There is a great shuffle going on in the world today. And it is happening at a rapid pace.
People are being drawn to move from city to country, one location to another. The distances may be small or they may be great. It doesn’t seem to matter.
The beginning…
I noticed it beginning about 20 years ago or so. Cities were beginning to fill up with people, while the country was being deserted.
Individuals were lured by more lucrative paying jobs and more affordable, upscale lifestyles.
Others began to buck that trend and move into the country. They learned more simple ways of life, raising livestock and gardens. Those individuals didn’t mind the longer drive to stores or quieter, less convenient lifestyle.
Today…
Since the lockdowns, there seems to be an accelerated shift in this movement.
Unlike the previous 20 years, the shift has taken on a new twist. And it is being felt in the country far more than the city.
The populace that has decided to take up residence in the country are city dwellers unfamiliar with country life. They love the quiet peacefulness of the rural setting, but do not like the distance they have to drive to the shops they are familiar with.
They payoff that once was acceptable is not.
So the big businesses, seeing an uptick in population within the various countrysides, build stores to accommodate their blossoming clientele.
The country people are surrounded by those who expect to rule the county because they own 3 acres of land. The ones who have lived their all their lives on their 100 plus acres of land just shake their heads in wonder at their at the egotism.
What is happening…
This phenomena is universal. And it is growing rapidly around the world.
Here is the west, most are moving by choice. Frustrated with the lack of sense by the politicians from some states, more rational voices are leaving those states in droves.
The states that have held certain values are seeing an influx of those who do not align with their core principles. And it is affecting their very lifestyle and political landscape.
Those who have moved in expect the world to revolve around them and their ideologies.
The few areas that have escaped the shift are still holding their breath, hoping upon hope that there will not be an infiltration of people who refuse to conform to the established norms of the area.
What does this mean…
God is working in a very powerful way right now. To those who can see this, His hand is shuffling the deck of humanity.
Each individual plays a specific role in human society. And God is placing, very deliberately, each person in their rightful place.
Why?
The shift that is taking place is more than just a physical one. It is deeply spiritual.
And the physical movement is reflective of that spiritual maneuver.
There is a larger shift at hand. And that is in the spiritual landscape of western civilization.
We have strayed far from our original roots. Our nation no longer has its moral bearings it once had. Anything goes, whether it is gender reassignments or killing of babies from womb to 9-12 months old after birth.
Older or sickly people are murdered or convinced to be murdered by those who have no respect for the dignity of life. Or the human person.
Others who need to have interaction on terms apart from the caretakers personal desire have become tiresome. Charity* and the opportunity to engage in acts of charity are no longer tolerated or considered necessary.
When we aren’t in conformity to the will of others, we become an inconvenience to someone else.
Judgement…
We are told not to “judge” anyone. And to the mind of modern man, that means that we shouldn’t tell someone else if they are doing something wrong. Even if what they are doing is against reason or natural law.
But that only refers to one particular type of judgement.
What is proper to judge…
Jesus told us that we can judge the interior disposition of a man based on his outward actions.
You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles. So, every sound tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears evil fruit. A sound tree cannot bear evil fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.Thus you will know them by their fruits.”
Matthew 7:16-20, Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition
If an individual has the propensity to steal from their clients or family members, you are able to make prudent decisions on whether or not to trust them. Someone who lies and thinks that is okay most likely cannot be trusted when they disseminate information to you. An individual who practices pedophilia, as an extreme example, needs to be evaluated (judged) on whether or not they should be around children.
That is what the first type of judgement is all about.
What is not allowed to be judged…
Judgement of someone’s eternal soul is not permitted. It involves a judgement of their ultimate end based on our flawed and limited viewpoint. Are they bound for Heaven or Hell? We don’t know.
No man has the right to judge someone’s soul. We cannot see our own sins. Therefore we have no right to judge the state of someone else’s soul before God.
That type of judgement is reserved for God alone.
Judge not, that you be not judged.For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get.Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye?You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”
Matthew 7:1-5, Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
What we can do…
We can judge their outward sinfulness, but we cannot see the inner working of their heart. Perhaps they are walking toward a more perfect life, but haven’t quite reached that level yet. What we can do is lend them a helping hand so that they may reach a more grace-filled state of perfection.
By pointing out what they are doing that is wrong is not, in itself, wrong. It is necessary and charitable*.
For example, if someone were to head toward the idea that they can jump between rooftops of high rise buildings, it would be prudent and acceptable to warn them of the danger they are posing to both to themselves and the spectators below.
