By James White NorthWest Liberty News
Anyone reading this article who has reached the age of 35 can remember a better America. When I say better, I mean an America with respect and compassion; I mean an America that stood for freedom, liberty and a person’s individual rights; above all, I mean an America that once feared God and actually tried to keep His Commandments. That’s when America was great, and considered a “shining light” to the world. Sadly, those days are gone. But how did we fall so far as a nation, and how can we once again be great? These are the 2 basic questions that I will try to answer as I move along in this article.
Arguments still rage over the influence that Holy Scripture had in the creation of America and, specifically, the creation of the Constitution of the United States. For sake of this article, I will allow these arguments to rage without my involvement on the matter; for what I wish to impart greatly transcends the Constitution, or anything that any of our Founding Fathers have ever written. What I wish to impart comes from the Creator of ALL things, directly from His word.
Many reasons have been given for America’s decline, ranging from an overbearing deficit to illegal immigration; with about as many pundits as there are viewpoints. However, few really target the heart of the matter, and even fewer realize that the answer to why we have fallen, and how we can be great again, both originate from the same source…the Bible. Paradoxically, what we failed to obey is what got us into this mess, and what we need to obey is what will get us out. Let me go to the aforementioned Holy Scriptures to illustrate my point.
First, let us examine a few verses out of the book of Matthew 6 in the New Testament. Specifically, verses 30-34 (bold added by me):
Many reasons have been given for America’s decline, ranging from an overbearing deficit to illegal immigration; with about as many pundits as there are viewpoints. However, few really target the heart of the matter, and even fewer realize that the answer to why we have fallen, and how we can be great again, both originate from the same source…the Bible. Paradoxically, what we failed to obey is what got us into this mess, and what we need to obey is what will get us out. Let me go to the aforementioned Holy Scriptures to illustrate my point.
First, let us examine a few verses out of the book of Matthew 6 in the New Testament. Specifically, verses 30-34 (bold added by me):
30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
Please make note of the verse in bold as an illustration of just one of our many shortcomings as a nation. The Bible plainly states that we are to seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness. If we follow that command, all of our necessities will be met, as outlined in the remainder of the verse. However, do not lose the completeness of the promise as God states, “ALL these things shall be added unto you.” Sadly, we have turned away from this command as a nation; and, as a result, we have tens of millions of Americans who depend on the government as their provider.
Unfortunately, the refusal to depend on God is not the only area that we have failed as a civilization, and, more specifically, have failed as a nation. Again, we will visit the New Testament with Mark 12:29-31
29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
As you read the previous verses, you notice that it says to love God with all your being. But how does one show that they love God? Well, let’s go back once again to scripture for that answer; which can be found in John 14: 13-15, as outlined below:
13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
The answer is right there, but who heeds the wisdom of Scripture these days? I submit to you that there are a select few. For the majority, however, there is enough dust built up on the cover of their Bible to write the word Damnation with their finger. Let’s move to the second of the two great commandments. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. We, in this nation, have the ‘love thyself’ portion of Mark 12:31 down pat; but our disobedience is exposed when it comes to the “love thy neighbor” section of the text. In this present world, people are lovers of themselves and many despise their neighbors. How many people do you know who “look out for number 1” at all costs? These people do not fear God, and they represent one more area where we have failed as a nation.
With nothing more than a cursory review of Scripture, one can quickly find numerous instances where we, as a people, have failed miserably to meet God’s holy standard. What has basically happened in this nation is that we have taken God’s blessings for granted; and, amazingly, instead of praising Him for the unmerited favor that He has shown America-we have an entire nation who hates God. Figure that one out. To this point, I hope that I have provided enough evidence to convince you that we do have a disease. But, what of the cure?
Although we are unique individuals, our overall nature as human creatures has changed little over time. For that reason, God has provided a way out for us. It’s a way to escape the judgement which is the inevitable punishment for our insolence. Again, we need to go no farther than scripture to find the cure. This time, were going to go 2Chronicles 7:14 in the Old Testament:
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
Has anyone ever noticed that the many “pearls of wisdom” contained within Scripture are not too difficult to interpret? Our Creator did this by design. Look at the verse I just quoted, for instance. The way to get back into God’s good graces is really simple. Humble yourself, pray, seeks God’s face and repent, or turn from your wicked ways. That seems like a plan that is easy to follow; but why are we not doing it? I will attempt to answer that question next week when I follow-up this article with one on the pathetic state of the modern pulpit.
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