Our Can of Whoopin' is a Comin'

Oh great nation, how we are in a great state of decline. There are instances in our lives that happen and catch us completely off guard. I am a planner and find myself constantly observing and trying to prepare for things before they take captive areas of my life. Yet, sometimes we are slow in the progression to the demise and the final straw is crippling. Granted there are some things you just simply cannot prepare for. A drunk driver. Cancer. Natural disaster. But most things, we have been given the wisdom to prepare for.

For instance, debt. You can prepare for this. You can prepare by saving for upcoming expense. You can prepare by having an emergency stash for the other unexpected life expenses (emergency room, new tires, transmission, unexpected travel expenses, etc.)

Illness – striving to maintain cleanliness of your home, cleanliness of you, limited exposure to dangerous material – in work and in leisure, dietary choices, exercise – these are ways in which you can seek to minimize medical complexities

Conflict – Decipher the demeanor of the person you are communicating with in order to utilize the best communication strategies, determine the necessity of your comment (sometimes we speak out of selfishness), willingness to communicate and not have a one-sided conversation, THINK before you speak – Is it true? Is it helpful? Is it inspiring? Is it necessary? Is it kind?

Car repair – keep gas in your car, change the oil, balance and rotate tires, change tires, change filters, etc.

Home repair – clean inside and outside, change air filters, maintain proper insulation, protect from infestation, prepare for proper drainage, etc.

Then there are other instances in life that are seen as the unnatural disasters. I am speaking out of a concerned citizen, not a particular party representative, so before you shut me out; know that both parties are corrupt in my opinion. Each election has become the choice of the lesser of two evils.

Our nation was originated through the ambition of citizens of another land seeking to escape authoritarian tyranny. Our nation was originally a conglomerate of many different people groups (meaning we have NEVER been just one ethnic group), all with the similar desires. They wanted to live in an area where they had the opportunity to choose their economic practices. They wanted to live in a land where they could develop their own governmental standards. They wanted to live away from forced religious dictation. They wanted to explore and discover and seek to grow in knowledge AND possession. Make no mistake, the original intent of our nation’s beginnings was humble, but there was still just a smidge of corruption even back then. So often the argument of the conservative is that we must return to our roots and the visions of the founding fathers. Again, don’t misunderstand me. My educational focus for most of my life has been social science which investigates the origin of not only our country, but also the rise and fall of all great people groups. There is a key word in that last sentence – fall.

As I said before, there was corruption even in the early 1500s and 1600s. Not everyone who came to our country was in pursuit of Christian freedom and promotion of the common welfare. There were selfish and greedy conquistadors that invaded Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, and Texas. There were aggressive French and English who assumed the native inhabitants were ignorant and needed to be tamed and realigned. And those who came for innocent pursuit of a new life, well let’s just say that their strength was challenged and their ideals questioned.

Fast forward to the late 1700s where there is stability and a collected alliance under one country with the 13 colonies all under the rule of one King. The American Revolution was truly remarkable and shook not only the great kingdom of England, but caused a tremor that altered structure around the world. The very idea that common citizens could rise up against the government and challenge the government and overtake the government was unheard of. Yet, it happened. And it spawned riots, rebellions, and revolutions across the globe for centuries to come.

We do need to know that the colonists were not seen as excellent law-abiding citizens throughout the world though. The colonists received freebies for years as inhabitants of the new world – free military protection, free trade agreements, free provisions of supplies and materials (tax-free that is). Then, all of the sudden, our little group of colonies began receiving notification that it was time to contribute to the pot that was being redistributed back to them. In other words, a series of taxes began to be dumped on the colonists causing confusion, anger, rage, and bitterness. Now granted, some of these new taxes AND restrictions were excessive, but some were justified. So our colonists were viewed as basically spoiled brats and cry babies. What? We have to actually contribute to the pot? We have to take some of our earnings and chip in so that all of the provisions we receive are covered?

Every day, I am thankful for our nation and for those who sacrificed their lives in order to defend our freedom. Every day, I am thankful for our nation and for the freedoms that we still have that have not been taken away – yet. Every day, I praise the Lord for the very idea that I was allowed to be born here.

Every day, I mourn and grieve our country as well. Every day, I beg the Lord for mercy and empowerment of leaders who will stand up for what is right – what is right! Every day, I beg forgiveness of the Lord that we have let generation after generation after generation continually excuse selfishness and disrespect and compromise of integrity. Every day, I find myself wondering how much longer before he allows the Assyrian army to invade and rain down the punishment that is coming for the constant disregard of truth and justice. Our Bible is full of stories where God waits, and waits, and waits, and waits on His people (His people is ALL OF CREATION TODAY, BTW) to stop their ignorance of justice and their tolerance of filth so to return to Him. Every day, something else happens in our society and in our government that gives me that sick feeling of OH NO!

Selfishness and sin existed in the 1500s when they all began to arrive. Selfishness and sin existed in the late 1700s when they created the foundations for our nation. The difference is, acceptance of infectious disease was not tolerated and preventative measures were taken to keep the illness of our land minimal. I don’t even feel we are taking our vitamins any more, much less eating a well-balanced diet with exercise. We stopped taking vaccinations 80 years ago. And we are getting weaker and weaker. The white blood cells are few and if our country is to get any better, than they must multiply. What are you doing to replicate? Are you content in where we are? Or is this decline something you are oblivious to? Our can of whoopin’ is coming. Read the Old Testament. Read Isaiah. Oh the parallels are astounding. If you don’t have a faith in Biblical standards, than read your Roman history – the very empire we are compared to as a nation. Read the end and how they collapsed. Makes you have an A-ha and Oh No moment all at the same time. Let’s replicate!