If God used multiculturalism to accomplish His purpose on the plain of Shinar (Genesis 11), how could it be an evil thing? The answer lies in how, and for what purpose it is used. When God initiated it on the plain of Shinar, someone was watching!
Who saw what was going on?
There was an observer of that first multicultural encounter, who learned some valuable lessons about human nature that would serve him well throughout the rest of history. The adversary was a quick study, and the idea of creating distrust to where he could manipulate entire people groups, was very appealing to him, especially since he hated mankind as he did.
Perhaps he already knew the fundamentals about dividing and conquering an enemy. After all, he had previously served as the guardian angel of God’s throne (Ezekiel 28:14-16), until the violence that he employed in his job began to control him, and made him think that he was above any law–and even above God Himself (Isaiah 14:12-14)! He observed how anyone who followed the Lord was blessed by the Lord, and would grow in their prosperity and strength. The strategy of creating divisiveness, then, could be used to destroy anyone who spread too much hope and faith in the Lord.
This helps explain how the United States has been brought to the place where it seems that no one trusts anyone who appears to be even just a little different from them. It didn’t begin that way, though.
Our Fathers Tried to Get Along
At the outset, the American colonists tried every legal means to gain equal representation in the British parliament to maintain their rights. But Britain was trying to recover its wealth siphoned off by expensive wars, and it saw the colonies as a cash cow to refill its coffers. Representation was denied, taxes were levied, and the colonists realized that they were being treated as second-class citizens.
In the soul-searching that followed, the colonists concluded that their rights did not come from King George, but from the King of Glory, and they united under God (Even though a good number of the men who signed on were not Christians, they acknowledged God’s existence), and they fought for the right to live as free men. They won the American Revolution, and in 1812, they reaffirmed their commitment to this way of life and liberty, and they began to flex their muscle as a force to be reckoned with.
The devil is relentless
Satan reintroduced divisiveness in the 19th century with the clash of ideas about slavery. In a move of the Holy Spirit across the land, preachers—especially in the northern churches—began to decry the inequality of slavery that denied the God given rights, such as liberty and the pursuit of happiness, to a people whose value was rated less than the value of an ox.
This led to the Civil War, which I’m sure Satan thought would destroy the nation “conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal (Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address).” But God used the genius of the man who wrote that speech as His agent to shine a light on the evil intentions of men, and to hold the Union together.
It has been an uphill battle since those days to keep the light on for all the world to see, a light that offers the hope of the freedom found in living under God’s leadership. Our adversary has found ways to recruit his own converts. His recruits are not necessarily “devil worshippers,” but consist of secular humanists, atheists, agnostics and others who would like nothing better than to deny the reality of a Creator-God, and who pervert science and psychology to redefine Truth.
The scary thing is that many of his converts now sit in positions of tenure at numerous universities, colleges and have even filtered down to the high school and grade school levels of our institutions of learning, turning them into propaganda institutions. They seek to rewrite our history, introduce critical race theory–which further creates a spirit of divisiveness–and dumb down our kids and grandkids so that they never learn to think critically, but learn to depend upon others for all their information.
Are we doomed as a nation?
If the body of Christ fails to come together as one under the headship of Christ, the answer to that question will be an unequivocal “yes.” Part of the difficulty of bringing the Church together is due to the fact that the adversary has infiltrated many parts of the body with his own agents, who have twisted the Truth of God’s Word to teach that unrepentant sinners have a part in the kingdom of heaven.
As long as the Word of God is interpreted errantly by those who advocate for unrepentant sinners to be part of the family of God, there will be division within the body. Several mainline denominations are experiencing the pain of two interpretations of Scripture.
There is hope for America, but how much time do we have?
But if the body of Christ is willing to repent, seek God’s face and turn from its own wicked ways and pray, then God will hear from heaven, and come and heal our land. I realize that this idea comes from God’s specific promise to Solomon for the people of Israel in 2 Chronicles 7:14. Lest you accuse me of taking the passage out of context, I would like to affirm that the passage was indeed written for the nation of Israel.
