future will be and how we will respond to it. An important first step would be to respect one another in the society that will be built from the remnants of our currently failing social structures. No one is satisfied with the current shifting standards of law and society in this nation.

One of those shifting standards that are suddenly on the radar is gay marriage. The Massachusetts Supreme Court has mandated that the state provide for civil unions for gay couples. Some members of the state legislature rebelled and attempted to pass a law opposing any kind of gay marriage; however, after three separate attempts, they failed to pass such a bill. With these two branches of the state government deadlocked with no compromise in sight, it seems no one will be satisfied in this debate

Gay marriage is only one seemingly unsolvable issue. Social programs, including so-called entitlements, provide another catalyst for growing debate. The rapidly escalating national debt makes the status quo impossible. During the 1990s’ the false prosperity created by the technology boom, welfare was reformed. Welfare recipients were given five years of meager governmental subsidies before their benefits were discontinued. Within ten years of this reform, job growth collapsed. The technology sector alone has lost one-third of its jobs; of those that still exist, most are being contracted to foreign firms. That is within just one industry.

Yet another growing problem is that fewer employers are supplying their employees with adequate health insurance. Health care costs for even the most ordinary ailments can cost hundreds of dollars. A year of chiropractic treatment runs in the thousands. For most people, dental care has become out of reach unless they have dental coverage as part of their insurance. A preexisting condition can limit a person’s ability to get proper medical coverage of any kind.

How we address these issues will be based on each person’s concept of responsibility, be it personal or societal. As such, these political problems are issues of faith and belief. They are problems that we can solve if we come together with respect, tolerance, and humility. Historically, man has looked to apocalyptic mythology to explain why disturbing changes arise in society. However, no man knows when the end times will come. When asked what he would do if he knew Jesus Christ was returning tomorrow, the great 19^th century evangelist D.L. Moody responded, “Plant a tree.” Isn't it time to plant some trees? We have a future to define.