“You, LORD, will guard us; you will protect us from this generation forever. The wicked prowl all around, and what is worthless is exalted by the human race.” 12:7-8
We just returned from America back to Africa, and it has allowed me some time to reflect on our 6-month furlough there. What a joy to catch up with family and friends and to see our grandson. It was also a great time to enjoy some American food and culture. However, I am reminded of the frog in the kettle story, where someone wanted to cook a frog but every time they threw him into the hot water he just jumped right out. Finally, they put him in a pot of cool water and just slowly turned up the heat. In the end, the frog was cooked by boiling water that he had no idea had gotten so hot! This is what I think of when I think of my brief visits to the country of my birth. I see a nation that doesn’t realize just how hot the water has gotten, but in my mind, they are “exalting what is worthless.”
It is like watching your grandchildren grow. When you only see them occasionally it seems like they change drastically and are doing new things you never knew they could do. But when you are a parent, and you live with your kids day in and day out, you don’t notice those changes as much. Every few years we head back to America from Africa and it is often shocking to our system. Please don’t misunderstand, there are incredible problems here too and the wicked are “prowling all around” here as well, just like David said in the psalm. But, when we go back to the nation of our birth after a long time we are often overwhelmed by the changes and especially by the degradation that is daily seeping into our society.
I am not sure what the answer is, other than the answer that David gives us; we need the Lord to protect us, to guard our minds in a day and time when there are assaults from every side. It is somewhat encouraging that these problems are not new and even David saw a people who had forgotten (or never cared about) God. I do know that what you put into your mind determines what comes out in your life. Spend more time in His word than in unhealthy pursuits and He will counter the lies with His truth.
