Watch (ADVENT-URE DAY 11)

The Bible prophesied in the book of Micah that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. So, Mary, carrying the Christ Child, had to get to Bethlehem.  The catalyst was Caesar's Census - people were directed to go to their hometowns to be counted.  So, she and Joseph, who was from the lineage of David, went to the City of David, Bethlehem.  It was no doubt a rather popular place, as people traveled there for this dubious occasion, an occasion that God used in orchestrating the birth of His Son and fulfill His promises.  Our Scripture reading for today comes from Luke 2 (ESV), and states:
7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

The final phrase of that verse has been used throughout the years in sermons and cantatas to suggest that there was an innkeeper - which, of course, is a reasonable conclusion.  But, the innkeeper did not necessarily control the availability of rooms; but he did unknowingly find a place for our Savior to be born.  And, that is consistent with our principle today that we can learn from the innkeeper: We should give Jesus the rightful place in our hearts.

The innkeeper also teaches us that we should control what we can control and not become weighed down in worry over what we can't.  He was out of space, but he improvised.  And, God blessed it.

Bethlehem was a city that was full of visitors at this point in history...it was no doubt a crowded and hectic scene.  But, I was thinking about this notion of how we are to regard our cities.  I have spoken in the past about how God will use the place that we live to provide opportunity, to proclaim His glory and to walk in His ways.

Many of our cities are full of visitors, some of them welcome, some of them unwelcome. And, unwelcome visitors come in the form of sinful behaviors that are expressed.  We may feel we can't control what occurs when these sinful patterns manifest themselves.  But, through prayer and involvement of our churches and the witness of the body of Christ, we can impact the degree to which our cities are characterized by crime and other tangible expressions of a departure from the ways of God.

WalletHub has released its latest list of the "Most Sinful Cities in America."  The website states: "To identify the darkest corners of America, WalletHub compared more than 180 U.S. cities across 37 key indicators of vices and illicit behavior. Our data set ranges from violent crimes per capita to excessive drinking and adult entertainment establishments per capita."

The researchers identified "seven key dimensions," corresponding to what are termed as the "seven deadly sins" from the Bible: 1) Anger & Hatred, 2) Jealousy, 3) Excesses & Vices, 4) Greed, 5) Lust, 6) Vanity and 7) Laziness.  Then they calculated the "sinfulness score" using "37 relevant metrics."  There were 182 cities that were studied.  Montgomery was in, Dothan was not.

Las Vegas was #1, followed by Houston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Atlanta.

Birmingham was 22nd, Mobile 38th, and Montgomery - 59th.  Huntsville is at 163.  

You can compare your city to Las Vegas - here's the "sin" profile:

Las Vegas tops the list of the most sinful cities this year, unsurprisingly. Sin City has the second-most casinos per capita, driving many people to lose their money in a failed quest for quick riches and creating the fourth-highest share of residents with gambling problems.

In addition, Las Vegas has the most adult entertainment options per capita, and residents search Google for terms relating to strip clubs, affairs and pornographic content more than people in most other cities.

Las Vegas also has the fifth-most fraud and identity theft complaints per capita, so greedy thieves are no stranger to the city. Many residents are vain about their appearances, too, searching Google for terms relating to plastic surgery procedures at a very high rate.

Huntsville was dead last in the category of Thefts Per Capita, with five cities tied for first: Oakland, CA; Memphis, TN; Tacoma, WA, St. Louis, and Burlington, VT.

In the Violent Crimes Per Capita - Oakland and Memphis were again in a first-place tie, along with Detroit, Little Rock, and Cleveland (OH).

I mentioned the principle we can learn today from that innkeeper in Bethlehem: We should give Jesus the rightful place in our hearts.  And, I believe that if we do, we can develop the rightful heart for the place to which God has called us.   When we look at municipal challenges, as well as issues faced in rural areas, we might feel helpless in the face of circumstances beyond our control.  But, as I said earlier: through prayer and involvement of our churches and the witness of the body of Christ, we can impact the degree to which our cities are characterized by crime and other tangible expressions of a departure from the ways of God.

We should be concerned about sinfulness in us and sinful expressions around us.  I contend that it starts with each of us - because Jesus lives within us, we have the capacity to live a holy life, to love as He loves, and to shine His light to our communities.  It starts with an examination of our hearts and asking the Lord, "what can I do?"  How can I reflect the light of Jesus to the people in my neighborhood, my city, and to the world?  We can welcome the presence of God into our communities and play a part in sending some "unwelcome" spiritual visitors away.