Many letters are written with the greeting, “To whom it may concern.” This greeting is usually used when one is not sure which person or department might be able to address a particular issue. Most often the letter is sent to elicit a response to bring clarification or to resolve a complaint.

The question for today is, who is concerned about the current condition of our culture and the fragility of the political stability of this land in which we are privileged to live? Everywhere we look there is scandal and scandalous behavior. Personal vendetta and hatefulness are ruling the day in almost every aspect of life. Selfishness and “personal preference” are obliterating the very foundation upon which this country was established.

The Apostle Paul wrote to his young protege Timothy concerning these very issues.

You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. 2 For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. 3 They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. 4 They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. 5 They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that! (2 Timothy 3:1-5)

This advise is just as relevant today as it was 2,000 years ago. The behaviors in this passage of scripture not only exist today, but they have been taken to the most logical and illogical extremes possible.

Who is concerned that selfishness is the primary driver of every decision being reached in the current society? We no longer live in the land where we become “one” out of the “many.” Today there is no sense of unity or harmony among people who come together around the ideas set forth in our founding documents.

Who is concerned that immorality, ungratefulness, unforgiveness, blasphemy, cruelty, and pride are now considered virtuous? How can that which causes harm to the innocent and to the society itself be seen as positive? How much farther must we fall down the slope toward chaos and complete evil before some concerned people take a stand for what is right and good?

Most people are unwilling to join the cause until they are directly affected by that which would bring heartache and damage to their own lives. There again lies the problem…selfishness. Edmund Burke stated it succinctly in the 1700’s when he said,

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

As unconcerned people sit around and do nothing, the consequences will eventually come to their door like the Big Bad Wolf looking to eat them. Sticking one’s head in the sand, building a house of straw or bricks, or simply running in circles like Chicken Little will never provide sufficient solutions.

Good intentions without action are pure fantasy. If you are not part of the solution, then you are part of the problem.

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