Complicated relationship with Babylon

Revelation 18:9-20 NASB

"And the kings of the earth, who committed  acts of  immorality and lived sensuously with her, will weep and lament over her when they see the smoke of her burning,  standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in one hour your judgment has come.’
  "And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargoes any more--  cargoes of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet, and every  kind of  citron wood and every article of ivory and every article  made  from very costly wood and bronze and iron and marble,  and cinnamon and spice and incense and perfume and frankincense and wine and olive oil and fine flour and wheat and cattle and sheep, and  cargoes  of horses and chariots and slaves and human lives.  "The fruit you long for has gone from you, and all things that were luxurious and splendid have passed away from you and  men  will no longer find them.  "The merchants of these things, who became rich from her, will stand at a distance because of the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning,  saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, she who was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls;  for in one hour such great wealth has been laid waste!’ And every shipmaster and every passenger and sailor, and as many as make their living by the sea, stood at a distance,  and were crying out as they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘What  city  is like the great city?’  "And they threw dust on their heads and were crying out, weeping and mourning, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who had ships at sea became rich by her wealth, for in one hour she has been laid waste!’  "Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced judgment for you against her."

My thoughts -

This was part of my reading yesterday and I wanted to post on it but I couldn't get my thoughts together in any kind of coherent manner. I'm not sure that's changed. I guess the big issue here for me is that I feel like I have, and really maybe we all have a somewhat complicated relationship with Babylon.

First off, in our culture could we really identify Babylon? What is "the great city"? What, here and now, best represents the accomplishments of humans without regard to relationship with God? A lot of Christians in America want to believe that we are something of a New Jerusalem, that we have received God's favor and are God's people and have some kind of a national relationship with God. The rest of the world probably sees us as something closer to Babylon than anything else.

Obviously when John was writing the United States did not exist and I'm sure in writing to the early church he had no reason to anticipate that we ever would. But as I read, as much as it pains me, our consumer driven culture that cares more about the trappings of the "good life" than it cares for the "least of these", feels an awful lot like Babylon. As I drove yesterday out Winchester Road towards the interstate passing strip club after strip club I couldn't help but think of Babylon. While Lexington, where I live, or any other US city, or the US as a whole may not be a perfect match for Babylon here we certainly have a lot of Babylon in us.

And here's the thing: I like it here. I'm comfortable. Sure there's sin. I'm not saying I like the shootings or the sex trade or the desperate poverty or the violence or the unbridgeable gap between the rich and the poor. But I'm comfortable here. I have a life here. I have a living here. It's what I know. It's what I'm used to. It's all I've ever known. And I'm pretty insulated and isolated from most of the worst of it here and in other cities. I live in a nice bubble, a fantasy.

I am like the merchants who sell their goods to Babylon. I become rich off of the "great city" and need it. I weep and mourn in its destruction because I need it. God's justice is far less important to me than my comfortable life and my next meal. The sin ain't so bad from where I'm sitting. Babylon is important, necessary even. I need Babylon to live.

I could never rejoice in the destruction of Babylon. I am compromised by my complicated relationship with it. But, before I kick myself too much over that fact I have to acknowledge that I may not rejoice even absent the complicated relational compromise. God's wrath is a severe thing. As a sinner formerly bound for and deserving of destruction I know that. I know that I am saved from it not because I deserve it but because Christ intervened on my behalf, on behalf of us all. How could we, deserving of destruction ourselves, ever rejoice in the destruction of others? Again, it's complicated.

I never seem to have the answers I think should be readily available. Are we Babylon? Well, yes and no I guess. Are we bound for destruction? All things end. Can we rejoice in God making things right? I think we should be able to but there is no painless way to get there. And I don't like pain, even if it brings with it a promise of better things ahead.

Does that mean I don't trust God enough?

Well maybe.

It's complicated.