Are We Not Yet Destroyed?

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”  Hosea 4:6a

 

“Behold, is it not of Jehovah of Hosts that the people labor only to feed the fire, and nations weary themselves only for vanity.”  Habakkuk 2:13

 

The other day I noticed a click-bait advertisement for photos of life in the 1950’s.  Knowing history in the United States fairly well, I decided to see what exactly they were trying to push with such an article. 

 

While going through it, I noticed that they spent some time discussing how easy it was for a one income family back in the 1950’s to purchase a home and pay it off.  Now my family history has an oddity to it, as my father was much older than the average father.  So for many years, until his death, I heard of stories of how things worked back when he was young.

 

Growing up in northern Michigan, I also got my hands on a book about the Hedrick family of Harbor Springs, who offered a very good first hand account of the early settler days in that region of the state.  While that was in the late 1800’s, still the accounts of everyday life for the average person was somewhat similar. 

 

At 40 years old, I have had discussions with my friends for many years regarding the cost of living, verses trying to carve out a niche in the world.  When I was younger I had aspirations to go to college and get a degree in meteorology.  There were a lot of things that my wife and I talked about doing, some we did, some we didn’t do.  Now before I go further, I would like to mention here the following:

 

“I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in everything I am taught both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to lack.”  Philippians 4:12

 

As a Christian, while I must work to provide for my family, the focus is on Christ, serving Him wholeheartedly. 

 

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”  Galatians 2:20

 

Having worked in a variety of industries throughout the years, as well as having heard numerous stories from friends and family, plus reading tons of stories online, there seems to be a common theme.  The theme is that it is very hard to make it and though it should be apparent that it is nearly gone for the majority, a lot of people are still chasing the so called American dream. 

 

Before I go further, I will reiterate that in the United States we still have it better than most people around the world.  I have traveled extensively throughout a portion of the world and have seen firsthand how things work in second and third world countries.  Not having money for a new television, a ‘modern’ home, a nice car, etc., is truly secondary to what these people have to deal with.  For them it really is struggling to meet day to day needs, as well as a lack of proper medical care and education.  Yet thinking back to the 1950’s, certainly things have changed in this country. 

 

From gathering all of the information that I have collected through first hand accounts, historical essays and personal research, truly back in the 1950’s the American Dream was easily achievable.  The average man could get a job, get married, have children, buy a house, have a family car and save enough money for retirement.  While we could debate all day long as to what caused these things to change, I’ll just through out a few common ideas amongst economical thinkers.

 

Trade deals, jobs shipped abroad, the Federal Reserve system, robotic employees, war debts, oil based currency and numerous other ideas factor into what people commonly think of when they describe how we got here.  In 2018, for the average American, a home payment is a burden, car payments are too much, credit card debt is skyrocketing, health insurance cost is incredible and that is to say nothing of the health care deductibles.

 

Further the cost of food, medicine, even taking your pet to the vet have all increased to the point where it is almost burdensome.  I’ve watched the cost of supplies that I use go up and up, which causes me to be creative and search for other sources to keep the price down.  For years I have watched products going up in price and down in size at the grocery store.  Yet nowadays have we become a society that are working for vanity?  Are we not yet destroyed?

 

Speaking of destruction, our basis for a society that allows people to reasonably work, pay for a modest home, a modest vehicle and the necessities of life, without a never-ending struggle, in that regards, our basis, our fabric of what should be a fair and equitable society is destroyed.  In what is a constitutional republic, allowing for free enterprise, life and liberty to all, the fabric of such a system has been torn.  Do the schematics of exactly what caused it really matter?  Well certainly it matters if one assumes to fix it. 

 

In order to fix this country and make it great again, as some are trying, first we must realize what problems likely caused this.  So the questions that beg to be answered is why we are in this predicament.  Already some reasons given by those who claim to be in the know have been mentioned.  We now have a President who is actively promising to bring back exactly what has been destroyed, that being the American dream. 

 

With that being said it is absolutely apparent that the guise to doing so is to supposedly counter-react what many economist and think tanks suggest is the root of the problem.  While it should not be claimed that there is only one problem, ensuring that the issues are largely multi-faceted, what should be understood is that those who are in position to try and correct the supposed errors of society that led to the decline and destruction of the American dream for most Americans, are looking at the symptoms of the problems, rather than the actual cause.

 

In trying to make America great again, trade deals, tariffs, regulations and a host of other things are being looked at, supposedly as the resolve of these problems.  Now if one were to actually look at not what is said, but ultimately what is done in regards to fixing these problems, that is a different issue.  Yet America has turned such a discussion and focus to suggesting that one party, namely the democratic party, is preventing the republicans from being able to fully achieve their goals in regards to making this country great again.  Yet I would suggest that neither party has it right.  For neither party declares that our country has departed from following God, in word and deed. 

