So much of our lives is amazingly better, and getting better at an increasing rate.  Peter Diamond makes this case in his new book, Abundance, and I have to agree with him.  The progress we’ve made in quality of life during my lifetime is phenomenal.  As I mentioned to one class today, I grew up listening to 8 track tapes, and now we have perfect digital quality sound wherever you are.  As a musclecar fan that loves old 60s-70s cars, I just look with amazement that you and I can go down to the local Dodge dealer and buy a 4-door sedan that will go 200mph.  Modern medicine is driving life expectancy higher (with higher quality of life).  The air is cleaner, and my 55″ big screen is now looking small!  Globalization and largely free trade have lifted over a billion people out of extreme poverty during the last 40 years, and the head of the IMF thinks that extreme poverty can be ended by 2030!  So life is pretty swell.  Or is it?

So why does so much of the country think we’re heading in the wrong direction?  Right wing, left wing–we think the same thing:  this country is going down hill, as seen in the RCP poll below.  What to make of this?  I agree with Mr. Diamond, the world is a tremendously better place….from a material perspective.  But God has set eternity in our hearts; there is more to the good life than possessions.  We see our nation being split apart, and effectively banning the concept of sin from our vocabulary, and no longer do our rights come from God, but from man:

But if our rights come from man, then they can be taken away by men.  ISIS proves daily what will happen to rights when rights are determined by men.

Yes the world is getting better.  And its getting worse.  But the good news is this world is not our home.