We Are Bringing Wrath Upon Ourselves

Most would agree that something is deeply wrong with our world. For those viewing these times through a biblical lens, what we are witnessing increasingly resembles the age-old battle between good and evil. But perhaps our greatest mistake is believing that battle exists only outside of us—in governments, institutions, political parties, religions, nations, or people we have decided are the enemy. Scripture repeatedly turns the examination back toward the human heart.

Division has become one of the defining characteristics of our time. We are divided politically, culturally, economically, racially, religiously, and even within our own families. But the warning about division did not originate with modern politics.

Jesus warned us about it first.

In Matthew 12:25, Jesus said, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand.” Mark 3:24–25 records the same principle: “If a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.”

Centuries later, Abraham Lincoln drew directly from Christ’s teaching in his famous 1858 “House Divided” speech, declaring, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” Lincoln was applying a biblical principle to a nation being torn apart over slavery. He understood that a country perpetually divided against itself could not continue indefinitely in that condition.

The words were Christ’s before they were Lincoln’s.

And the principle remains just as relevant today.

Yet division has accomplished something even more dangerous than separating neighbor from neighbor. It has consumed our attention. We have become so fascinated with exposing the darkness around us that many have stopped examining the darkness that may still exist within us.

We say we do not have time to pray, yet somehow we can find five hours to listen to podcasts. We are too tired to open the Bible, yet we can scroll through social media until two in the morning. Night after night, we consume another broadcast promising another revelation, another scandal, another secret, another villain, another prediction, and another reason to be angry. Tomorrow comes, and we do it all over again.

At some point, information stops being education and becomes entertainment.

Bread and circuses have simply gone digital.

Much of what circulates today has circulated for years. People discover information that others encountered ten, eleven, or twelve years ago and immediately begin broadcasting it again as though humanity has never heard it. There is nothing wrong with educating others, but knowledge without wisdom or action accomplishes very little.

You hear something outrageous. You become furious. You share twenty memes about it. You argue with strangers. You watch another podcast. Then you go to bed.

Did you contact your representative? Did you peacefully participate in your community? Did you help someone suffering? Did you teach your children something meaningful? Did you forgive somebody? Did you feed somebody?

Did you pray?

More importantly, did anything you learned today bring you closer to God?

That may be the question we have been avoiding.

Jesus described His followers in John 17 as being “not of the world.” Paul likewise instructed believers in Romans 12:2, “Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

The Christian calling was never to become spiritually intoxicated by every controversy occurring around us. We are supposed to recognize evil without allowing evil to reproduce itself inside our own hearts.

Look carefully at what constant exposure to outrage can produce: anger, hatred, bitterness, contempt, vengeance, arrogance, fear, obsession, and judgment.

Then compare those things with what Scripture calls the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance.

Which list describes us today?

We point toward Washington. We point toward Hollywood. We point toward corporations, politicians, preachers, influencers, journalists, neighbors, conservatives, liberals, Christians, Muslims, atheists—anyone except ourselves.

But Jesus gave us an entirely different instruction. Before obsessing over the speck in someone else’s eye, remove the beam from your own.

Before demanding judgment upon the world, perhaps we should consider what judgment would reveal about us.

What grudges are we carrying? What lies have we told? Whom have we refused to forgive? Whom have we hated? Where have pride, greed, jealousy, vengeance, lust, or selfishness gained territory inside our hearts?

When was the last time we sincerely asked God to reveal something within us that needed to change?

Scripture does not describe the ultimate transformation of humanity as merely changing governments. It describes the transformation of people.

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:52 that “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump” we will be changed.

Christians frequently speak about wanting Christ to return, but rarely do we stop and consider what we want Him to find within us when He does.

Do we really want to stand before Him carrying years of hatred? Bitterness? Vengeance? Political rage? Contempt? Gossip? Judgment?

Jesus commanded something far more difficult: love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who persecute you.

Those were not instructions reserved for peaceful times.

Those were instructions for spiritual warfare.

