Social and Political Disasters Should Not Be a Surprise!

In certain regions of the United Kingdom, the growing number of vacant desks in schools is growing (Telegraph, September 15, 2024). Although demographers have warned about Britain’s plummeting birth rate for decades, national leaders have chosen to focus on other issues. As birthrates drop, fewer young people seek an education and enter the workforce to contribute to the tax base, all while older people are living longer on national pensions. This puts stress on local and national budgets as elected officials struggle to keep pace with increasing social costs that have not been adequately planned for.

Simultaneously, the cost of energy and transportation has increased for decades in the UK. The cost of laying one mile of track for tram lines in Britain is four times that of Germany’s and twice the European average. Electricity costs in the UK are also much higher than those in the rest of Europe—a reality that was foreseen yet ignored. Britain has failed to prepare for future demands for multiple reasons—including political reasons. As it was put in the Telegraph, “Like bankruptcy, social and political change can happen slowly, and then suddenly…. Too often, the slowness of change and distance of danger is a convenient and irresistible excuse for inaction. A country needs leadership, and leadership requires the bravery to confront the inevitable.”

God warned in the book of Proverbs, “Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint” (Proverbs 29:18). In many societies today, leaders lack vision. They prefer to focus on the joys and benefits of the present and ignore the inevitabilities of the future. However, the consequences of today’s trends and decisions will come whether we want them to or not. Jesus Christ warned that difficult times and His impending return will come at a “day and hour no one knows” (Matthew 24:36). That is why He warned us to watch and be ready (24:42–44). To learn more about the real social and political disasters facing the United Kingdom in the future, view our telecast “Watch the Middle East.”