People have lost their ability to think clearly or rationally. That is the conclusion I find myself coming to as I watch the breakdown of society in a growing number of cities across the United States. Looters rob and destroy many of the very businesses that support their own community. Violence is perpetrated against others for simply having differing races, backgrounds, or political ideologies. History is being erased through the desecration and destruction of statues and monuments. Cries of “Defund the police” are being heard everywhere from “autonomous” enclaves in the hearts of America’s major cities and even in the halls of Congress. As all this takes place, one question echoes through my mind: “Have you taken time to stop and really think any of this through?”

The video of George Floyd’s death leaves little doubt that what happened to him on that Minneapolis street was a coldhearted and unconscionable act of murder. Those officers deserve to feel the full weight of the justice system. The resulting protests have been perfectly understandable and productive. They’ve opened the door for evaluation. Where does racism still exist within the United States’ governmental and judicial structures? What changes need to be made so that all have a level playing field, whether it be in education, employment, or the legal system? How do we make sure justice is afforded to all Americans, regardless of race, ethnicity, income, religion, or any other measure? Those are very difficult questions, and time needs to be taken to come up with meaningful solutions which will permanently address these very important issues.

Unfortunately, today’s society doesn’t seem to allow for that kind of time. America has developed an emotion-based culture that places “not being offended” as the highest of all virtues. Whatever it takes to silence or erase that which is deemed offensive is both acceptable and virtuous these days. Permissive parenting, an agenda-based educational system, and an attitude that all pain—whether physical or emotional—is always bad have combined to produce many who have the ability only to follow their hearts rather than thinking with their minds. This stunted capacity for rationality finds representatives in all generations, economic groups, and ethnicities. These past weeks, we’ve seen the destructive results of that unhealthy philosophy.

Yet, even if we were able to have a national summit where the greatest social, legal, and political thinkers of our time could sit down and process how to address this seemingly impossible cultural divide, do we really believe this would solve of these problems? As I wrote about in my 2012 nonfiction book, Implosion: Can America Recover from Its Economic and Spiritual Problems in Time?, too many “wise men” in our day draw their wisdom from the wrong sources. The division in the United States and in many other parts of the world is first and foremost a spiritual problem. The gradual and intentional removal of God from American culture and character has left a moral vacuum which has been filled by sin and a “me-first” mindset. In order to address a spiritual problem, one must have spiritual wisdom. King Solomon wrote:

For the Lord gives wisdom;

from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;

he stores up sound wisdom for the upright;

he is a shield to those who walk in integrity,

guarding the paths of justice

and watching over the way of his saints.

Proverbs 2:6-8

Without the wisdom of God, all the sociologists and politicians are flailing at the wind. Any solutions found will prove to be both inadequate and temporary because they will only be addressing the symptoms and not the disease. Lasting answers will only come when the God who guards “the paths of justice” inserts himself into the situation, granting his wisdom to those who seek him. As the Lord’s church, let’s pray for this wisdom—for the nation, but also for ourselves. Let any change that is needed begin in our own hearts. Let us humbly come before God asking him to reveal to us any attitudes that need correcting, any personal history that needs addressing, any racial and ethnic biases that must be removed. Then as we get our own houses in order, let us extend those same prayers of repentance and change to the nation. Healing and revival begin in the church. Let it start with us, then spread as God’s people shine the true light of unity and racial reconciliation.

—Joel