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| U.S Postage Stamp, 1957 (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Not to us, Lord, not to us
but to your name be the glory,
because of your love and faithfulness.
Why do the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
Psalm 115:1-2
New International Version (NIV)
In the United States we often proudly declare that ours is a secular nation not under the rule of any one religion, but with freedom of religion. Yet is this a precarious boast to make? Have we made ourselves stronger by taking the law out of God's hands and placing it into the hands of men and government bodies? Instead we may be weakening our position as a nation of strength and opening ourselves up to Godless chaos.
Did those who set up the United States government have any foresight of the potential error of creating too much freedom? We pride ourselves on the freedom to believe whatever we wish and as our nation becomes more diverse, there are more and more systems of belief and non-belief that set the stage for clashes in the courtroom and on the streets. Our acceptance of everything may be taking us on a road to unbelief in the True God and a worship of false idols.
Already we have become overly focused on money and material possessions. We often revere celebrities, politicians, and leaders to a point of near idolization. In modern culture we admire those whom we consider to be idols and may even long to become idols ourselves. Even the heads of the religious bodies are placed on thrones that at times seem to put them on an equal footing with God. Instead of actually placing our trust in the Supreme Creator we have relegated the concept to slogans like "In God We Trust" while debating whether it is time to eliminate those slogans in fairness to others.
In reality the concepts of fairness, diversity, and tolerance might be the undoing of our "One Nation Under God" as we open ourselves up to the belief that anything goes and everybody is right. What we cede to one group, we diminish from our own faith. If we back down from atheistic demands, then we allow them more strength. The concept of the give and take society might seem wonderful in one sense until our own freedoms have been disallowed in favor of being more fair and more tolerant.
These are tough issues that many will argue. The concept of the slippery slope is oft frowned upon as a tactic of argument and yet we have already seen the doorways to more sin and less tolerance of Christianity flung open to dilute the church and the traditional teachings of the Bible. The Western world has made idols of tolerance, diversity, and acceptance as somewhere there is a faint echo in the hallways of the past of "One way to Jesus."
Beware of the idol of government ruling and societal acceptance. As the increase of sin and the rejection of Biblical values becomes the norm of society, the more difficult it will become to reach the lost with the true message of the gospel. Just because what society says sounds fair to all and wonderful to have in place doesn't mean it's the message that we should accept as the one to replace the seemingly out-dated message of the Bible. After all, God's Word is as solid as rock and does not change.
Did those who set up the United States government have any foresight of the potential error of creating too much freedom? We pride ourselves on the freedom to believe whatever we wish and as our nation becomes more diverse, there are more and more systems of belief and non-belief that set the stage for clashes in the courtroom and on the streets. Our acceptance of everything may be taking us on a road to unbelief in the True God and a worship of false idols.
Already we have become overly focused on money and material possessions. We often revere celebrities, politicians, and leaders to a point of near idolization. In modern culture we admire those whom we consider to be idols and may even long to become idols ourselves. Even the heads of the religious bodies are placed on thrones that at times seem to put them on an equal footing with God. Instead of actually placing our trust in the Supreme Creator we have relegated the concept to slogans like "In God We Trust" while debating whether it is time to eliminate those slogans in fairness to others.
In reality the concepts of fairness, diversity, and tolerance might be the undoing of our "One Nation Under God" as we open ourselves up to the belief that anything goes and everybody is right. What we cede to one group, we diminish from our own faith. If we back down from atheistic demands, then we allow them more strength. The concept of the give and take society might seem wonderful in one sense until our own freedoms have been disallowed in favor of being more fair and more tolerant.
These are tough issues that many will argue. The concept of the slippery slope is oft frowned upon as a tactic of argument and yet we have already seen the doorways to more sin and less tolerance of Christianity flung open to dilute the church and the traditional teachings of the Bible. The Western world has made idols of tolerance, diversity, and acceptance as somewhere there is a faint echo in the hallways of the past of "One way to Jesus."
Beware of the idol of government ruling and societal acceptance. As the increase of sin and the rejection of Biblical values becomes the norm of society, the more difficult it will become to reach the lost with the true message of the gospel. Just because what society says sounds fair to all and wonderful to have in place doesn't mean it's the message that we should accept as the one to replace the seemingly out-dated message of the Bible. After all, God's Word is as solid as rock and does not change.
Luke 16:13
New International Version (NIV)
