I’m convinced that the reason we enjoy so many blessings today is due in large part to the principles and moral values of those that have passed before us. We have become a culture that is leeching or riding on the proverbial coat tails of those that have past. It’s for this reason that we are loosing some of our moral fiber in America. C.S. Lewis said, “We remove the organ and demand the function. We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst.” We want fruit, but we as Americans are disinclined to focus on our roots.
Scottish author John Buchan said: “What afflicts us is a corruption of the heart, a turning away in our soul. Our aspirations, our affections, and our desires are turned toward the wrong things. And only when we turn them toward the right things – toward enduring, noble, spiritual things – will things get better.”
What is starting to happen in America is happening because we are beginning to believe that God doesn’t exist. If God doesn’t exist then everything becomes permissible. It’s been my observation that we are to that place now.
I believe it was in the 1770’s that the American population was something like three million people. It was during this time that we find such men as Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, John Adams, James Monroe, James Madison and a multitude of others. As you look at the landscape of America now with some 305 million people it’s hard to even find one man that could match up to this list.
Could it be that what those early Americans were taught had a direct bearing on their accomplishments and performance? According to the Thomas Jefferson Research Institute, in the 1770’s over 90% of our educational thrust was designed at teaching moral values. Most education was handled in the home, church or church-supported schools. By 1926 the percentage of moral training had been reduced to 6%, and by 1951 the percentage was so low you couldn’t even measure it.
It’s our spiritual roots that empower us to grow our character through the establishment of moral bearings. We must make sure that we are developing our character and teaching it to our children.
that is a good post shannon…..and your boys are such cuties!! Makes me feel a little old since I remember you at these ages ,,,