Thinking...

::mood::wishing it were easier to do the right thing
::listening::Lost? Our National Treasure, by Pastor Todd Dubord of Lake Almanor Community Church

Today, my dad reminded me of a great quote:

"The measure of a man is not in what he can do, but rather in what he chooses not to do."

Which got us to talking about how, with the current culture, we are raising a bunch of social miscreants and moral retards. I know I must sound like an old man. But it really hit me this past week. I don't even remember what exactly it was that triggered the train of thought. But if you take a moment to think about it, teachers are not allowed to exercise discipline in the classrooms of our public schools, parents anymore are afraid to lay a hand on their kids, 'tolerance' is now 'politically correct', which happens to be a joke in itself, and every trace of religion of moral standard has been systematically wiped from the fabric of our chrysalisistic society.

And in it's place a massive moral void resides. In the minds of youth, there is absolutely no standard of right and wrong. I told you I was going to sound like an old man. But seriously, my mind cannot even fathom the squalid darkness that exists in the place of what is such an essential, integral, inseparable part of ME.

I have been raised to see that in every decision, there is a right choice and there is a wrong choice. Granted, you may have two things to choose from, and they both may be good options, both beneficial. But there will always exist a moral standard, established from the beginning of time, to determine what is the correct choice to make. I recognize that life is a series of forks in the road. One must begin with the end in mind, and make sacrifices along the way, choosing the right over the temptation of temporary pleasures in order to prosper, in order to get where he wants to go. And that more importantly, the Moral Code of Conduct (the Law of God written on our hearts) needs to determine where I want to go, who I want to be, what I want to do.

I can only agree with Thomas Jefferson when he said that

"The God who gave us life, gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis: a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are a gift from God? that they are not to be violated but with His wrath?
"Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just and that His justice cannot sleep forever."

It's not a big deal. Oh, no. Nothing to it. I mean, it's been happening for years now, and nothing bad has happened yet!

Or so they would say.

It appears that everything is fine on the surface. But the only thing keeping our society afloat is the fact that we have the privilege of riding on the spiritual heritage of our forefathers, who themselves were steeped in a judeo-christian values system.

"Yes, we did produce a near perfect republic. But will they keep it? Will they, in the enjoyment of plenty, lose the memory of freedom? Material abundance without character is the path of destruction." - Thomas Jefferson

And so, it appears then, that our society is on the "path of destruction". And it saddens me. Who will I have to live with as fellow members of society in twenty or thirty years? I am by nature an optimist. I tend to look forward to the future with a bright perspective. Hoping for the best.

And I won't cease to hope for the best. I cannot.

But then again, I refuse to blindly proceed without carefully recognizing what is going on around me.

In the center of my planner, I have a card that reminds me daily of some goals I have for my life. Two statements bracket this set of objectives: "Live life to it's fullest....Being aware of my surroundings."

So I live in this culture. And I watch. Observing what goes on around me. Not to get discouraged from living the way I must, the way I must choose. But to carry on and pray that President Reagan was right when he said,

"I know here that you will agree with me that standing up for America also means standing up for the God Who has so blessed our land. I believe this country hungers for a spiritual revival. I believe it longs to see traditional values reflected in public policy again. To those who cite the first amendment as a reason for excluding God from more and more of our institutions in everyday life, may I just say this: the first amendment of the constitution was not written to protect the people of this country from religious values. It was written to protect religious values from government tyranny." - President Ronald Reagan

Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,
The people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance.
- Ps. 33:12