But the universal principle that we can derive from the passage would be true for any people who are seeking to call Yahweh, Lord. He is not willing that any should perish, and He has called the followers of Christ to a life of obedience.
Personal experience has shown me that I am just as prone to wander away from the Lord as the people of Israel were. He has had to call me back numerous times to a life of obedience . . . to a restoration of my personal relationship with Him. And when I return, our fellowship is restored, and the joy of my salvation is renewed. If it works for me, it will work for our nation. But how much time we have before the door of opportunity closes for good is uncertain.
Our adversary seems to be stepping up his game, which tells me that he knows his time is short. Perhaps we need to accede that our time could likewise be short. Perhaps now is the time for all good men (people) to come together in prayer and in unity of spirit.
The way back to God is going to be found in the Bible, the Word of God. But if I could recommend to you another book to give you a sense of hope and renew your sense of purpose, it would be a book by Peter Marshall (son of the famous chaplain of the Senate) and David Manuel, called “The Light and the Glory.”
The thesis of their book was to discover whether or not God had a special plan for the United States. Their conclusion was eye opening. If you can find the book, it will bless you immensely! I had the good fortune of inheriting it from my dad’s library. My copy is a paperback, published in 1977 by the Fleming H. Revell Company. What a gem!
Who really is behind the divisiveness?
Before I address that question, you may be asking a different, but very important question that needs to be answered with it: If God thought the people united on the plain of Shinar were a danger to mankind, how could He possibly think the people of the United States could be any less of a danger? Could He be reintroducing multiculturalism because He thinks we have gotten too big?
Not only that, but as He raised the Babylonians up to judge Judah, did He raise up the US to judge Germany, Italy and Japan? God used the Allies to judge Germany for their murder of 6 million Jews; is it now our turn to be judged? We should understand that someone will have to answer for the murder of 60 million innocent babies in the womb in the United States alone!
The cost of sin is high; 600,000 Americans paid the price to eliminate slavery in the Civil War. For 100 years afterwards thousands of people continued to pay the price because some refused to let go of their attitude of superiority toward other members of the human race. Nevertheless, I believe God raised us up as a nation because our founding fathers acknowledged Him as sovereign. God wanted to show the world once again the blessings that come from following Him!
The founding fathers crafted a Constitution based upon that acknowledgement. They understood that this document would only work for a people who believed in the God of the Bible, a people who accepted His sovereignty, a people who would be willing to submit to His Word.
For any other religious or political mindset, this Constitutional form of government is guaranteed to fail! In order for this government to work, there has to be an element of personal self-control, which is an essential of the Christian lifestyle.
The element of personal self-control results from a person or people who understand that one day we will all give an accounting to the Judge of the universe for the way we have lived our lives. So it would benefit us to know what He expects of us.
Followers of Christ will be judged by their selflessness and/or their selfishness to determine their reward in heaven (1 Corinthians 3). Those who reject a relationship with Christ in this life have only the expectation of hearing the seven saddest words in the Bible: “I never knew you; depart from Me (Matthew 7:23).”
Within that life of self control, there is also great freedom, borne from the knowledge that God has a wonderful plan for our lives, if we live within the boundaries of right and wrong that He has defined for us. It is that self-control that helps us develop our relationship with Jesus.
So, who really is responsible for introducing multiculturalism in America?
Let’s take another look at the judgment of Judah by Babylon. King Nebuchadnezzar relocated a large number of Jews to Babylon after he overwhelmed the city of Jerusalem. He was an incredibly intelligent man who could appreciate the wisdom of other cultures. Consequently, when he moved the captives to Babylon, he ordered that the brightest and the best young men be drafted to go through a re-education program with an emphasis on Babylonian culture. If they could prove their merit, he planned to add them to his already established think tank.
Thus begins the story of Daniel and his three friends, who not only passed the three year course, but their wisdom exceeded that of all Nebuchadnezzar’s own wise men, primarily because they continued to live according to the Law of Moses. Daniel’s influence, in particular, may have led to the King’s acknowledgement of Yahweh as the sovereign God (Daniel 4). I will not be surprised if I bump into Nebuchadnezzar in heaven because of Daniel’s input in his life.
