The American Obsession

Just a little editorial here today. I am still recovering from Friday's oral surgery. But I wanted to share some thoughts with you about America's obsession with itself.

I am amazed at how self-centered the American media is. Most Americans don't have a clue of what is happening in the world today because the American media is obsessed with politics, sports, Hollywood, personalities, etc.

For instance, what is going on in Russia, China, Europe, and in the Middle East right now is impacting our present and will influence our future more so than most of what the media reports on a daily basis [this is not my opinion...read your bible]. We live in a global world that does not center around the U.S. anymore. The world has changed and in many ways it is moving on without us.

For example, if you could visit world-class cities outside the U.S., you would be amazed at the modern technology that is being used in many of the cities. Many of these cities in various countries are far more advanced than cities in the U.S. Many people in other countries don't spend their time coveting life in America anymore. They take great pride in their own culture with lifestyles they enjoy.

Is there anything wrong with the American media being obsessed with its own American culture? Not entirely, but as Christians we must have a general understanding of what is going on around the world in order to be able to discern the times and the seasons that we live in. The assault on Sept 11th, 2001, by Islamic Terrorists wouldn't have taken us by surprise if we would have just opened our eyes in the 90's and acknowledged the words and deeds of Islamic radicals toward our country. Nevertheless, our media and our government leaders were too caught up with the country's artificial prosperity to take seriously Islamic threats of hate and even bombings at the World Trade Center in the 90's.

My fear is our present self-absorbtion with ourselves will once again cause us to be blindsided in the future. But there is still time to wake up, shake ourselves, and see what is going on around us.

-Pastor Randy