Morality in America, Where Has it Gone?

What Happened To Morality?I received an email recently that had Senator Zell Miller's GA) speech on "Deficit of Decency" in America where he used the passage in Amos 8: 11 in his introduction. I want to quote you Amos 8: 11-12: "Behold the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. And they shall wander from sea to see, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the Word of the Lord, and shall not find it."Even though Senator Miller used the content of the passage to make a political statement about the declining of decency, a statement of which I am in full agreement, the passage from Amos speaks about the falling away of Israel, or as another minor Prophet, Hosea, stated, Israel had gone a whoring and would subsequently be scattered across the land, would reach a state where God would cease to have mercy on her, and then the Lord Go d would declare her to be Lo Ami, not my people.And because Israel would be temporarily out of the will of God, she could try to find the Word of God but it would be impossible to do so. She would make the pretense of being a nation under God, but God would hide His face from her.Paul says, in Romans 11: 11-12: "I say then, have they (Israel) stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles for to provoke them (Israel) to jealousy. Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fullness?" (The adding of Israel is done for emphasis and is not a part of the passage itself, though implied.)However, the reality of the matter is that the majority of the world is indeed suffering from a famine of hearing the Word of the Lord. In a recent survey conducted by the media in connection with the 2004 Presidential election, 85% of the people polled said they believed in God. But I would venture to say that only a small percentage of those hear, or believe, what God is saying in Scripture.That being said, may I congratulate Senator Miller for being a welcomed beacon of light in a congress that has seriously departed from the intent to which their office was established? And like Senator Miller, I was appalled at the selection of music for the Super Bowl Half Time Show but I simply changed channels and refused to watch.But as Senator Miller and all the news networks have reported, and most networks have shown segments of the show over and over again, I am disgusted every time it is shown. I agree with the good Senator, what more can you expect when you know that the song title is "I'm Going To Get You Naked." While I think the exposing of Janet Jackson's breast was uncalled for, I am more disappointed in the fact that Justin Timberlake said it was not an intentional act. Come now, Justin, there was a pull-tab attached so you could exposed it easily. The fact that you lied about the matter is more serious to me than the act itself. A person who will lie will do almost anything.That is the beginning of the decline of moral decency when we have to lie about what we do. And it all goes back to the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve pointed fingers at each other and said, "They did it." It is the very first instance of "passing the buck." There must be special curriculum classes on passing the buck, for everybody seems to have a degree in it these days.And yes, Senator, the strutting about and grabbing the crotch was disgusting too. And it has been disgusting every since Michael Jackson begin doing it years ago. I wonder if there is something about the Jackson family about which we are in the dark. Which brings me to a very important point- family?I do not blame MTV, CBS or the NFL for what happened on Super Bowl Sunday. MTV has always been a trash network as far as I am concerned; CBS has alway s been the most liberal of the national networks and the NFL cannot police its high salary players from raping, for substance abuse and indecent exposure after the fact. What makes one think they would do something about the incident BEFORE it happened?Who do I blame? I blame you and me! I blame America! I blame the U.S. Congress! I blame schools, but most of all I blame parents. Parents have ceased to teach their children the moral values our grandparents taught our parents. We parents seem to be rearing our children in such a haphazard way that morality is not even being mentioned in 99% of the homes today.When you see what teenage girls are wearing, is there any wonder the number of rapes that occur in the world today: Blouses are cut too low, skirts are raised to high and make-up is caked on faces so much you cannot tell what the person looks like. Too many parents blow all those things off because, "That is the trend today," they say. Parents, it doesn't take guts to fo llow the trends. It takes guts to go against the trend. There are millions of followers but the world needs a few good leaders to step up to the plate.What is it going to take for America to wake up from the nightmare in which we have become a part? Will your daughter have to be raped before you look at the clothes she is wearing or the online activity she looks at? Parents, what's happening around you? Will your son or daughter have to die from an overdose before you begin to look at drugs and alcohol as damaging to society and as affecting you personally?A basic set of moral values must commence being taught before a child starts to talk. When we say, no, that teaches the child there are some things that are not permitted. Conversely when we say yes, or when we applaud an action of accomplishment, we send the signal that was good. We are teaching right from wrong. If a child does not have the basic principles of morality taught them before they are seven years of age, you will have a serious issue on your hands. I believe it was Karl Marx who said, "Give me a child until he is six and I will give you a communist."Undisciplined children grow up being selfish, irrational