The prophet Jeremiah declared, “Then I said, I will not mention him or speak anymore in his name. But his word was like a burning fire in my heart, closed in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, and I could not” (Jeremiah 20:9). This reflects my own journey as an immigrant struggling in a foreign land, compelled to speak out against societal ills, injustice, and oppression. Despite the risks and consequences, whenever I pray and commune with God, I am met with a profound awareness of His grieving heart over injustice, godless rebellion, pride, and nations that forget Him. From the depths of my intimate prayer closet, I receive divine inspiration and guidance. When I seek to pray for my personal needs, God’s urgent concerns flood my soul. I deeply resonate with the experience of the prophet Jeremiah.
I witness injustice, oppression, wickedness, and blatant godlessness permeating every facet of society. Unfair and oppressive systems, especially in our use of technology, as people harshly impact the poor and the vulnerable. And those who lack the means or voice to protest and defend themselves against painful experiences. Sadly, the legal and political institutions are overwhelmed with trivial matters, neglecting the urgent needs of our time and generation. Instead, they prioritize the desires and ambitions of the powerful with arrogant disregard.
How is it that working in a restaurant suddenly becomes a major election issue, especially when the cost of living and prices of basic necessities are soaring? Meanwhile, low-wage delivery jobs dominate employment statistics, highlighting deeper economic challenges.
In a world where most business models clash with the realities of life and the common hopes for a good living, no one seems to question or discuss these contradictions. Technological systems and computerization favor only the bold, the wealthy, and unscrupulous fraudsters. Big tech companies relentlessly amass wealth at the cost of our ignorance and reluctance to challenge their false premises and empty promises—promises that fail to promote true well-being. They operate covertly, controlling our collective intelligence and dictating our dignity and destiny as social media and the internet grow omnipotent, while we willingly surrender to their grip. How can rampant fraud, harassment, and moral decay persist online, with social media serving as a breeding ground for evil without accountability or genuine efforts to stop it?
The most pressing issues of our time are absent from meaningful discussions and debates. The models, algorithms, and principles behind most business and corporate mobile apps serve only their interests and have lost sight of righteousness, justice, and fairness. Ethics in business have vanished; customers are no longer kings but slaves—exploited, harassed, and fleeced, with no protector in sight to uphold the rights of ordinary people in the marketplace. Monopolistic ideologies reveal their rotten and chaotic nature, exposing their inability to support the vulnerable among us. Even the new generation entering the system either loses hope or adopts a hustling, grab-all mentality like hunters seeking their share of the spoils. Yet, reforming and transforming this culture and system is rarely part of the conversation for the better future we desire. Young people react freely to this broken system, creating more unbalanced ideas with impunity just to survive, while we avoid confronting the real issues.
As a struggling immigrant, I have been painfully exposed to the failures of the systems I once admired and anticipated. Perhaps it is my calling to confront these realities and understand the deep pains and groans of God, who takes our most intimate prayers and opens my eyes to His impending judgment on rebellious nations and arrogant peoples who neither fear God nor care for the poor and oppressed among them.
In this election year, deception and the abandonment of truth and responsibility run rampant. Campaigns resemble comedy shows, and we laugh off our troubles and urgent problems. Jesting and shaming have become the political weapons of our age. God grieves deeply, but humanity mocks, ridicules, and foolishly laughs as our world systems rush toward collapse. Not long ago, I wept bitterly outside a whitewashed corporation as their deceit trampled over my frail body, forcing me to pay debts I did not owe, while their staff colluded to benefit from this injustice, leaving me bewildered with no arbitrator in sight. Every aspect of their business systems and technology worked against me, holding customers captive to their cruel ingenuity.
As I study the Word of God, especially the Pentateuch and the Prophets, and listen to historians recount the rise and fall of civilizations, one constant theme emerges: “The end is near.” Will this generation learn from past civilizations and the downfall of arrogant aristocrats and barons who once ruled but have now passed away, their works reduced to relics of history, reminding us that “All is vanity, and nothing lasts but righteousness and godliness”?
It is time to stop trivializing the critical issues of our lives. We must shift from making comedy out of our most urgent problems to creating sharp satire that pierces the hearts of citizens, inspiring purposeful action and positive passion, demanding decency, accountability, and responsibility from those in power. Comedians must rise to this challenge and abandon dull routines that numb our minds and trample the treasures of our dignity, joking away the matters that shape our livelihoods and fate. They must answer the call of their gifts and grace with profound satire that exposes the shallow hypocrisy of those steering our collective destiny and prosperity. There is a time to laugh and a time to weep. As the prophet Joel said, “Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth” (Joel 1:5). This is a moment for awakening to the reality of our predicament so that we might choose life and be lifted from the looming darkness threatening us all.
Psalm 82:1-5 calls out to us: “God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods. Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked.”
God is moving once again to offer humanity a chance to embrace righteousness, justice, and prosperity. Elections are about choices and their consequences. God does not choose for us, but when we choose God, mercy and blessings follow. We must look beyond surface appearances and consider all our options so we can choose God and allow Him to work in ways that glorify Him in our lives. Be true to yourself even when others deceive you. Elections are no laughing matter—they are serious decisions affecting you and generations to come, impacting your well-being, legacy, and even eternity.
I leave you with the words of Paul: “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates. Now I pray to God that ye do no evil; not that we should appear approved, but that ye should do that which is honest, though we be as reprobates. For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth” (2 Corinthians 13:5-8). Even if you consider my words bold or overreaching, examine their claims. If there is truth in them, know that it is not I who writes, but like the prophet Jeremiah, God’s word burns in my heart like a fire in my bones.
