Ramon Arias | December 15, 2014
Do you remember when the former Soviet Union was called a “godless, evil empire”? Do you remember when the United States was a bastion of “biblical Christian values”?
Can you imagine Vladimir Putin, a former KGB officer, saying the following as reported by The Washington Times on January 28, 2014: “Many Euro-Atlantic countries have moved away from their roots, including Christian values, Policies are being pursued that place on the same level a multi-child family and a same-sex partnership, a faith in God and a belief in Satan. This is the path to degradation.”
The article continues:
“In his State of the Nation address in mid-December, Mr. Putin also portrayed Russia as a staunch defender of ‘traditional values’ against what he depicted as the morally bankrupt West. Social and religious conservatism, the former KGB officer insisted, is the only way to prevent the world from slipping into ‘chaotic darkness.’”
Whatever you and I may think of Putin’s motivation for making those statements, we should first take an honest look at our depraved national condition. It is not so much who is saying these things, but what is being said that should be assessed. Let us not forget God can use any created instrument to deliver His message to us. Do you remember who spoke to the prophet Balaam urging him to do the right thing? (Numbers 22:22-35).
Would you say America is moving back toward Godliness or speeding toward Godlessness? Is lawlessness in America being discouraged or encouraged? Is America becoming safer or is there more danger in our communities? Is the race divide diminishing or increasing? Do we have a stronger family life or is it rapidly disintegrating? Does America value biblical truth or is it drowning in lies? You can add your own questions to this list and pay close attention to the answers you apply to each of them.
The Psalmist reminds us that the people determine the outcome of a society and nation. We have no one else to blame for our bad choices but ourselves. The worst of those choices began when we turned our back on Him who is the giver and sustainer of life:
“The nations have sunk in the pit that they made; in the net that they hid, their own foot has been caught. The Lord has made himself known; he has executed judgment; the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. The wicked shall return to Sheol, all the nations that forget God. For the needy shall not always be forgotten, and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever. Arise, O Lord! Let not man prevail; let the nations be judged before you! Put them in fear, O Lord! Let the nations know that they are but men!” (Psalm 9:15-20).
History is a great teacher and it reminds us that men without God’s morality can never really lead to true greatness; providing, of course, we define greatness according to the biblical values in all areas of life not by pursuing material gain as the most important social foundation.
America is about people not things. The God of the Bible always leaves the door open for a considerable amount of time in hopes that His people will come back to their senses. However, if they continue to distance themselves from Him and His ways, we leave Him no other choice but to act according to His righteousness.
Let us pray for godly leadership in church, government, commerce, education, science, and above all the home. We have had it in the past, and we can have it again:
“When we view the blessings with which our country has been favored, those which we now enjoy, and the means which we possess of handing them down unimpaired to our latest posterity, our attention is irresistibly drawn to the source from whence they flow. Let us then, unite in offering our most grateful acknowledgments for these blessings to the Divine Author of All Good.” – James Monroe, our 5th U.S. President made this statement in his 2nd Annual Message to Congress, November 16, 1818.
“The hope of a Christian is inseparable from his faith. Whoever believes in the divine inspiration of the Holy Scriptures must hope that the religion of Jesus shall prevail throughout the earth. Never since the foundation of the world have the prospects of mankind been more encouraging to that hope than they appear to be at the present time. And may the associated distribution of the Bible proceed and prosper till the Lord shall have made ‘bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God’ (Isaiah 52:10).” — John Quincy Adams, 6th U.S. President
“God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the Gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever; That a revolution of the wheel of fortune, a change of situation, is among possible events; that it may become probable by Supernatural influence! The Almighty has no attribute which can take side with us in that event.” – Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, Query XVIII, p. 237.