From time to time I have a column run in the Henderson Dispatch newspaper.  Here is a recent one:

Paul writes in Romans that “those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh” and “to set the mind on the flesh is death.” These are humbling, thought-provoking, and perhaps even frightening words of truth. Dr. Gardner C. Taylor, one of America’s greatest preachers, tapped into this line of thought once saying, “Surely the spiritual malaise of our time is at the root of our fright and anxiety. We have great mental capital, but we are spiritually bankrupt…This lostness is a spiritual matter.”

It’s true. We are facing spiritual death in America. The American mind is increasingly turned to things of the flesh rather than to the things of God. We accept a country in which recently one hedge fund manager was paid $4.9 billion in a single year, more than the federal government spends on hunger relief in all of New York City. The CEO of WalMart makes more in one hour than most of his employees make in an entire year. We spend over $6 billion a month in Afghanistan. We are fixated on the trial of Casey Anthony and mourn the loss of that child, yet we tolerate a society in which over 15 million children risk death everyday because they live in desperate poverty.

We are headed for complete and utter destruction unless we make a change. Christians must be the voice of justice and the energy for change. If we Christians don’t lead the nation back to sanity, no one else is going to do it. If setting the mind on the flesh results in destruction, Paul also writes in Romans that “those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit” and “to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” When the Spirit fills us we begin to change and do the things that please God. The Spirit might demand that we redirect one month of spending in Afghanistan so we could feed every hungry person in America for a year. The Spirit might show us if we redirect one month of military spending we could cut the prescription drug bill for every elderly person in America by 50 percent for a year. The Spirit might demand that we take action to shrink income inequality in America, not so there are no rich people, but so that everyone might have a decent life filled with opportunity and hope.

The choice is ours to make. What will posses our souls in America—the flesh of the world or the Spirit of God? Pray about it and let God change the world through the Spirit working in and through you.