We Have Lost our Way

We are in deep trouble. We have been led astray by foolish leaders who have taken counsel with blind guides. Following the guidance of the unwise, we have created a generation of spoiled, entitled, self-centered children who have become adults and are moving into positions of leadership.

We have abandoned our Maker and His instruction and accepted the counsel of men. This was a grave error. We have left the wisdom that leads to life and built our society on lies.

The Lord has told us what is right. He has shown us the way out.

What Have We Done?

We have replaced God’s requirements and standards as our guideposts with accommodation to man’s insatiable wants. Everyone has needs and wants. The building of culture on those wants and encouraging selfishness alone has always resulted in oppression and ultimately, disaster.

A capitalist society is indeed built on the assumption of the self-interested motivation of humans. This is an accommodation, however, to the reality of human nature. It acknowledges the truth that our default nature is selfish. If we stop there we are doomed.

What Makes for Greatness

What makes for greatness? I don’t mean self-imagined glory but that which transcends man’s lesser instincts. This is the world of virtue and inspiration. It creates a culture where the highest values are not placed on pleasing ourselves but upon inspiring each of us to live a life worthy of honor, worthy of God’s approval.

Without setting such standards, as God has shown us, we are left to our default condition. In this way, we are robbed of the incentive to reach beyond the mundane – our mere animal instincts – and aspire to something greater.

A People of Virtue

It is only by aspiring to such lofty goals will we fulfill our deepest longings. We set those standards and they raise us all to something greater. These are the things worth living – and dying – for. This is why the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, WWI, and WWII made us stronger as a nation.

These wars were not built on greed in the minds of the American people. They were built on the virtuous principles that Christianity inspires. Of course, there were, and always will be, many who will not be inspired. This is inescapable on this side of heaven. Still, we lift one another and all benefit from it.

The Source of the Virtue and Inspiration

These kinds of virtues cannot be drawn out of thin air. They came from a culture deeply steeped in the most profoundly inspired writings ever written. They were built on the very words of God. We can tell they were because they produced greatness in those who held to them. The greatness of character – built, sustained, and prospered this nation. In a sense, we can see God’s righteousness reflected, however dimly, in this greatness.

Even though this was not the case for every person, it was the foundation for the inspiration of those who inspired these generations. Think about it. Mothers sacrificed everything for their families and children. Husbands worked incredibly long hours to provide for their families, they gave their lives for the good of all in war and dangerous service to others. They were challenged with inspired values, and they inspired their children to do the same.

Yes, it is true that selfishness often comes in and corrupts a husband, a wife, a political leader, a corporate manager, a teacher, a police officer, or even a religious leader. Still, the foundation of virtues was sustained by a culture-wide adherence to values that inspired many to do better and some to do great things.

How Far We have Fallen

Oh, how far we have fallen. Where there was once sacrifice and unselfishness, there is now the “me” culture. This is tragic. We have traded away the principles that challenged us to reach for something beyond ourselves that is truly worthy of our devotion. We sold it for a handful of beans that seduce us to think only of ourselves and our own.

This can never succeed. It is a flock doomed to slaughter.

Let Us Return

We can, yet again, be a light to the nations. This is not found in changing our institutions or our policies, per se. These are but the manifestations of who we are as a people. “Wisdom rests in the heart of one who has understanding, But (even) in the hearts of fools it is made known. Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people” (Proverbs 14:33-34, NASB 1995).

Let us return to the source of our inspiration so that His righteousness might again “flow down like waters.” Let us not follow after hollow claims of “social justice” as a disguise for real justice that can only be paid for in the blood of personal sacrifice.

There is only one source for such inspiration. There is only one hand that can rebuild this foundation. It is the Holy One of Judah. His life is the life of the righteous. His requirement is righteousness from the inside out. He is the Rock; those who build their lives on Him will never be shaken.

For more on how each of us can enter into a truly inspired life, you can begin here and here.