2012

There's been a lot of talk about this year. The end of the Mayan calendar, there was an end-of-the-world movie named "2012," and then there's just all the talk about the collapse of the US and all the emphasis being put on this year's election.

I get some of it. I mean, it's fun to think about the future and it's fun to think about the way things might go and try to predict things and make contingency plans. I enjoy doing that. I even enjoy doing it for things that are ridiculous. But I don't really think that things are that imminent or that bad. I'm not going to say they definitely aren't. I just don't think that things are going to go anywhere close to the way people have talked about them going.

So first up: The End Of the World vs. The Collapse of the USA
With the eschatological beliefs that I have, the end of the world can't happen this year. The end of the US? Eh, maybe. So what's the proper take to all of this? Let's say that the US does go down the drain, that there are (as I've heard some people say there could be) droves of vagabonds pillaging and thieving because now there's no societal system to hold them accountable. What do I do?

I do the same thing I should have been doing my whole life; I do the same thing that Christians are always supposed to do. I go to God. If I were a poor person on the street today with nothing, no food, no home - what would I do? I would pray. I would try to find work to earn something for myself. I would ask people for help. Why does the fact that the nation might go poof change anything that we would do? Why does the idea of the nation dissolving make people think that the place God has them now will suddenly NOT be the place He'll want them afterward?

There's absolutely no reason to think that way. Because I think that if I go home, there's a better chance of surviving because there's open land to farm in MI? Since when does "better chance of surviving" factor into it? There's a guaranteed "chance" of survival if you are where God wants you to be - as long as God wants you to be alive.

Next: The Elections and Their Place in this
I will vote for the guy I think is best for the country. I think Ron Paul is the only one who has a chance. But I have a hard time thinking that any ONE guy can get an entire NATION of people out of debt. And if the nation fails, oh well. America is NOT my home - and that's not unpatriotic. That's Christianity. I will seek the best for her, but if she dies, that's not a huge loss in my book. America doesn't have a soul.

Last, I'm not trying to downplay anybody's concerns or scold people for being concerned. But there comes a point where it just doesn't matter. It doesn't do any good to think about moving or think about spending money on food for later when you're hardly paying the bills now. God isn't going to just hang you out to dry. If the US goes back to the stone-age, God is going to be just as much with the Christians who were prepared and waiting for it to happen as He is with the ones who never gave it two thoughts.

So just do what you think is right, and don't worry about the rest. I read a thing the other day that made the argument that the Devil is most pleased when Christians are focused on the Future, instead of the Present.