Perhaps that is precisely why evil works so hard to make us hate one another. If hatred can convince Christians to abandon the commands of Christ while believing they are fighting on His behalf, evil has accomplished something extraordinary:

It has persuaded good people to carry its weapons.

We should expose corruption. We should oppose injustice. We should protect the innocent. We should speak truth. We should peacefully use every lawful avenue available to us.

But none of those responsibilities gives us permission to become consumed by hatred.

You cannot defeat darkness by allowing darkness to occupy your heart.

Perhaps that is how we are bringing wrath upon ourselves.

Not because God delights in punishing humanity, but because humanity repeatedly rejects the very instructions that could lead us away from destruction. We demand justice while refusing mercy. We demand truth while sometimes spreading things we have never verified. We demand accountability while refusing to examine ourselves. We demand repentance from everybody except the person staring back at us in the mirror.

Meanwhile, the noise grows louder.

Another podcast. Another scandal. Another prediction. Another enemy. Another reason to hate.

And somewhere beneath all that noise is a message we can barely hear anymore:

Pray. Repent. Forgive. Love. Serve. Seek God.

Maybe the greatest battlefield was never Washington, D.C.

Maybe it was always the human heart.

And there is another difficult truth Christians must confront: we all have a part to play as the events described in Revelation ultimately unfold. Christians have debated the timing and interpretation of Revelation for centuries, but the central Christian hope remains the same—the return and victory of Christ. If we truly have faith in Him, that promised moment is not something we ultimately fear. It is something Scripture tells believers to be spiritually prepared for.

So why should we still be concerned about what is happening around us?

Because we were tasked to be concerned.

We were told to watch. We were told to pray. We were told to remain faithful. We were told to love one another, preach the Gospel, care for those in need, resist temptation, forgive, repent, and remain spiritually awake. Christ did not tell His followers to discover the prophetic clock and then sit down and watch it tick.

We cannot force anyone to read His Word. We cannot force anyone to listen. We cannot force another human being to believe that events around us may carry biblical significance. We can point people toward Scripture. We can sound the alarm as we understand it. We can encourage people to examine what Scripture teaches. But ultimately every person must decide whether he or she will listen.

And while we are pointing toward the biblical clock, we had better remember to look inward as well.

Every one of us has something inside that needs repair. Every one of us has sinned. Every one of us carries wounds, failures, regrets, temptations, anger, or weaknesses that need to be placed before God. And after learning about some of the horrors, cruelty, corruption, suffering, and wickedness human beings are capable of inflicting upon one another, it is understandable that anger can take root.

But that anger cannot be allowed to become our master.

Learning about evil does not give us permission to become evil in response to it.

If judgment came tomorrow, the number of podcasts we watched would not matter. The memes we shared would not matter. Knowing every conspiracy, scandal, political maneuver, secret document, or rumor circulating across the internet would not cleanse a single stain from our souls.

Instead of spending another five hours asking what is wrong with everybody else, spend five minutes asking God:

Father, what is wrong within me? Show me what I need to surrender. Show me whom I need to forgive. Show me where anger has replaced love, where pride has replaced humility, and where the noise of this world has replaced Your voice. Cleanse my heart before I demand that You cleanse the world.

Because if we truly believe we are witnessing the battle between good and evil, then we should understand something critically important:

The enemy does not necessarily need you to worship evil. He only needs to keep you distracted long enough that you stop seeking God.

We keep asking when judgment is coming.

Perhaps the more important question is:

If it came tonight, what would it find living inside of you?

And if you truly want to put an end to the corruption and the horrible things taking place around us, start using the words and instructions God gave us to confront evil.

Pray. Repent. Forgive. Speak truth. Love your enemies. Resist evil without allowing it to take possession of your own heart.

Stop consuming yourself with endless hours of information that you are literally going to sit around and do nothing about. Knowledge without action eventually becomes nothing more than another distraction.

You do not need another five-hour podcast telling you how dark the world has become. You need five minutes on your knees asking God how He expects you to live in it.

Maybe we have spent enough time asking God when He is going to do something about the world.

Maybe it is time we started doing what He already told us to do.