National Security
My Monday’s are often my “rest days.” It was good to work on several projects today and to still get in some rest to be ready for the rest of the week. After a busy week last week, this one should be more “low key” in comparison.
BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY… “If a nation is not guided by God, the people will lose self-control, but the nation that obeys God’s law will be happy.” Proverbs 29:18 ERV
As a nation we live in some of the most challenging times in our history. There is more anxiety about the future and fear for personal safety than any other time in modern history. Since the end of the civil war we have not seen violence in our own land like what is taking place today. Much of what happens on a daily basis goes unreported.
A growing concern among many is the erosion of fundamental values that have guided our nation since its founding. The United States was not necessarily founded as a “Christian” nation. However, it was established on the basis of religious freedom in which all people were allowed to worship God after the dictates of their own hearts. It was founded on the premise that “Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!“ (Psa. 144:15 ESV) Even the deists, who believed God created the world like a “clock on the mantle” and then left it one its own, so to speak; at least recognized the hand of the creator in history and life.
John Adams, one of our Founding Fathers said, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
The familiar words of Proverbs 29:18 state, “Where there is no vision, the people perish…” The New Living Translation gives added meaning, “When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. But whoever obeys the law is joyful.“
Our laws and our national values must have a foundation. Otherwise find ourselves in the days described in the times of the judges, “..there was no king in Israel, everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 21:25) We need order, we need moral constraint. It doesn’t take too much understanding to see the foundation of our moral society in the Ten Commandments and the conduct of life an attitude of accountability to God. Without those we see a disregard for the rule of law, human life, respect for others and justice.
As Solomon said, thousands of years ago the result is, “people will lose self-control.” Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.” Human perspective has its inherent flaws. If we don’t have a divine perspective we don’t know the “right way.”
In establishing the moral basis for our nation, the founders did not expect people to have the same religious convictions. But they did realize that a moral code based on the Bible and the fear of God created the best environment for all to enjoy the blessings of liberty. They understood Solomon’s wisdom, “…but the nation that obeys God’s law will be happy.”
There are three institutions that have been established for the stability of societies. The family, the church and government. All of those have a different purpose in God’s economy, but all of them function best when they understand their God-given role and purpose.