 

“Therefore Jehovah said, Whereas this people draw near with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men; therefore, behold, I will again do among this people something extraordinary and wonderful. For the wisdom of their wise ones shall perish, and the understanding of their intelligent ones shall be hidden.  Woe to those who are profound to hide their counsel from Jehovah! And their works are in the dark, and they say, Who sees us? And, Who knows us?  O your perversity! Shall the former be esteemed as the potter’s clay; for shall the product say of him who made it, He did not make me? Or shall the thing formed say to him who formed it, He has had no understanding?”  Isaiah 29:13-16

 

We might make mention of God as a nation, but our works are certainly contrary to Him.  Should I make a list of the errors?  Should I try and calculate what some of those might be, not knowing of course the fullness of the matter?  Or rather should I caution people, whomever it may be who would listen, that while God hasn’t prophetically proclaimed that this is judgment against this country, but we have the Bible that shows examples of what has happened in the past to nations that depart from the Almighty God.

 

“Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.”  1st Corinthians 10:11

 

Should we not suggest that the symptoms of our destruction of this country are not possibly due to another cause, rather than what would seem to be obvious to most?  Wouldn’t it be wise to suggest that we find out if the cause of our destruction to a normal means of life, as expected by a supposedly free country, might well be due to our horrific departure from our Creator? 

 

Do we really think that over 60,000,000 babies can be aborted, murder in the eyes of Him who is the just Judge, and get away with it?  Do we really think that we can have sodomite marriage in this country legalized, without having repercussions?  Do we really think that we can promote, legislate and educate for pro transgenderism in this country and get away with it?  Do we really think that we can bomb and kill innocent people for economic and political reasons, around the world, irregardless of what the supposed public reason is, and get away with it?  Will God not require the blood of those who are innocent on our own land?  Are these not symptoms of a country who once boasted to the world of the American dream, that destruction towards our way of life has already happened and is continuing to escalate? 

 

“Surely at the mouth of Jehovah this came upon Judah, to remove them from before His face because of the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, and also because of the innocent blood that he had shed; for he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, which Jehovah was not willing to forgive.”  2nd Kings 24:3-4

 

“And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God:  I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I would that you were cold or hot.  So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.  Because you say, I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing; and do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked;  I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.  As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.  Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.  To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”  Revelation 3:14-21

 

Our country is full of symptoms of having departed from our Creator.  Don’t believe that destruction of our country has happened?  Then why is a large segment of our population desperately trying to undo the destruction that has happened to a large portion of our population, in terms of basic economics.  Whether it is a supposed socialistic-communistic-marxist solution or our current President in regards to his plans to supposedly make this country great again, the fact is both sides are calling for more fairness, because their basic way of life in generations past have been destroyed. 

 

I could begin a deep discussion into many political things that seem to be the dynamics of what is actually occurring, but why bother?  Certainly there does appear to be quite a deception amongst the people, but do we think we are able to praise God with our lips, saying we are a people of His, but deceive Him with our actions?  If we think, as a nation, to deceive our Creator with our actions, than why should I even begin to get into the potential dynamics of a diabolical scheme that may be being fostered against our nation, and not simply point to turning, repenting from our ways and wholeheartedly serve the one and only God?!

 

“Do not be led astray, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.”  Galatians 6:7

 

My suggestion is the same that it was when Donald Trump was campaigning.  If you want to make America great again, then America needs to repent. 

 

Let me reiterate one thing to those who think that one man can solve it all, without a nation that repents to their Creator.  A lot of the supposed solutions to solve the destruction of our country is focused on trade, tariffs and jobs.  Well who elected these people in office year after year?  Was it not our people?  Even when our jobs went overseas, who decided to still buy American, rather than merchandise from a foreign country, thus allowing our jobs to go overseas, not by legislation, but by public choice of how people allocate their funds?  And who, but our own people, are pushing for supposed rights and social justice that is contrary to Him who Created us?  Is it not our own people.

 

The power has always been in the hands of ‘we the people’ and still is.  We don’t need to look to a leader, we need as a nation to repent towards our Creator and continue on.  You want to fix America, don’t look towards our leaders, look at yourself.  Just how much of our labor in this country only feeds the fire and produces vanity?!

 

If you disagree that America has not been destroyed, then why are we trying to make America great again?  If something was once great, that means it no longer is.

 

Amen!