I believe that if the King could have convinced his nation to follow God, Babylon’s presence as the world superpower of its day would have extended to several more generations. But, alas, by the time his grandson, Belshazzar, ascended to the throne, the nation had no more inclination to follow God than Israel had before they went into captivity. Consequently, Babylon was judged by God using the Medo-Persians.
Judgment appears to be coming for the US
In the same way, if our nation continues its trend to walk away from the Lord, it won’t be long before China does to us what Babylon did to Judah. The death toll will be catastrophic. However, the Chinese are not the ones introducing multiculturalism into our society. They are merely taking advantage of the chaos it has created.
The adversary, who observed the consequences of distrust arising from focusing on the differences between the people living on the plain of Shinar, has introduced multiculturalism on a grand scale in our country. Initially, it may have been black vs. white. Incrementally, it has become minority vs. majority, poor vs. rich, urban vs. rural, blue collar vs. white collar, men vs. women, Democrat vs. Republican, liberal vs. conservative, and any other way the adversary can think to pit one American against another.
The sad truth is, there are believers in every category listed above, on both sides of the “versus.” Our enemy would like nothing better than to pit one poorly informed Christian against another poorly informed Christian. But in order to keep us poorly informed, he has to keep us from reading God’s Word. Or if we read it, he needs to keep us from properly understanding it.
We can turn the tide with God’s help
The solution to bring unity back to the country is not going to be a simple one. Old habits of ignoring God’s Word must be overcome. Poor Bible study habits of reading meaning into the Word based upon our contemporary reasoning, rather than extracting the universal principles from it, must be relearned. I’m not sure how many people are willing to do this. Are you willing to let Jesus transform you as necessary?
For the next few days find some time (take as long as you need/are able) to run a diagnostic on your spiritual life: turn off the TV, set your social media aside, grab a notebook or journal and pen, and ask yourself some pointed questions:
Do I know Jesus? Do I really know Him?
How well do I know Him? Am I reading His Word occasionally/regularly/daily in order to grow in my understanding of Him?
Do I recognize His voice when He speaks? [“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me (John 10:27 ESV)”]
Do I indeed listen to Him and follow His counsel/direction, or do I simply consider His words to be a suggestion?
In order to avoid misunderstanding His Word, am I getting together with other believers to study the Bible together? Or at the least, am I acquiring other Bible study resources that help me in my personal Bible study?
What is He teaching me about my life–about my next steps in spiritual growth?
Can my family and friends see a difference in me?
Understanding your answers
If your answers indicate that you have a dynamic, growing relationship with Christ, you are well on the way to being a part of God’s spiritual reawakening. If you find that your answers are less than satisfying, take heart! Ask the Lord what next steps He wants you to take–and believe that He is going to answer you (James 1:5-8)–and you will be on track to also be a part of God’s plan.
If you are clueless as to how to answer these questions, don’t give up! By at least trying to answer them, you indicate to me that you are searching for that relationship with God, and He is just an invitation away. If you have never talked with God before, except to recite the Lord’s Prayer, or one that you learned as a child, this is your opportunity to talk to Him like He is just another person in the room with you.
Close your eyes to shut out any distractions, and just let Him know how grateful you are that He sent His son, Jesus, to pay for your sins. Tell Him that you’re sorry for the life of disobedience that you have been living, and ask Him to come live in you so that He can teach you how to live a life that’s pleasing to Him. Believe that He is in you, and thank Him for taking up residence in your heart.
Once you have had that conversation with the Lord, find two people, preferably believers, whom you can tell what just happened. This is not a requirement for getting into heaven, but it will cement in your mind what you just did.
I guarantee that if you don’t tell anyone, the adversary will be coming to you in a couple of days to convince you that nothing really happened. If you tell someone, they will be your witnesses to counter his attempt to make you doubt the veracity of your transformation.
Now you’re ready to take the next steps to grow in your faith. Find a Bible-preaching church if you are not already in one, and get someone to start mentoring you. Then you will be on the road to be God’s solution for America’s malaise!