There are voices warning these young people against the errors they're in the process of making, trying to tell them that the ideas they've fallen in love with have been tried repeatedly throughout history and they've always resulted in disaster. But they're not listening, because they're convinced that they will succeed where their predecessors have failed.
All of this is very sad for me to see, but on the other hand, I almost don't think any of it matters much anymore, because the other things which are dominating the headlines these last few weeks are kind of making all the political, economic and cultural developments in America more and more irrelevant.
I'm talking about the wildfires which have burned enormous areas in California, Oregon and Washington, Nevada, Minnesota, Utah, Colorado, British Columbia and Ontario up in Canada, and many other places. These fires have scorched hundreds of thousands of acres of woodlands and destroyed entire rural towns while also damaging larger urban centers like Spokane, Washington and sending massive clouds of smoke that people thousands of miles away are choking on.
I'm also talking about the storms and floods which have battered Indiana, Ohio, Florida, North Carolina, and the northeast.
I'm talking about the hundreds of thousands of people who have lost electrical power for days at a time, the legions of people who have lost their homes and their vehicles, the children whose schools have burned down and the adults who have lost their jobs because the building where they used to work has been destroyed. I'm talking about entire communities which have been utterly shattered by the natural disasters that just seem to be coming one after the other this year (and last year, and the year before, etc.)
But it's not just happening in America.
Most of Europe is experiencing droughts this summer, with the Rheine, the Elbe, the Po, the Seine, the Danube, and many other major rivers running low, while smaller rivers, creeks, streams and ponds have completely dried up. 70% of the UK is in drought and farmers all over Europe are warning of abysmal harvests. There are even whispers about the possibility of food shortages and the need for governments to enact systems for rationing.
Quick sidenote, if you're one of those people who don't like the idea of government-controlled grocery stores like the ones Zorhan Mamdani is trying to set up in New York City, be advised, that sort of thing might become VERY widespread in the not-so-distant future whether anyone wants it or not. It won't happen because of someone's political ideology, it will simply be a necessity for the government to take control of the means of production and distribution of food, just like Joseph did when he was Prime Minister in Egypt back in Genesis Chapter 41, and for the same reason.
The last time this happened in Europe, the United States and Canada was during WWII, and my advice to anyone who is alarmed at the prospect of food shortages is to do what people did during WWII, and that is to find whatever little patch of ground you can and grow vegetables in it.
In WWII they were called "Victory Gardens" and they saved countless lives.
Youtube has many videos which will tell you how to get started and your local hardware store has the tools and seeds you'll need. It's work and it's a hassle, but it might just save your life or the lives of people you care about before the end of this decade.
Speaking of WWII, the largest civilian evacuations in European history since that terrible war happened this summer in France and Spain because of the monstrous wildfires burning there. Large wildfires have also hit Italy, Germany, Serbia, Albania, Greece and Cyprus this summer, and these crises are ongoing. In fact, Athens is being threatened by a large wildfire even as I sit here writing this blog.
In the Far East, countries like Japan and South Korea have experienced days at a time when the temperatures ranged above 120 degrees Fahrenheit in the daytime while nighttime temperatures barely dipped down into the mid 80s Fahrenheit. Massive wildfires are also burning on several islands of the Indonesian and Malaysian archipelagos, many of them in areas that are too remote for firefighters to even reach, so they'll likely keep burning until they either run out of fuel or it rains in those areas. The smoke from these fires is reducing air quality in cities all over the South Pacific region.
The number of excess deaths from heat related injuries is estimated to be around 25,000 in Europe and it can be assumed that in other regions of the world suffering from extreme heat there are also tens of thousands of humans and an incalculable number of animals, fish, birds and insects that are also perishing.
But as bad as all these heat-related weather events have been, it's going to get worse.
A "Super El Nino'" is brewing in the western Pacific, and meteorological scientists are warning that it could be the most severe such event in 150 years. It will bring even hotter, longer, heat waves resulting in more droughts, fires, floods, and every other kind of natural disaster to every corner of the world then what we've already seen this summer. It is projected to last well into January, and that will cause further disruptions to the agricultural cycle which will reverberate far into 2027.
Brothers and sisters, please hear me.
I believe that the heat and extreme weather events we're seeing all over the world are a reflection of the spiritual climate.
Jeremiah 12:4 says; How long will the land mourn, And the herbs of every field wither? The beasts and birds are consumed, for the wickedness of those who dwell there, because they said, “He will not see our final end.”
Also relevant is Romans 8:19-22, which says For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.
Brothers and sisters I urge you not to waste too much time and energy in the months ahead being upset about what's going on in the electoral politics of the United States, or Israel, or any other country. I urge you not to waste too much time or energy arguing with people on the internet, or over the dinner table, or in the streets, or the water cooler at work, or anywhere else.
Vote if you must. Participate in political campaigns if you must. Write letters and make phone calls to your elected officials if you must.
If the elections don't go the way you were hoping, take the time to mourn, and take the time to mourn the larger implications. But don't take too long to mourn.
Above all, you need to get your heads around this.
It is too late to change things much, one way or the other.
No matter who controls the US Congress after these elections, they will have few options to make things much better or much worse. The same is true no matter who wins the upcoming elections here in Israel, or whatever elections are coming up anywhere else.
No matter how few people in the US, or Europe, or anywhere else, support Israel, there is One who has said He will never forsake us, and His support means more then the support, or opposition, of anyone else, whether they're in the US Congress, or the EU Parliament, or wherever else they might be.
As for the heat and the storms and the fires and all the rest, the last several years have all broken the previous year's records for temperatures in hundreds of cities all over the world. At this point, it is no longer reasonable or rational to be a "skeptic" about what's happening right in front of our faces. At this point, I don't think it matters anymore WHY it's happening, so arguments about that are also pointless.
The bottom line is that it is too late to change the trajectory that we're on, and the problems we've had because of extreme heat and the weather events it causes over the last few years are just going to get more and more severe going forward. That means everything we do is going to get harder, including some of the most basic functions of civilization like producing enough food for everyone who needs to eat and distributing it.
That means the range of options available to politicians, whatever their political party might be, whatever their ideology might be, whatever their constituency might be, etc. is getting very, very narrow, and that means, who gets elected and who doesn't matters less and less.
Brothers and sisters, I've said this before and I'll say it once more in this blog.
If you're spending more time on political campaigns than you're spending in prayer, that's a mistake.
If you're skipping church to go to a political rally, that's a mistake.
If you're letting political disagreements alienate you from people who you can otherwise be sharing the Gospel with, that's a mistake.
I think you get the point.
That's what I've got for you this week brothers and sisters. I hope it blessed someone.