and often times have serious mood swings. They tend to be self-serving, placing themselves above others and undermining authority. Most undisciplined children make friends for rewards and are skilled manipulators. They generally have no integrity and are nothing more than selfish parasites.Proverbs 22: 6: "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." The word of God is not being taught to our children. There are some children who have never been told there is a God. Parents are taking the attitude that I am going to allow my children to find God on their on; I do not want God pushed down my children's throat like it was pushed down mine. If you are one of those, have you listened to yourself carefully?Do you say to your children, "I want you to learn algebra on your own; I do not want you to have to go over the drills time and time again like my parents made me do." You do not! So, may I ask, why is telling them about God any different? There is none! You know it and I know it. The difference is that you have become indifferent about God and you are passing along that indifference to your Children, and you are doing them an injustice from having done so.I was happy to read about what Senator Miller said concerning Arnold Toynbee's "A Study of History." Toynbee started writing his 12-volume work in the early 1930's and finished it in the mid 1960's, having died in 1975. He wrote, as Senator Miller stated: "Of the 22 civilizations that have appeared in history, 19 of them collapsed when they reached the moral state American is in today." He would have really thought it was near its end if he were still alive today, wouldn't he?French political analysis Alevis de Tocqueville, who visited America in 1930 t o learn the secret of our democracy, came to this conclusion: ".... I sought for the greatness and genius of America in fields and boundless forests; it was not there. I sought for it in her free schools and her institutions of learning; it was not there. I sought for it in her matchless Constitution and democratic congress; it was not there. Not until I went to the churches and temples of America and found them aflame with righteousness did I understand the greatness and genius of America. America is great because America is good. When America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great."It pains me to say this, but America is morally bad, very bad. All you have to do is turn on your television sets to see it; or you can go to any movie theater and see it. Turn on your computer and see how many trash things you have compared with anything of relevance. We do not have anything on television today that can compare with the Andy Griffith Show. There are not too many Opies to look up to. There are not too many Andy Taylors explaining life to their children as he did. Whatever happened to good shows like Little House on the Prairie or The Walton's? Why must every new show make sex or violence a major issue?American has become a lazy, slothful nation and she is passing on this moral corruption to her children and their children's children. Yes, I believe America is still the greatest country on earth, but I do not think it will be so very long if we continue down this path of moral depravity.In Matt hew 6: 22-23 we read: "The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness."Simply put, the Lord Jesus reminds us to have a single, simple purpose in life. Do not let your eyes be witnesses of evil and you will not be partakers of evil things. The more of the darkness we allow into our being the more that darkness spreads. You cannot expect your child to understand good if all they see is the bad around them.Paul, in his letter to the Romans, chapter 12: 2, wrote: "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."America needs a transformation. It needs to get back to the basic principles that made this country the great place it became. I am a conservative, po litically, but that is not as important as my declaring me to be a believer in God and the Lord Jesus Christ. Benjamin Rush, one of the original signers of the Declaration of Independence was asked are you a democrat or an Aristocrat? To which he replied, "I am neither. I am a Christocrat." That's the way I feel too.The Christian world has two options:1) continue doing what they are doing, or 2) begin a new revolution of love for the truth of the Word rightly divided.2 Timothy 2: 15: "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needed not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth."I will close with a passage from John 8: 32: "And ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free." The passage is often misquoted or has been mistranslated to read, "And ye shall know the truth and the truth shall SET you free." But that is not as powerful as the way it was written. I can be locked up in jail and someone can let me out unlawfully and I will be set fre e. But if I have been made free by decree I will never fear being locked up again for the same charge. Christ has made us free. He bought our freedom with His own blood. I will forever be free and will forever live with Him.America, it is time to quit lollygagging. Christians it is time to take action and exercise your faith. If you believe that you can make a difference, you will. Why don't you resolve to start doing something right now that will affect your children's tomorrow? Children want parents to love them enough to discipline them. Will you start right now, if you aren't doing so already? If you are a sometimes disciplinarian, will you become a full time one?There is a God America! There is a famine of hearing the Word of the Lord too. But that does not mean it has to continue. It's up to you, America. What are you going to do about it? God wants you to be great, America, but He will allow you to fail if you fail to know more of the truth about Him and His word. < br>