When Wise Men Flee and the Foolish Won't Budge (Why Leaving America Makes Sense)
"it is a diabolical thing, to throw ourselves into danger without cause and for no purpose, and to try whether God will save us . . . It would have been a foolish and senseless thing to remain there"
What does a wise person do when he sees a train coming?
He rapidly gets out of the way.
A wise man doesn’t play chicken with the train, saying, “I’m betting he’s gonna swerve first…” (Start the following clip at 2:41)
Unfortunately, not everyone is quite so savvy. Some people think you should always stand your ground, and they accuse people of being cowardly for swerving away from an oncoming train.
The Wisdom of Fleeing
In the second chapter of Exodus, the prophet Moses was still a young man. The Pharaoh (the govt) was after him, and wanted to get rid of him, so Moses fled from Egypt and went to live in the land of Midian.
Since Moses was able to forsee a genuine danger, was it wise for him to leave Egypt? Or would it have been better for him to stay in Egypt, stand firm, and trust God to protect him?
St. John Chrysostom answers this question in his commentary on the book of Hebrews:
So that even flight was [an act of] faith. Why then did he not remain (you say)? That he might not cast himself into a foreseen danger. For this finally would have been tempting [God]: to leap into the midst of dangers, and say, Let us see whether God will save me.' And this the devil said to Christ, "Cast Thyself down." (Matthew 4:6.) Seest thou that it is a diabolical thing, to throw ourselves into danger without cause and for no purpose, and to try whether God will save us? For he [Moses] could no longer be their champion when they who were receiving benefits were so ungrateful. It would therefore have been a foolish and senseless thing to remain there.
According to the Saints, there are situations where the danger can be forseen ahead of time, and it is our duty to get out of the way. We don’t stand still on the train tracks, waiting for the train to come, tempting God, presuming that He will save us at the last minute.
Even as America and Western Europe persist in outdoing Sodom and Gomorrah, there are some who imagine that there is something dishonorable about escaping danger. “If you were a true man of faith,” they say, “you would stay and fight.” Perhaps they think that Lot and his daughters should have stuck around Sodom just a little longer, in order to positively influence the local culture.
Of course, Lot’s problem was not a lack of patience — the problem was that he had too much of it. He was complacent. He kept his family in Sodom far longer than he should have, and he barely escaped in time.
“But Things Aren’t That Bad In My Town!”
There are some well-meaning Christians who think they live in a protective bubble. Some of them say, “Yes, I know the rainbow mafia is causing all sorts of trouble in California and New York, but that doesn’t affect me and my family. We are in Kansas. We live in one of the conservative ‘red states’!” Tragically, they don’t realize that the world is rapidly changing all around them, even in their own backyard.
It’s time for a serious wake-up call. There are no more “red states”:
“But Sodom & Gomorrah are Old News. That Happened a Long Time Ago!”
Many Christians know that God made an example of Sodom back in Old Testament times. But perhaps they think He has “lightened up” since then.
In fact, there appear to be quite a few places which God wiped off the map, because they were committing the sins of Sodom. For a look at some of the disturbing details, consider these two articles:
Three Cultures God Destroyed Because of Homosexual Activity — The demise of Sodom, Canaan, & Gibeah
Three More Cities God Destroyed for Sinning Like Sodom — The utter destruction of Pompeii, Port Royal, & St. Pierre
“But Homosexuality Is No Worse Than Any Other Sin!”
Even though good Christians understand that homosexuality is a sin, many of them don't realize just how serious it is. They know it is wrong, and they wouldn't want to do it themselves, but they put it in a similar category as cheating on your taxes, reading dirty novels, or getting drunk at home. They say things like, "It's none of my business", "That's his personal choice", or "Some of my friends are like that, and they are perfectly nice people . . ." They may figure the proper response is just to keep quiet, ignore it, and "try not to judge".
But this is not how they treat rape. This is not how they treat murder. If they thought their next-door neighbor had kidnapped a child and was guilty of both rape and murder, they would not say, "It's none of my business" or "That's his personal choice." They would be horrified that such a heinous crime had been committed, and they would want to see the criminal brought to justice.
Some sins are worse than others. Every sin may be equally forgivable, but not every sin is equally destructive. Stealing a dollar from your employer is bad, but kidnapping a child is worse. Vandalizing a car is bad, but killing a family of five is worse. And according to St. John Chrysostom, abortionists and homosexuals belong in a class unto themselves, even worse than murder.
For specific details, consider this article:
“But We’re Going to Fight Them Politically, and Clean Up America!”
Really? And what have you been doing for the past 30 years? How well has your strategy been working so far?
“But Someone Has to Run the Churches and Hospitals. Not Everyone Can Leave!”
That’s true. We need strong, brave, fearless men on the front lines, ready to face adversity, hardship, and martyrdom.
What we don’t need on the front lines are women and children. We shouldn’t be putting wives, kids, and young families in harm’s way. The Orthodox Church has a successful history of planting churches in pagan lands under harsh conditions, converting the locals to the Gospel. And there’s a reason that job has often been delegated to monks.
If you are single, or if your children are grown, and the only hyde you’re risking is your own, then go for it! May God be with you!
But if you have little ones at home, and you want to raise them in a safe place, you may quickly come to realize that the number of “safe” places in America are rapidly headed in the direction of zero.
“Homos are Gross, but Harmless. They Pose No Danger to My Family.”
Well, that’s because up until now, you have mostly managed to stay out of their way. And they aren’t focused on you yet. They are still putting the final touches on their hostile takeover of all three branches of the US Federal Government. Now that Sauron has checked that off his list, he can turn his attention towards Christian families, just like yours.
They have already achieved legal protection and overwhelming popular support nationwide. What’s next on their agenda? The next steps are to attack anyone who doesn’t applaud their lifestyle, and to defile the innocent who remain. This is the point at which the descent to Sodom becomes complete.
It happened in Sodom:
Before bedtime, men both young and old and from every part of Sodom surrounded Lot’s house. They called to Lot, “Where are the two men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so we can have sexual relations with them.” (Genesis 19:4-15)
It happened in Gibeah:
While they were enjoying themselves, some wicked men of the city surrounded the house and beat on the door. They shouted to the old man who owned the house, “Bring out the man who came to your house. We want to have sexual relations with him.” (Judges 19:22)
And it may not be much longer before it happens in cities and towns all over America and Western Europe. You’ll be enjoying a quiet night at home, and then suddenly your house will be surrounded by a mob of sodomite rapists, demanding a conjugal visit with your children and guests. It will be too late to run. Too late to flee. There won’t be anywhere for you to go.
When that happens, and your house is surrounded by an angry mob, you’ll wish it was only a BLM demonstration or a pride parade. But it will be something much, much worse. And it will be too late to do anything about it.
Before it gets to that point, they’ll do other things too, like adding more gay sex to the TV shows and sex-ed school curriculum, making it illegal to speak out against sodomites, and taking children away from parents who disagree. But even that won’t be enough for them. They won’t stop there. They never do.