The potential downgrade of US government debt has been the subject of recent media headlines. The United States is at one of those crucial historical turning points. The enemy is not out there. It is in our midst. This great nation is on the road to financial insolvency.
At the bottom of money is morality. Our views of family, church, the individual, God, and a host of other issues (all ultimately theological) come to bear upon how we utilize our assets. This applies to individuals, families, and nations.
That is why there has been such a snow storm of confusing opinions on the subject. Last week the Wall Street Journal published an important article that provides a history of the problem. It will also motivate you to pray much for our nation and our elected representatives.
We actually passed the most crucial historical turning point decades ago in our quest for “personal self-fulfillment” and the “pursuit of happiness.” Thus our financial situation as a nation, a measurement of our moral decisions, is crumbling.Historically safety nets were built around family, religious institutions, and those of high moral character who were wealthy. As a child and teenager I witnessed an avalanche of activity tearing families apart, religious institutions actively promoting transference of responsibility to government, and so many of the wealthy caught up in a lifestyle of “taking care of number one,” fearfully obsessed that they do not yet have enough.We now pay the price for that “pursuit of happiness” and trust in riches. As has happened so often in history, a nation rises up to challenge the dominant one who trusts in her riches, and whose citizens have been preoccupied with themselves and their pleasures. History does not paint a pretty picture for that dominant nation.There is still time to turnaround. But time does not stand still. Every moment, opportunity slips away. We must repent.