They say when you hit rock bottom, the only way is up. I would say the moral standards of today have declined well below the danger line and a refill of decency is badly needed in America right now. Never have I seen or heard of such hateful disrespect and people pushing others to the breaking point. From politicians, Hollywood ‘stars’ to the general public it has become standard practice to refuse service and bad mouth anyone who disagrees with us politically or socially. This is no longer the environment most of us grew up in…. nor should we allow it to continue.
“All men are created equal” means we all have the same rights….but it does not give us the right to be hateful or only self-serving in our interactions with others. Did you ever hear someone say, “It isn’t written in stone?” Well, I take that to mean it wasn’t passed down from God. There were many laws made through the generations in order to keep people in line, but the only ones written in stone are the ten commandments which were given to Moses….the same ones that we have allowed to be removed from government buildings and certain other public places because certain people find them “offensive.”
We all live by certain moral standards….or we should…. a code of ethics that we try our best to stand up to. Some people have been lied to so many times they think lying is okay, while others, for the same reason, vow to always tell the truth no matter what. Some people whose parents were heavy drinkers refuse to drink at all while others fall into the same bad habit as Mom or Dad. Some of us have a sensitive conscience while others seem to know no shame at all. Therefore we all need a scope, a guiding light….or a set of laws to live by.
God saw this need and carved His laws into stone plates. It took forty days on a mountain to put these laws into print and the people got restless wondering if Moses had deserted them altogether. So to satisfy the people and avoid some kind of uprising, Aaron, Moses’ brother, came up with an idea. He told the people to gather all their jewelry and anything they had that was made of gold and bring it to him. The gold was melted down and formed into the image of a calf, an image of worship.
When Moses started down from the mountain with the laws in hand, he saw the people worshiping the golden calf and anger overtook him. He rushed down the mountainside throwing the two blocks of stone breaking them into pieces. He yelled at the people of Israel, destroyed the calf then prayed for God to forgive them. God finally agreed to forgive the people and again met Moses at the top of the mountain and wrote the laws again.
This time God made sure the laws were protected and He instructed Moses how to keep them that way. They all worked together and built the Ark of the Covenant where the stones were stored. They built a tabernacle and prepared a place for the ark inside it. From then on, when they traveled, the ark was carried ahead and was never allowed to touch the ground. This protection which God insisted on should explain the importance He placed on these laws and His desire for the people to follow them. It should be noted too that when ever the ark was present and respect paid to it good things happened.
Until a few years ago these laws remained a center of our society and were proudly placed on prominent display outside government buildings across our nation. For anyone to tamper with them was considered a federal offense….Now the laws are considered offensive? How did we ever allow this to happen?
In a civilized society there is no place for lawlessness and sinful actions that go unpunished. Many in our political parties have brought it upon themselves and determined to divide us any way they can. Both sides have said and done things, as we all have, that shows no respect at all for the laws contained in God’s commandments. All this was seemingly brought about because of the election of our current President, but let’s be clear: Satan has been hard at work in our political system for decades feeding the greed and slowly but surely convincing those in charge that God and His laws are no longer needed. When God is not welcomed or consulted only bad things happen.
The fastest way to discredit any one is to bring up something from their past, or simply start a rumor about them…. whether it is true or not. Face it, we all have things we have done or said that we regret. If we were to be judged on those actions alone none of us could be considered good enough to hold a political office….or worthy of God’s love and forgiveness either. None are worthy, but as a people, we have to realize that forgiveness is possible and we can turn this thing around. As it is now, people are being harassed when they go out to eat, protesters march outside the homes of people they disagree with, neighbors attack each other for no good reason…. This has to stop.
What if, as a united nation, we all agree to put God’s laws and His principals back where they belong….at the center of everything. For this to happen God’s people have to pray as Moses did in the book of Exodus concerning the stiff-necked people he was leading. When the people were worshiping the golden calf God was ready to give up on them and told Moses in Exodus 32:10 Now therefore, let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them….
Moses interceded for the people and asked God to show them His mercy. However, Moses himself had not yet seen the people worshiping the golden calf. When he did see, his own anger ‘waxed hot against them.’ Still, he interceded for them again, as well as many other times during their exodus from Egypt. God heard the prayers and afterwards wrote the laws again, He revealed himself to the people and they worked hand in hand with Moses to build the Ark of the Covenant and the tabernacle.
Just as things today seem unable to get any worse, God is revealing Himself in various ways that give us hope for a better future. The President we have now is far from perfect, but he is doing his best to honor God and lead our nation back into His way. Courts are making decisions that protect our religious freedoms and sin and corruption are being revealed almost daily. Peace is being sought in areas that have been ignored for decades and people are praying for it to happen.
Only prayer has the power to change the mind of God and bring peace to a stiff-necked people. Let us pray for God’s mercy to touch the hearts of those who need it most and all work together to bring peace on a personal level as well. Not only peace from war but peace in knowing we can all practice our beliefs without fear of being harmed or shamed by someone with a different opinion. As we pray for forgiveness and Jesus intercedes for us, may God’s mercy cause us all to work together and put an end to this division. We have reached the bottom, so remember….the only way is up!