Another might be if someone decides that they do not like being told they cannot kill a baby. They believe it isn’t a human being and is just a part of the body of the mother. Or perhaps because it is inconvenient. It is incumbent upon one who loves all life to try to show them the error of their ways.
But it isn’t okay to tell them that if they went ahead and did any of this anyway, they would go to Hell.
The first judgement regards their safety. The second touches on their eternal salvation.
Biblical perspective…
…the invisible existence of God and his everlasting power have been clearly seen by the mind’s understanding of created things. And so these people have no excuse: they knew God and yet they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but their arguments became futile and their uncomprehending minds were darkened. While they claimed to be wise, in fact they were growing so stupid that they exchanged the glory of the immortal God or an imitation, for the image of a mortal human being, or of birds, or animals, or crawling things. That is whyGod abandoned them in their inmost cravings to filthy practices of dishonoring their own bodies – because they exchanged God’s truth for a lie and have worshipped and served the creature instead of the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
“That is why God abandoned them to degrading passions: why their women have exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural practices; and the men, in a similar fashion, too, giving up normal relations with women, are consumed with passion for each other, men doing shameful things with men and receiving in themselves due reward for their perversion. In other words, since they would not consent to acknowledge God, God abandoned them to their unacceptable thoughts and indecent behavior. And so now they are steeped in all sorts of injustice, rottenness, greed and malice; full of envy, murder, wrangling, treachery and spite, libelers, slanderers, enemies of God, rude, arrogant and boastful, enterprising in evil, rebellious to parents, without brains, honor, love or pity. They are well aware of God’s ordinance: that those who behave like this deserve to die — yet they not only do it, but even applaud others who do the same.”
Romans 1:19-32, Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
The shift is palpable…
The shifting of the people is not happening simply because certain people want to live somewhere else. It is happening universally by some inner calling. They no longer want to live under governing bodies who do not hear the voices of their citizens. And they are picking up their entire lives, moving out of those states into ones that appear to be more conducive to listening the their concerns.
There was a 20% jump in moves in 2021 over 2020.
The funny thing is that the desire for smaller cities is now resulting in those smaller cities are becoming larger because of the influx.
Nevertheless, there is something more that is coming. A gathering of people into centralized locations. It isn’t being done by government mandates. It is an inner calling.
And there is another movement. One in which people are being moved to the opposite locations. Far away from dense populations.
Cultural norms devolving…
We may not know what the end result will be, but there have been many praying for the repentance of our blatant arrogance.
Our society has thrown out God Who was once recognized as the principal basis for all our laws and how we interact. Morals, ethics, basic standards of human interactions were once based on agreed up Christian principles.
Alexis De Tocqueville once said of this great nation, “There is no country in the world where the Christian religion retains a greater influence over the souls of men than America.”
But, with the growing indifference of the people, and the churches now teaching moral relativism, it is no wonder we have a population that no longer understands objective morality. As long as we continue to get rid of the universal standards of good and evil, we are doomed to the results.
And, right now, the results are self-evident.
Purposeful mediocrity…
There is no desire to strive for excellence when all are lumped together at the same level. Placement of people in higher governing roles are chosen, not by their character, virtues, or principals – not even for their experience and knowledge – but by their external appearances. The ones who are qualified no longer have the desire to even try, and thus lose their edge. The ones who are not qualified consider themselves equal, even though they have less abilities, to those who are skilled in any particular field.
But would you fly a commercial airline who hired people based on the color of their skin alone, or on the experience of the pilots? Does it matter what their external appearance or even beliefs are if they cannot fly the plane?
In America, we are on a plane being flown by those who have no clue what the instrument panels say. They have no idea what the warning signs mean, nor how to avoid detrimental consequences.
And it is becoming so evident that even the mainstream media is writing about the decline. Gallup is showing poll numbers reflecting that fact.
In the end…
We are at a juncture in out history. The signs are very visible to anyone who see the trend.
The great shuffle isn’t happening for no reason. There is a shift in our nation’s perception of right and wrong. And the end result will go one of two ways.
Either we will face the crisis head on and finally take a stand against it, or we will allow the wave of change to sweep over this nation. The result will be one of massive change either way.
The shift in population is only an external sign of what is going on in our spiritual existence. It isn’t easy to watch. But it will be easier to make a moral judgement call on the direction this nation will go when the final movement of people stops.
*1a : generosity and helpfulness especially toward the needy or suffering also : aid given to those in need received charity from the neighbors. b : an institution engaged in relief of the poor raised funds for several charities. c : public provision for the relief of the needy too proud to accept charity. Online Merriam-Webster dictionary, April 12, 2022