| “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34). |
| “In the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:15). |
| Down through the ages, and particularly during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, there have sometimes been righteous nations in the world. God has prospered and exalted them, but then more recently some of those nations have gradually given up God and the Bible. As a result the second part of our first verse has become true; sin makes them look bad to other nations. In some of these countries today, people are not at all concerned with what is right or wrong, but only with what they can “get away with.” God has allowed difficulties and problems to come in, and the affairs of these countries have not gone smoothly. Yet most often man does not admit God’s hand in all this; he only tries all the harder to fix the problem by human means. |
| About fifty or sixty years ago a good friend of mine, an older man now with the Lord, was handing out gospel tracts in the U.S.A. Some teenage boys came along, laughed at him, and refused to take them. He replied wisely, “Boys, I am sorry to see you reject the very thing that has made America great!” This made them think, and they eventually took his gospel tracts. |
| In the world of today, instead of the righteousness that should be evident, we often find ourselves in our second verse — “in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation.” But this is an opportunity for us, for the darker the night is, the brighter a light shines. This world is getting darker, but then you and I as Christians should shine all the more for the Lord. We do not have much longer to shine for Him, for He is coming soon. This world needs you and me to shine for the Lord! |
