The Karen people had been run from their homes in Myanmar for being Christian. Many had died and the days often brought gunfire into the camp from across the river. There was little food—only enough for two meals a day, yet they insisted on serving lunch to obviously well-fed Americans. They gave freely of what they had so little of—and we were deeply moved.
What separates these two peoples? The one with so much abundance yet craving more and the other, having so little, yet satisfied; one, selfish and greedy, the other, selfless and generous; one, living in the glut of excess, the other, in the eye of need; one, undisciplined and spoiled, the other, disciplined and full of character.
It is the acknowledgement of God that gives us perspective on things and people—a view of life that challenges selfishness and resists lust.
The Founding Fathers repeatedly warned us that freedom was dependent on the twin pillars of religion and morality. If ever those two pillars were lost, they said, the citizens of that democracy would become a mob. I wonder if they even dreamed it would happen so soon.