God Help America!

The President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, spoke prophetically, even with his considerable measure of politically motivated opinion when he recently chided the United States and other powerful nations of the world for a lack of attention to “freedom, obedience to God and justice.”
It wasn’t exactly where I thought I would be hearing the echoes of years of bible themes from the past, but the last time I checked, Jesus was very much interested in his followers being interested in truth, justice, righteousness and obedience to God, especially as they were evidences of love for God and for our fellow man.
It may be odd to hear such words coming from one we have often preferred to ignore in the name of patriotism. It may seem odder still if they were profoundly true.
The nature of many of the problems at hand in our world today are the result of a failure of justice, a lack of truthfulness, and an insulting disregard for righteousness in relationships toward God or neighbor. When individuals and nations reap the whirlwind of such behavior, it should not be surprising. God loves us all, but he chastises those whom he loves when there is disobedience to His law and unrighteous living out of the bounds of his truth and purpose. The aim of God has always been redemptive. Even the times of testing are meant to remind us of first priorities. Perhaps it will take the crises of the present to awaken repentance and faithfulness once again. As Jesus said, “Those with ears to hear…let them hear.”