Why so much crime? And I don’t mean just the past few years but over the trajectory of my lifetime. Of course, we see dips & spikes here & there, but the overall trend line has been going up for a long time. The world’s thinkers, researchers, & agencies all attempt to give sociological answers, but they’re all missing the obvious answer when they ignore the spiritual nature of people. Crime has moral roots explained by lack of knowledge of God or outright rejection of God.
The root cause is that humans deliberately choose to commit crimes. Simple. The Bible says that we are each tempted by our own sinful desires, by the “world” system in rebellion against God, & by the devil (demonic involvement)—but still you choose (James 1:14, Eph. 2:2-3, 6:12, 1 John 2:16). You can’t explain the horrible things happening with sociological explanations alone—clearly something supernaturally sinister is behind it. It’s not that we don’t know better—God’s basic moral law is written on our hearts (Rom. 2:15). But consciences become corrupted not only by sinful desires but by increasing nefarious influences. The more people reject & break God’s laws, the more desensitized they become; the more callous their hearts grow as they suppress the truth; the more their cauterized consciences are deadened (Rom. 1:18, 28-32, 1 Tim. 4:2). Consciences must be trained to be virtuous.
Yet some try to shift personal responsibility from the lawbreaker to factors such as poverty, racist oppression, or negative environment. Those can be contributing factors, but not the cause. Historically, crime has actually decreased in times of want (even during the Great Depression) but increased in times of prosperity. Looters don’t rush into stores for basic necessities, but to steal things they don’t even need or use. Prisons are full of “innocent victims” blaming their deprivation or “the system.” But in honest moments they’ll quietly confess they knew what they were doing was wrong & did it anyway.
In his “Confessions,” St. Augustine confessed over 1,600 years ago: “I willed to commit theft, not because I was driven to it by any need….For I stole a thing of which I had plenty of my own and of much better quality. Nor did I wish to enjoy that thing which I desired to gain by theft, but rather to enjoy the actual theft and the sin of the theft….Foul was the evil, and I loved it.” He’s affirming that “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick…” (Jer. 17:9, Mark 7:21-22).
While some excuse & even justify criminal behavior, others contend that getting tougher on crime will fix the problem. They say if people are made to fear punishment more, crime will decrease. Scripture does point to fear of the State as appropriate when doing wrong (Rom. 13:3-4), & that swift justice acts as a deterrent (Ecc. 8:11). But the decision to commit evil acts is more than a rational calculation of gain vs. risk of punishment. Charles Colson in his book, “Justice that Restores,” points out that when criminal juveniles went through those “Scared Straight” programs—introduced to tough prisoners who yelled, cursed, & threatened them in the hope of making them fear prison—those youth still ended up with higher incarceration rates than youth who didn’t go through them. Such fear isn’t enough when “there is no fear of God before their eyes” (Rom. 3:18).
For those in Christ, we no longer fear His judgment because we’ve turned to Him in repentance. Christ received our eternal capital punishment on the cross so that we’re forgiven & that fear is cast out (1 John 4:18). But we maintain a very healthy respect for His justice (Matt. 10:28, Rev. 3:3). For those without Christ, the prospect of ultimate justice on Judgment Day should absolutely strike fear (Heb. 12:29).
As more people avoid biblical churches, drift from moral training, & experience weakened & broken family structures (often worsened by government dependency programs), children are no longer taught the Bible at home or church. There’s no such thing as “values-neutral” education. When parents send their children to secular schools with a Bible-less (or even anti-Christ) environment, curriculum, system, & some faculty, should we be surprised when they come back indoctrinated in godless thinking which leads to the deterioration of society’s moral fabric?
In a broken culture that doesn’t civilize people & cultivate virtue through moral & spiritual development, more laws, aggressive enforcement, & prisons will be needed. An amoral environment inevitably leads to savagery, anarchy & tyranny. But Colson, the founder of the world’s largest prison ministry, affirms that training in biblical morality positively correlates with lower crime rates across all classes of people. He notes that in periods of Christian awakening & revival, crime goes down. Why? Because people adopt a morality that acts as a voluntary restraint.
Even if each person isn’t individually reborn spiritually, the society is strengthened by adopting a “cultural Christianity” where such morality is more welcomed, expected, & taught in schools. But even that lasts only so long without genuine Christian commitment. Why? Because of our default to vice instead of virtue. This is what we’re seeing in an American society running on the fumes of a Christian culture slipping away. It’s not too late. But only by embracing the biblical worldview can we fix what’s broken.