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The Mouth Of The Wicked


The righteous person is rescued from trouble, and it falls on the wicked instead. With their mouths the godless destroy their neighbors, but through knowledge the righteous escape. When the righteous prosper, the city rejoices; when the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy. Through the blessing of the upright a city is exalted, but by the mouth of the wicked it is destroyed. (Proverbs 11:8-11)
          What are the nine most dangerous cities to live in in the United States as of 2018? According to one source (least to worst), they were Little Rock, AR; Stockton, CA; Oakland, CA; Kansas City, MO; Milwaukee, WI; St. Louis, MO; Baltimore, MD; Detroit, MI, and Memphis, TN[1]. According to another, the ten most dangerous list should be: Kansas City, MO; Oakland, CA; Little Rock, AR; Baltimore, MD; Rockford, IL; Milwaukee, WI; Memphis, TN; Birmingham, AL, Detroit, MI; and St. Louis, MO.[2]  According to a third source, the most distressed cities in America are Detroit, MI (94%); Memphis, TN (68%); Milwaukee, WI (55%); Atlanta, GA (52%); Baltimore, MD (48%); Fresno, CA (48); Las Vegas (46); Chicago, IL (42%); Tucson, AZ (39%) and Houston, TX (38%).[3]  Yet another source includes Chicago, IL; Kansas City, MO; St. Louis, MO; Las Vegas, NV; Milwaukee, WI; and Detroit, MI in its top twenty least religious affiliated cities.[4] Rockford, IL is one of the ten least educated cities in America.[5] All the cities listed in italics appear on more than one of these lists.
          Now, if a city is destroyed by the mouth of the wicked, it seems to me that these cities, and especially; the ones who are both dangerous and distressed (the cities in italics in the list) seem to me to be in the process of being destroyed. So, what is the mouth of the wicked at work in them? What do these cities have in common besides their high rankings in these worst categories? I’m going to suggest that they have wicked and godless mouths in common. These cities historically embrace a common philosophy. Granted, all cities have their share of wicked mouths. I’m not saying there’s a one-to-one correlation, but I do suggest there is a trend. If the worst of the worst have a common philosophy, if the cities that are self-destructing the most all have a common philosophy, perhaps it’s time we paid attention to what that philosophy is, and reject it. Do the research. Make your own decision.


[1] https://www.trendrr.net/22497/most-dangerous-cities-of-united-states-most-murders-worst/
[2] http://www.bbcnewshub.com/top-10-most-dangerous-cities-in-america-2018/
[3][3] https://www.businessinsider.com/the-10-most-distressed-cities-in-america-2015-7
[4] https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/most-religiously-unaffiliated-us-cities_us_55c52ac3e4b0f1cbf1e526b0?slideshow=true#gallery/55bfdf5ee4b0b23e3ce3c30e/0
[5] https://www.forbes.com/sites/kathryndill/2014/09/16/the-most-and-least-educated-cities-in-america/#51c9c4a86d75

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