“…because the world is falling apart so fast that it will soon be starving.”[i]
Life is interesting, especially as it is driven by the Providence of God (Romans 8:28). As things begin to shake, rattle and roll apart, or in the case of the fires in both Maui and Washington State – burn – who will be the last man standing in the difficult times ahead as everything in America that we have always depended upon as “being there” in the stores, gas stations, post office and local Home Depot is suddenly gone. “Gone” as in looted,[ii] out of stock, inaccessible because of roving gangs similar to the Summer of 2020 because the local civil government is either unwilling to enforce the law or no longer up and running.[iii]
It is time to ask hard questions of ourselves and our relationship with our neighbors and the reality that the America we have all grown up with is sadly, yet not unexpectantly, slipping away (Galatians 6:7).
Christ himself relayed that no one knew the time of end time events, only his father in heaven (Matthew 24:36) but that does not mean we cannot discern when a civilization is about to change for the worse (Proverbs 22:3). Are you prepared?...
What should you get in case there is trouble?
As Daisy Luther suggests in her insightful article, “Are Lockdowns Coming Back?” – “Aside from the things you’ve determined above that you need, there are some other things you may want to get for the second wave of lockdowns. Think about the things that ran out first and the things that had purchase limits. when you see them back on shelves, do some stocking up:
Toilet paper (the gold bars of the coronavirus pandemic!)
Paper towels
Lysol wipes
Paper plates
Hand sanitizer
Disinfectant cleaners
Bleach
Flour
Yeast
Baking powder
Baking soda
Meat
Canned goods
Dry foods like pasta and rice
Cough medicine with an expectorant
Cold and flu medicine
Ibuprofen
Tylenol
Vitamin C
Firearms
?...
If you store them properly, all of these items will serve you well in the future, even if this article is totally wrong and there is never another lockdown. They’ll help you to be ready for all manner of emergencies, not just mandated self-quarantines.”[iv]
More to the Point
Even more to the point, as Christian, outside of your own household, will you be having an influence for Christ and the Common Good? Do you have a “good reputation among men” (I Timothy 3:7) wherein people take your words seriously, even if they do not share your faith? Or are you a recluse shut-in that if anything weird happens in your neighborhood down your block, your family is the first family they think “it might be…”? Do you have a good relationship with your neighbors? If not, why not?
It seems unimaginable, but with the war in the Ukraine blooming, economic collapse looming due to the weakened dollar, and violent streets, it may be time to imagine a world with no electricity or, at the very best, sporadic electricity of only a few hours a day. Imagine gas rationing and frequent bank holidays (and for that matter – law enforcement holidays as in the major cities for the last 3 years). Imagine the government in Washington DC really is not that good at actually serving and protecting – aka “helping people” – but only in wrecking things, intentionally or not.[v] Who will be the voice of wisdom in your sphere of influence? Who will be the one who people come to in an emergency when things go wrong? They will go wrong.[vi]
Consider the following paragraph written by Pastor Doug Wilson regarding St. Paul on his Mediterranean voyage:
Paul was the one who spoke hope and encouragement to everyone on board (Acts 27:21-26). Paul was the one giving instructions to the centurion and his men (Acts 27:31-32). Paul was the one who persuaded everyone on board of the need to take in something to eat (Acts 27:34-36). Paul was the reason why the centurion was unwilling to kill the prisoners (Acts 27:43). In the next chapter, Paul heals the father of the island’s ruler (Acts 28:8), and then he healed many more of the Maltese (Acts 28:9), and when they all departed three months later, they all did so laden down with honors (Acts 28:10)—and all because of Paul.
And it was the storm that promoted him. For the 276 passengers, it was no doubt one of the most harrowing experiences of their life. And it was a big promotion for Paul.[vii]
Storms reveal things about people, as do other difficult times in life (James 1:2-8). Will you be someone that people look to as a problem solver? Or a problem creator as in – you make things worse? Now is the time to think, pray, and prepare for an uncertain future. Will you be a leader in your local area (Exodus 18:19-22)? Understand, it is never a matter of authority vs. no authority. As “authority” is an inescapable constant in human society, for better or worse. Someone is always in charge.
