The Unraveling of Civil Society

The parking lot at Walmart just about turned into the center ring of a WWE event. One person was backing out of their parking space while another vehicle was approaching. The approaching vehicle had to stop and wait to avoid a collision. This happens all the time. However the person in the approaching vehicle went ballistic. They honked their horn and yelled at the car and a blue fog of profanity wafted from their truck. This incident is replicated daily everywhere you go. It seems that people are lacking in common decency and their tolerance and grace toward their fellow man. I believe that we are seeing the unraveling of civil society.

Evidence of this unraveling is witnessed not only in road rage incidents, but also in the proliferation of profanity. Foul language can be heard everywhere but also it can be read. Billboards, t shirts, and bumper stickers are inscribed with 4 letter words to make some kind of statement. Rage and profanity are joined by rudeness and intolerance as signs that our civil society is becoming uncivilized.

Those of us who know Jesus Christ are called to a higher standard. We who are in the family of God are challenged everywhere in scripture to speak, act, and behave differently. Eph. 4:29-32 expects us to: “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you. Our great God expects us instead of foul language, anger, and rudeness to practice careful speech, patience with others, and kindness to everyone.

The unraveling of society can only stop when more and more people trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior. May we who know Him display in our lives the kind of behavior He has called us to live.