« THE BUZZ AT ZION | Main | THE BUZZ AT ZION »
March 14, 2007
Words From Dan
America’s Misplaced Component
"It is written, 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” (NAS Matthew 4:4)
We’ve lost it! At least that is my deduction as I look at the rapid decomposition of morality in American society. The “we” is the general American public, 80% of whom claim the title Christian. The “it” encompasses every aspect of our society:
*Marriage
*Science
*Government
*Medical
*Education
*Justice
*Work
*Integrity
*Religion
*Business
*Entertainment
*Media
Does that about cover it? The point being, that this one vital component either improves or degrades every facet of our culture, with all of its parts and interactions. If it can have that sort of impact on a nation/society, we probably need to get a handle on it, and fast.
What is this critical it? I believe that it’s a moral center – a common generally held standard of right and wrong. That being said, we can immediately see why things are becoming the way they are and the difficulty of coming to a unified stance in a multi-cultural/religious society as each vies for dominance (assuming that most cultures are built, to one degree or another, on some sort of religious or moral foundation). It is difficult enough being fractured using these large frames of reference, but our nation is further splintered as individuals begin to pick and choose their personal values from a smorgasbord of religious, philosophical, psychological, and political ideologies. In this way we loose the common ground that makes a society properly work.
It should be no secret that in order to be united in something there must be a common standard of some sort. This standard may include such things as currency, language, measurement, management, vision, goals, and procedures (to name a few) which are essential ingredients to a properly functioning organization or society. The economists would go crazy if each business or government entity in the U.S.A. were using a different currency. Our legal system would be, and many believe already is, a shambles if it used different interpretations of laws and penalties to either penalize or uphold the same activity. Differing political ideologies (Communism, Democracy, Imperialism, etc.) cannot subsist within a single governing body. But this is the actual effect of those holding to the philosophy of multi-culturalism – trying to maintain an equal value of different standards. This could be used as a good definition of insanity, or a recipe for anarchy.
But the question remains, Who’s standard should rule? All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God's paths to follow our own. (NLT Isaiah 53:6) From which god have we strayed? Is it the god of Hinduism? The god of Islam? The god of Buddhism? The godlessness of atheism? The god of humanism? None of these – it is God the Creator who speaks through Isaiah, the God of the Bible that we have ceased to follow. He is the God who is Supreme over all, Almighty, eternal, and all knowing. This God not only gave man life as a biological organism, but also fashioned him as a spiritual and moral being. This God, through His Word, is the One whom our founding fathers recognized as the proper Giver of the moral standard for all of mankind and our especially for our fledging nation, and it brought with it unity, prosperity and abundance.
Like Israel of old, our nation today has largely forsaken God’s standard and way of life for hodgepodge mixture of morals more to our individual liking. For a long list of reasons, the Word of God and its teachings are quickly fading from our priority list. We have fallen prey to the philosophy that we can pick and choose the path we want to take – a little here, a little there; some from the Bible, some from philosophy, some from modern ideologies, and some from ancient religions. The result is a fractured nation and a divided Christianity (about 2,500 denominations today) separated over the very thing (God’s Word) that should unite and enable us to live in peace and bring life and prosperity.
The decadence in America will only halt its downward spiral as we begin to live according to each and all the words that proceed from the mouth of God and once again expose the blessings of a life united under God’s standard. My evaluation is that the primary misplaced component in America’s culture today is a common acceptance of the moral standard of the Word of God – the moral center needed in all of the areas listed at the beginning of this article.
Pastor Garnett
Posted by Jennifer Herrmann at March 14, 2007 04:26 PM