CHARLO, New Brunswick, February 20, 2024 – There’s a saying that evil thrives when good men do nothing, implying that “good men” need to do something to drive the evil away. But what should they do? Take up arms? Enact more laws? Organize a protest? Strengthen borders? Certainly, we can do all those things or demand they be done, but none of them will entirely stop the evil that is the due reward for back-slidden former Christian nations.

Decades ago, when we had a critical number of genuine believers who lived according to God’s Word, life was undeniably better. Our high-trust nations functioned well because there was a high level of trust. This came courtesy of believers who, through their witness, brought God’s blessings on the cities and towns where they lived. Christian nations were the best in the world not because of their wealth or military strength, but because of their believers and the blessings that flowed through them from God. But as each believer moved on to his or her eternal reward, fewer and fewer rose to take their place, and the result has been a massive erosion in trust and a drastic reduction in wealth, military strength, and overall quality of life.

While we can’t stop the inevitable destruction of former Christian nations – the destruction will come just as assuredly as it came to all other nations that turned from God – we can slow the downward spiral by supercharging our witness. This, in turn, will supercharge the blessings poured out on us and on those around us. We can become those fabled “good men” who are stopping evil from thriving. That ability is in our hands. More importantly, we not only have the ability but the responsibility to do this, as we’ve been called to live not for ourselves but for others, to minister rather than to be ministered to.

So what does supercharging our witness look like in the real world today? It looks the same as it’s always looked, which means it doesn’t involve any weapons or protesting or lobbying of governments for change. We can supercharge our witness simply by doing what Jesus taught us to do, which is to love our neighbours and enemies alike and pray for those who hate us. We do this by being kind to the unkind, polite to the rude, patient with the impatient; we do this by holding the door open with a smile, letting someone behind us go ahead of us in line, or by leaving a bigger tip than what was earned. We can take the few extra seconds to put our shopping cart back where it belongs and put an abandoned cart back, too (without grumbling). We can send a thank-you card in the mail – not an email that will disappear with a click, but a physical card that can be held in the hand and mulled over. We are tangible and tactile beings, not virtual ones, and we crave the tangible and tactile. Our witness likewise needs to be tangible and tactile.

As Paul reminded us, if there’s any good in anyone, think on that. Highlight that. Roll with that. We’re not here to judge but to show the way. Remember how kind Jesus was even to Judas. From the start, Jesus knew who Judas was and what his role was in the plan of salvation, but Jesus treated him no differently than his other disciples.

And most importantly, start nothing without God’s prompting and guidance, doing everything with thanks in the name of Jesus. 

Supercharging your witness doesn’t require grand gestures, just small, targeted, personal ones that are premised on serving others rather than serving yourself. God is always looking for people who are willing to make those humble gestures, as a kind word at the right moment can turn a life around.

Preaching the Word doesn’t necessarily involve preaching the Word. Incognito, God’s holy angels interact with us much more frequently than we realize and God himself hides behind “coincidence”, “luck”, “fate”, and “serendipity”. We don’t have to thump a Bible to give our witness; we just have to treat others as we would want to be treated. Do that, and God will pour out his blessings over you and over all those around you. This is how you put the brakes on evil. This is how you slow the coming destruction.

A nation isn’t blessed because of its wealth or its military; a nation is blessed because of its believers.