Flee City Life

Today I read Revelation 18 where Babylon falls. It got me thinking of a book I read by Hugh Nibley many years ago. Hugh Nibley stated in this book, which I can't remember the title, that the downfall of Sodom and Gomorrah was not sexual perversion, although that certainly happened. The downfall of those cities was wealth. Once the inhabitants became wealthy they stopped caring for the poor and needy in those cities and eventually stopped working altogether and it was the free time they had that caused them to eventually turn to such atrocities that led to their destruction.

I bring this up because it's been on my mind as I read this chapter, the danger of cities. Babylon the term as it refers to the world is only because it was a city that exhibited these same qualities that God has always told the Israelites to avoid. The Lord has always warned against cities and getting too acquainted with the things of the world. And it's still going on today. Think about life in New York City compared to life in say Omaha, Nebraska. Big difference right? As I was reading this chapter today and thinking about it and its implications, I started to wonder, is New York City that way because of the people who go there, or is New York that way and it causes the people who live there to mold and change to fit in? I truly don't know but I do know that the stereotypes of Babylon and everything that is wrong with city life is found in New York City.

Now, there are good people in New York City, lots of Latter-day Saints and other faithful Christians of other denominations live there. But the fact remains that crime is higher there than in smaller cities and towns. The attitudes of its inhabitants is deplorable. The poor are treated with contempt by all but the smallest percentage of the population. Sin there rivals even places such as Las Vegas. And the funniest part to me is that they think they are enlightened and the new age. Satan really has them all fooled.

Moses wrote that Zion was Zion because there was no poor among them. That is not because they ousted all the poor as did Sodom and Gomorrah of old, but rather because they took in their poor and made sure that they were cared for. They had all things in common and cared for the poor and those who had not as they would themselves. This is the type of community that you can find in a small town setting where people care about each other and care FOR each other. I grew up on the outskirts of a city, in the countryside and I loved it. I have never been attracted to live in a city. When I served my mission I was called to serve in eastern Los Angeles. It was the largest city I had ever lived in and I did not like it. I can't imagine living in downtown LA or why some people are drawn there. Even now living in Huntsville, Alabama my family and I live on the outskirts of town and I wish we could live a little farther away but that would not be efficient.

I'm not sure why cities tend to bring out the worst in mankind, but history proves that they do. Anytime a city is created crime starts to rise. Now some would argue that crime only rises because there are more people in one location. So be it, the fact remains that crime in a city is higher than in smaller towns. People are disassociated from their neighbors and fellow citizens in a city. People tend to not care about the poor and needy in a city. Like I said, I don't claim to know what causes it all, but it clearly happens and God is always telling us to flee Babylon. We always take it to mean the world and shun the things of the world, but what if He is also advising us to avoid large city life? To get back to the simpler things and to do His work? Food for thought anyway. Until tomorrow.