Seth Udinski, FISM News
As the city of Philadelphia celebrates a renewed run of athletic success in the fall of 2022, robberies at nine local Wawa franchises reveal the city’s dark underbelly.
As FISM News reported on Monday, the city is celebrating an inspiring run to the World Series by its Major League Baseball team, the Philadelphia Phillies.
Yesterday, the Phillies won the NLCS by a score of 4-3 in game five over the San Diego Padres, sending the hometown crowd at Citizens Bank Park, and fans across the Delaware Valley, into a delighted frenzy. The Phillies meet the Houston Astros on Friday for Game 1 of the World Series.
Additionally, the Philadelphia Eagles are making an early-season case to be the NFC’s representative in the Super Bowl, as they remain the NFL’s only unbeaten team at 6-0 after seven weeks in the regular season.
Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Flyers are 4-2 after a strong start to the hockey season, and the Philadelphia Union are preparing to square off against New York City FC in the Major League Soccer (MLS) Eastern Conference Finals.
All the while, the Democrat-controlled City of Brotherly Love is facing a surge in crime. Late last week, the suburban-Philly based convenience store empire Wawa closed the overnight shift at nine locations in Northeast Philadelphia and its adjacent neighbor Bucks County. According to CBS Philadelphia, this comes several days after two downtown locations closed permanently due to surging crime.
The nine most recent schedule cuts come as a result of multiple armed burglaries at these locations.
Wawa released a statement afterward, saying that they have to
Temporarily close or limit hours at some stores due to external operational challenges or recommendations by local authorities for the safety and security of our associates.”
Multiple sources have indicated that the suspect involved in the crimes is still at large.
Author’s Biblical Analysis:
As a man who has lived in the Greater Philadelphia region my whole life and follows its professional teams with intensity, this report hits close to home. I love the teams, and I love the city, but what is happening to Philadelphia under its current leadership is truly shameful.
As surprising as it might be coming from a report that mixes crime, politics, and sports, there is a poignant biblical reminder for Christians, and it is this: Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.
There are several similarities between the current state of Philadelphia and the Pharisees with whom Jesus clashed during His earthly ministry.
Like the Pharisees, Philadelphia looks good on the outside. It is the recipient of much praise, especially from those in sports media. Fans are expecting 2022 to be a repeat of 1980, when Philly was known as the “City of Champions,” as all four major sports teams made it to their league’s respective championship round.
But also like the Pharisees, there is a sinister interior lurking underneath the shine in America’s “Cradle of Liberty.” Last week, FISM News reported a surging uptick in crime in the city, which Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Place president John McNesby attributed to leftist leadership and propaganda. With over two months remaining in the calendar year, the city has already shattered its previous record for yearly carjackings, set in 2021 and up by almost 500% from 2019.
If this report teaches us anything, it is to understand soberly the things that God values. Outward appearances are often deceiving, and we see from 1 Samuel 16 that the Lord values a pure heart far greater than an attractive appearance. The well-known cliche rings true when we consider the things of God, It is what is inside that counts.
Ask yourself some difficult questions. Do I care more about my outward appearance than the state of my heart? Am I putting more emphasis on how people perceive me than on how I love God and love my neighbor? Christians must value that which God values: a pure heart that truly loves Him.
As is so often the case, our example is the person and work of Jesus Christ. Isaiah 53:2 tells us that our Lord “had no form or comeliness, no beauty that we should desire Him.” What is more, the Lord Jesus cared far more about pleasing His Father in heaven than He did about being praised and lauded by the world. He was the ultimate example of a man with a pure heart.
May we have this same desire as well. Believer, do not fall into the trap to find your value in outward appearance, both in physical looks and in how others perceive you. May your main focus be on pleasing God, who looks not on outward appearances, but on the purity of heart.
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. – 1 Samuel 16:7