As long as I can remember, I have been hearing in church about how we know we are living in the “last days” because the world is getting “increasingly wicked.” Obviously, we thought, the end times were imminent because there were so many “bad” people in the world doing such “bad” things. And, of course, even the name of my church refers to the “latter days.”
I believe this emphasis on the “wickedness” of the world is over-simplified. It reminds me of one of the games described by psychiatrist Eric Berne in his 1964 book, Games People Play. The book described social interactions in terms of “games” that we play – games both functional and dysfunctional.
Lamenting about the “wickedness of these days” is an example of a game Berne labeled “Ain’t it Awful.” The game begins when one person makes a pessimistic statement. The other players then jump in and corroborate what was said, often expanding the level of dismay and pessimism felt by the group. The winner of the game is the person who laments the loudest (or longest) and/or the person who gives the most horrific example of how “bad” things are. After that person speaks, there is usually a dreadful silence before someone changes the subject.
This game is harmful because it accomplishes absolutely nothing beyond stoking shared outrage. At the same time, it makes the participants feel as if they have somehow actually “engaged” with the real problems of the world when they have actually done nothing but complain.
What does “more wicked” mean?
If the world is indeed “more wicked” than, say, 40 years ago, what does “more” mean? Has Satan, as an individual being, gotten stronger? Has he learned some new tricks? Is he telling more believable lies? I don’t think so. Are the evils of today really worse than those during the two World Wars? The Holocaust? African slavery in America? The Inquisition? Imperial Rome?
Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
Matthew 6:34
Actually, in the light of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, Satan is not really very strong at all. When rebuked by proper authority, he has no choice but to withdraw. When any individual says “no” to a temptation, Satan cannot force the person to sin.
The actual struggle is not between Satan and Christ. Satan has already already been permanently cast out of Heaven. When light shines forth in the darkness, darkness is banished. Every time.
The struggle in our world is a struggle between those who listen to and follow the light of Christ within them and those who allow themselves to be deceived by darkness and lies. It is the struggle between those who love and serve others and those who seek power and gain only for themselves.
If the world is “more wicked” today it means that more people are believing lies and choosing wickedness, than at some other time. That could well be true if you compare today to 40 years ago. Even then it should be remembered that adults always believe that things were simpler and purer when they were young….
The cycle
The entire history of the world, including the histories told in the scriptures, is a repetitive cycle of cooperative effort leading to prosperity, followed by selfish laziness which leads to destruction.
For me to argue that the world is not necessarily any more wicked now than it has been before is not to say that tribulation does not lie ahead or that we need not fear societal collapse and destruction. Indeed, I fear that we are headed for just such a fate.
But the cause of our problems is not that Satan has gotten stronger, it is that people have gotten selfish and lazy (again). It is far easier to go along with the group (no matter how misled) than to stand up for what is true and right. As an example of this, Congresswoman Liz Cheney is currently putting her oath to defend the Constitution ahead of blind loyalty to her party. The party continues to punish her for this.
The solution
The only solution to wickedness in the world is for each of us, individually, to examine and question our own lives. Am I learning more about God and growing more righteous over time? Do I pray often? Am I repenting often enough? Thoroughly enough? Am I working to remove the blindness in my own eyes?
Ultimately, the only effective and lasting way to improve the world is to improve the character of its people. And the only way to do THAT is through the gospel of repentance – one person at a time.
Source
Eric Berne, MD, Games People Play, Penguin, 1964.
Henry B. Eyring, “Steady in the Storms,” General Conference, Saturday Morning Session, April 2022.
This is an interesting question which is complicated by individual perspectives. If you look at statistics over the last 50 years we’ve gone down in a lot of crimes, we have less wars, and people generally seem to get along better. But, it’s hard to have a long view when the short view is thrown in your face every night with media. A small rise in crime is cast in light of fear so we have a tendency to think it’s worse. We also don’t keep many statistics now that we used to as per legislation. For example, we no longer track murders with the CDC like we used to in the 60s and 70s. I
If we look deeper though we can see that these last days are filled with very subtle conflicts that have been prophesied. One side says one thing the other side said something else and both think that they are right and it plays out in the public domain. Yet we know the both sides can’t be true. This causes a lot of conflict in hate in our world and even the church. Maybe, the wickedness prophesied in the last days has as much to do with what we think as it does with our actions.