March to a different beat!

Early in Israel’s history, God ordained that judges would be responsible for overseeing the adherence of the nation to His law, maintaining the social order and administering justice. Unfortunately, as time passed the Israelites allowed the cultures of the surrounding heathen nations to influence them, and they began to clamor to be like them and be ruled by a king. God reluctantly yielded to them, and gave them Saul as king. As is abundantly evident in the Biblical record, the results were catastrophic! God had intended for His people to be different than other nations, but now they were becoming as the heathens around them, both in practice and in spirit.

America likewise has always been different than other nations! The principles upon which this country was established were derived from Biblical precepts. Since our inception our leaders have sought God’s direction, not the direction of those around us. We have always been different in body and spirit. We marched to a different beat because our guiding values were based on a different book, the Bible.

But recently, a disturbing trend has been taking place. Both the executive and judicial branches of our government are looking to other nations to develop our national policies. And we are fast becoming like Israel in the sense that we want to be “like” everyone else. Look around the world and you will see the disastrous consequences that result when a people embrace a philosophy of man over the clear teachings God has revealed in the Bible. Socialism has caused the better part of Europe to begin to self destruct. Greece, Italy, Spain and France have all begun to display the signs of countries whose societies are eroding from within. What’s wrong with socialism? After all, on the surface it seems to be a “fair” system; the government taking care of everyone! The problem lies in the notion that government has endless resources to accomplish this. But the government by nature does not produce material goods. It in fact must take from those who have earned through their own industry in order to give it to those who have not. This is nothing less than government theft, and ultimately produces a climate of entitlement, and a population who will by and large become dependent on that government. As Margaret Thatcher aptly said, ” The problem with socialism is when the other guy runs out of money”.

America has prospered because the people who came here worked hard, relying on their own industriousness and resourcefulness, not because of government hand-outs. An enterprising spirit along with a dependence on divine help has always set us apart from others. May it ever be so!

We do not need to look elsewhere and embrace the failed philosophies of men. We need to return to the foundational concepts upon which this country was constructed. In closing, I believe these words spoken by Ben Franklin to the Continental Congress are most appropriate: “I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth-that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His Aid? We have been assured, Sir, in the Sacred Writings that except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. I firmly believe this.”

God bless you all!
See you sunday!
Pastor