The Lost World

"Everyone knows something's gone wrong in the universe. This is not a debatable statement. The most hardened, atheistic, agnostic, maybe hyper-spiritual but not dialed-in person will freely admit something's broken with us. Alright? The whole reason Oprah Winfrey has a channel is because she's able to go, 'Hey, something's wrong. Let me tell you how to fix it.'"
-Matt Chandler


To me, the above statement seems obvious, but there are actually many people who simply believe that humanity isn't really that bad.  Maybe you're one of them.  If that's the case, then please don't take offense at what I'm about to say, because it isn't done maliciously; it's meant as a loving reproach, okay?

You're wrong.

Let me lay out a couple of numbers for you.  These come from the Bureau of Justice, the National Drug Rehabilitation Center, The Census Bureau, Alcoholics Anonymous, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.


-At the end of 2011, there were almost 7 million people incarcerated for various crimes.
Mind you, these are only the people who have been caught and convicted.

-From 2010-2011, there were more than 7.1 million violent crimes (including armed and unarmed violence, as well as sexual assault). 
That would, in fact, be more violent crimes than we have criminals in jail.

-In 2009, an estimated 21.8 million people were using some form of illegal (or illegally obtained) drug, with more than 250,000 using heroin, and more than 241,000 using either form of cocaine.
While cocaine use has gone down, heroin use has gone up. 

-In 2011, states had, on average, more than 400,000 moving-violation-related offenses.
These include running red lights, speeding, following too closely, etc.  That is, give or take, 2,000,000 moving violations in 2011. 

-In 2011, more than 32,000 people died in alcohol-related car accidents.
That's just the number of people who died, not the total number of people who drove impaired.

-To date, there are more than 2,000,000 members in Alcoholics Anonymous
Those are just the ones who have admitted to having a problem.

-In 2009, the national divorce rate was almost 52%.
This one is a little tricky, because not all divorces are bad; sometimes a divorce is necessary just to save a life. However, whether the divorce itself is good or bad, it occurs because one or both parties in the marriage are broken.

Now, keep in mind that all of these numbers are for the U.S. alone, and don't include statistics from anywhere else. 

Seven million people incarcerated, but three times as many addicted to drugs. 

Seven million people incarcerated, but we could more than double that number if we added everyone who committed a violent crime during 2010 alone. 

More than half of marriages fail, and there appears to be a severe drinking problem in our society.

And no one seems to think that the driving rules apply to them.

Something is radically wrong in our society.  Especially when we add in the small-scale problems that people cause.  The jerk at work who threw you under the bus so he could get the promotion you deserved?  The neighbor that constantly steals your Sunday paper? 

And we haven't even mentioned telemarketers yet (Ouch!  Sorry!). 

People are broken.  We can paint a rose-colored picture about the indomitable spirit of humanity.  We can talk about the evolutionary theory that states we are constantly improving.  We can gloss over the fact that the two most horrific wars in human history happened in the last 100 years. 

But it's a lie.  We aren't getting better.  Some even believe we're getting worse.

Think about it this way:  there are two (basic) views to the history of mankind.  Some believe we've only been on the earth for about six thousand year, while others believe we have been on the earth for roughly 200,000 years (in our modern anatomical form, but it's longer if you count the evolution from single-celled organisms up to today).  Six thousand years is a long time to work on getting it right.  Two-hundred thousand is even longer. 

So what's the solution?  Well, a car can't fix itself; it needs someone who can think around its problems and reach in there and make necessary repairs. 

Computers can't fix themselves, but need someone to go in and fix the problem.  Even when a computer runs a self-diagnostic test, it can only go as far as its programming will allow.

Homes don't repair themselves, but need carpenters, plumbers, and electricians to go in and provide the solutions.  

Every problem requires someone who is outside - and greater than - the system.  Every problem requires someone who knows the system better than it knows itself, and who knows and can see the big picture.

Including us.

But what do we do?  We trust in a government to fix our problems - a government made up of broken people like ourselves.  We go to better schools, get more degrees - from professors and instructors who are broken people like ourselves.  These are not what we need, because they're inside this broken system, too.  We need someone outside of us, someone greater than us, someone smarter than us, and someone who can see the bigger picture.

We need Jesus.

This isn't, as it may seem, a matter of religion or faith; it's just common sense.  We trust the repair of every other system in life to someone outside of it.  But somehow we - we who are broken - think that we can find the answers within ourselves.  The author Frank Peretti once put it this way:  "If you're searching for answers, don't search within yourself; you're the one who's confused!"  We don't pull over on the side of the road and ask ourselves for directions when we're lost. 

So let's stop asking ourselves for directions.  Let's stop this game of thinking we can fix our own hang-ups, that we can solve our own issues, and that we can somehow better ourselves enough to transcend societal problems.  Let's turn to the Mechanic who knows us better than we know ourselves.