Sliding Sideways
October 13, 2025
Writing in several essays in the past, I have contended that the world is sliding sideways. This essay will attempt to clarify what I mean, to persuade readers to agree with that observation, and to convince people to do something about it, starting with you as well as me. What’s the saying, “Change starts with me.”
As a Born Again Bible Believing Christian, you might assume and some will presume, that I am a looney tune fanatic bent on chalking up goodie points to score on Heaven’s Entrance Exam…
Well good, actually. Faith in God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ begins with doubt, questioning and challenges to the status quo.
You might not have realized that before.
However, God did not give us a head just to separate our ears, and that is a fact and a good place to start.
Then, I cannot think of one dynamic that is advancing Human Civilization and toward existentially improving lives. Quite the opposite, Man’s advances seem to be driving the cascading disaster.
Way back in 1965 a song warning of the disaster coming down the pike and I wonder why nobody is warning us today…Barry McGuire — Eve Of Destruction [1965] — Billboard Hot 100 Number 1
Well, not even the greediest multibillionaires can escape their unconquerable destiny — inevitable death…
Everyone knows “You can’t take it with you.”
The Apostle James puts it this way: Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you. — James 5:1–6, NIV.
Doesn’t everyone know of the ever increasing “Wealth Gap” between individuals as well as all the nations in the world?
That’s a major sliding of Civilization and the Human Race, don’t ya think?
There’s more evidence…
Historically it seems apparent to me, every Era has had times of sliding sideways into plagues, into oppressive political regimes, into famines, into wars, into enlightenment sliding into unfathomable ignorance, superstition, and warped and distorted religious crusades.
It seems to me that all these slides are based on false claims of transcendent purpose, a higher vision of what is best… but best for what or for whom?
If the acts are not best for everyone and everything, in my view, they are not good for anyone or anything.
Do I need to give illustrations from the Environmental catastrophe the whole planet is sliding into?
David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet | Official Trailer | Netflix
This video offers unwavering hope, but my pessimistic view is, just like the HMS Titanic tragedy, the world is traveling way too fast with very limited scope of vision, and its rudder is far too small to make the turn…
Now, as for the dynamics of Religion, Politics, Philosophies, Social action, Interpersonal interaction, Environmental realities, and so on, if you don’t see every detail of the world’s dynamics sliding sideways into desperation and destruction, all I can present to you is the Biblical vision, which includes the culmination of Human History, which the Bible refers to as the End Times…
As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.
“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. — Matthew 24:4–14, NIV.
Without any commitment to Biblical Faith, may I ask every reader, in my essay so far, “Can you see these predictions as actually happening and contributing to the sliding which I am talking about?
If not, I just don’t know what to tell you….
However, if you do see the world sliding into chaos in those ways, let me go to the Biblical view of the actual source of the problem and God’s resolution, solving the whole mess. Basically, the following verses blames our fault-filled human nature competing with a transcending God-filled nature:
So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. — Galatians 5:16–23, NIV.
(Cross References: 1 Corinthians 6:9–10; Romans 1:29; 2 Timothy 3:1–5; 1 Peter 4:3)
What I understand from these excerpts from the Apostle Paul’s letters is that what drives our decision-making process is self-centered and self-promoting… the Law of the Jungle type of mindset.
To me, when massed together with over 8 billion other self-serving souls, might sliding into anarchical self-destruction be kind of inevitable?
Yet, at the same time, Biblically speaking, historically viewing, and experiential witnessing, God offers to all of us that alternative to be driven by love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Unfortunately, it has also been my experience that people are hesitant or even hostile to the thought of jumping on that fast moving Gospel train. The reasons and excuses are plentiful, and one reason is just like any excuses you have to offer. Right?
Too personal.
Sorry.
Yet, still and all, maybe this concept is one only battle-hardened soldiers can understand:Jesus sacrificed His life so someone else could live: The High Kings — Green Fields of France …
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. — John 3L16–19, NIV.
The new captain of this ship won’t be colliding with any iceberg. So, why not get on board?
(I know people have lots and lots of excuses, but please give it a thought or two.)
Trust In God (feat. Chris Brown & Isaiah Templeton) | Elevation Worship