Again, Wilson’s statement begs the primary question of importance for us to ponder:
To point out the obvious, the old America is currently being dismantled. That means that somebody is going to rebuild it, someone is going to reconstruct it.[viii]
Who will be the architects of this future reconstruction? By what standard will they rebuild the structures of law, authority, and society? Will it be Washington DC or the World Economic Forum with their roster of humanist technocrats and the billionaire crew of Davos?[ix]
Or more traditional minded people who believe, as William Blackstone, English jurist once wrote:
Man..must necessarily be subject to the laws of his Creator, for he is entirely a dependent being..And, consequently, as man depends absolutely upon his Maker for everything, it is necessary that he should in all points conform to his Maker's will.[x]
For the latter group of people, it will not be the State at the national level, or even the statehouse that will come to the rescue. They will merely implement a top-down legal system with a social credit system attached that will require promises on the part of the citizenry to obey the state if they want to eat![xi]
Rather, to rebuild a free society and facilitate the moral virtue necessary for social concord between people will require the grace of God upon man’s heart,[xii] and Christian sensibilities as taught by the Christian Church,[xiii] and lived out locally. It is these “sensibilities” and these alone that will facilitate the growth of a unifying world and life view that provides the basis for social cohesion, human flourishing and the opportunity for rebuilding a free, decentralized America. An America of individual decentralized, self-sufficient, and self-governing city-states and republics.[xiv]
Above all: we must prepare for the future as Jeremiah admonished Israel in Babylonia:
4 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. 6 Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. 7 But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. (ch.29).
We will speak on what Christians need to begin to consider and do in our next issue.
We Are Here to Help
At Christian Liberty Homeschools, we continue to espouse the same world and life view as we have for over half a century without hesitation or obfuscation. Our homeschooling program continues on within the same American traditions, Christian values and historic beliefs that we always have had and espoused at: www.homeschools.org
Recommended Book from CLH:
God & Government:
Law & Liberty
https://www.shopchristianliberty.com/law-and-liberty/
Manual of Christian Doctrine:
https://www.shopchristianliberty.com/manual-of-christian-doctrine-2nd-edition/
Apologetics:
https://www.shopchristianliberty.com/every-thought-captive/
Citations:
[i] Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged, (Signet: New York, NY, 1957), p. 686.
[ii] https://strategic-culture.su/news/2023/09/15/flash-mob-robberies-are-changing-the-way-america-does-business/
[iii] https://cwbchicago.com/2023/07/store-looted-40-arrested-as-teen-trend-overruns-south-loop.html
[iv] https://www.lewrockwell.com/2023/09/daisy-luther/are-lockdowns-coming-back/
[v] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9pelswg9FU
[vi] https://www.lewrockwell.com/2023/09/daisy-luther/are-lockdowns-coming-back/
[vii]https://christianreconstructionist.com/2021/08/15/doug-wilson-reconstructionist/
[viii]https://christianreconstructionist.com/2021/08/15/doug-wilson-reconstructionist/
[ix] The Federal Reserve, bogeyman of Conservatives, may have finally given them something to be concerned about with their newest development to "help" financial transactions in society! Will they now have total control:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHLnV9wu-5A
The Bank of International Settlement, not to be out done, is working hard on developing CBDCs for future banking. A marriage made with the FED?
https://www.bis.org/publ/arpdf/ar2022e3.htm
Lastly, the BRICs crew, their various projects including their development of the R5 currency to counter the U.S. Dollar as a way to trade upon the Belt and Road Initiative is making noise themselves. What will that mean in the global markets? Time will tell:
https://new.thecradle.co/articles/brics-problems-bri-solutions
[x]https://www.azquotes.com/quote/1046959
[xi] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9pelswg9FU
[xii] Augustine, The City of God, Trans. Henry Bettenson, (London, England: Penguin Books, 1972; 1984), XIV.i,iv; XV.iv.
[xiii] Augustine, De Trinitate, Trans. John Burnaby in Volume VIII of The Library of Christian Classics (Philadelphia, The Westminster Press, 1955), IX.i.i.
[xiv]https://mises.org/wire/three-reasons-why-secession-and-decentralization-are-better-human-rights
See also: Economics of a National Divorce:
https://mises.org/library/economics-national-divorce
Pt. 2
https://mises.org/library/economics-national-divorce-part-ii