These are the times that try men’s souls.”
Thomas Paine penned those words in 1776 in a pamphlet he titled “Crisis.”
It was an appropriate title for his day. The young American colonies certainly faced a great crisis, feeling the oppressive weight of the English king and his invading army. Men who spoke out for freedom found themselves in serious danger.
Take Joseph Warren, for example. Gathering his courage, he dared to speak out about the situation his country was in. And for so doing, he was beheaded by British officers at Bunker Hill, who then presented his head to their commanding general.
I am writing these words on December 1, 2008. Never in my fifty-nine years on this earth have I seen so many men so deeply troubled. It is accurate to say once again, “These are the times that try men’s souls.”
Joshua and Caleb, two heroes from the pages of the Bible, will figure prominently in this book. But I’m not going to start with Joshua and Caleb. I’m going to begin with Samuel Adams and John Hancock.
Contrary to popular opinion, Samuel Adams did not run a brewery. And John Hancock did not sell life insurance.
These men were both friends of Joseph Warren, and like Warren, they were not afraid to speak out against tyranny. They knew very well that they could be beheaded just as Warren had been. But that fact did not curb their tongues or their pens. In fact, when the British general Thomas Gage attempted to quell the revolution and offered amnesty to every man in the colonies who would lay down his weapon, two men, and two men only, were excluded from the offer of amnesty and forgiveness. Those two men were Samuel Adams and John Hancock. These two bold leaders would not be forgiven under any circumstances—so great was their opposition to the king and their influence in the colonies.
Samuel Adams was the most popular columnist in all of New England, and John Hancock may have been the wealthiest man in all of Massachusetts. Though differing widely in personality and style, these men had something profound in common that formed the bedrock of their friendship: They were deeply committed to Jesus Christ and His inspired Word. That’s what made them the Joshua and Caleb of their generation. They were absolutely fearless in the face of a giant invading army and the world’s largest navy. But the foundation of their courage was their hope and trust in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He was their Father, their Foundation, and their Hope.
Even as other men wilted under pressure and feared for their very lives, Adams and Hancock stood firm. Don’t imagine it was an easy thing to do; it’s never easy to hold the line when you live in soul-trying times.
Our Times
In the course of my ministry, I have had the privilege of speaking to men all across the country. And it’s very clear to me as I interact with men that once again “these are the times that try men’s souls.”
If there is a verse that speaks to the condition of men in our day and time, I believe it is Psalm 42:5
Why are you in despair [sunk down], O my soul?
And why have you become disturbed within me?
Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him
For the help of His presence [saving acts].
Everywhere across our land, men are discouraged and depressed—and some verging on outright despair. So let’s answer the question of the psalmist. Notice that he is talking to himself instead of listening to himself. When we are panicked and fearful, we are listening to ourselves—listening to the killing worries and anxieties that fuel our negative imaginations like a windblown forest fire. The psalmist, however, attempting to fight off the fear that has become epidemic in his heart and mind, speaks to himself instead of listening to himself.
In the process, he asks himself a significant question:
“Why are you in despair, O my soul?”
If most men today were to answer that question, I believe their answer would center in a fearful giant named “Uncertainty.” This giant, of course, has been around since the beginning of time, sometimes more visible and sometimes less. In recent days, however, it has been stalking our land with a vengeance. Why? Because …
• there is giant uncertainty over the meltdown of the economy; and
• there is giant uncertainty over the breakdown of the nation.
The Meltdown of the Economy
It’s difficult to pick up a newspaper or news magazine without getting hints about the possibility of another Great Depression. For nearly a decade, we had a remarkable run of prosperity and economic growth. Jobs have been plentiful, salaries rising, and people have had the time and leisure to travel and indulge in a delicious assortment of personal luxuries.
But then in a matter of months, everything began to fall apart.
Gigantic financial institutions and banks began to collapse, and people began to panic. The real-estate market across the nation began to nose-dive, and once-staid-and-stable firms began to issue pinks slips like candy. One headline from the September 18, 2008, edition of the Wall Street Journal sums it all up: Worst Crisis Since ’30s, With No End Yet in Sight.
The prosperity and financial growth had all seemed so certain. But we have come to realize that it was an illusion. Of course, we should have known that all along. Note the words of 1 Timothy 6:17 (NASB): “Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.”
Did you catch that? Those who are rich in this present world (and that would be the vast majority of Americans compared to the rest of the world) are not to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches.
Quite frankly, most of us have been living as though the riches were certain—living as though the prosperity wouldn’t end, as though real estate would keep going up forever, as though our jobs would always be secure. The average American felt like he was bulletproof when it came to his prosperity. And this is why so many are now depressed and in despair. Now, many who were close to retirement will never see retirement. They have simply lost too much in the market, and there’s just not enough time to make it all back.
The Breakdown of the Nation
There is a sense in this country that things are spiraling out of control, not just economically but also politically and socially. You can feel the tremors, as the foundations of American law and government are being shaken to the core. This includes a raging current of anti-Christian bias flowing through our courts, universities, and media.
In the recent economic bailout, fundamental principles of democracy and commerce were thrown away in a matter of days. It was all done out of panic and fear. And once the government gets more power, it is not prone to give it back at a later date. What it takes—it keeps.
And that changes everything.
Back in the 1970s, I remember hearing the great Christian thinker Francis Schaeffer talk about the direction that America was headed. Schaeffer said he believed America would eventually wind up as a dictatorship, and he wasn’t sure if it would come from the right or the left. It was Schaeffer’s opinion that some great calamity and crisis would threaten the well-being of the average American. It would be of such a magnitude that people would willingly give up their rights if they could be promised just two things: personal peace and affluence. And if personal peace and affluence would be guaranteed, they would immediately accept an elite dictator who would sweep away their blood-bought freedoms without a second thought. Perhaps we are not too far from that scenario—or perhaps that scenario won’t occur at all. No one on this side of heaven knows for sure.
But there is no question that we are in deep decline. You have heard of the rise and fall of great nations. We know in our hearts that we are not only falling—we are free-falling. And nobody seems to have a parachute.
Steve Farrar
