Why is it that people in this nation lack faith and fear in something greater than themselves? Why is it that rates of religious observance have dropped drastically over the last 50 years, despite the enormous success our country and citizens have obtained? Does success not come from God?
Lacking belief means lacking a basic requirement to feel morality in this world. Believing, on the other hand, requires everything. It requires professional and personal sacrifice. It requires the understanding that freedom does not come from the government or corporations, but it comes from God himself.
Far too many people today place their absolute faith in individuals and entities in which their true intentions may be hidden. Take for example the near deification of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention over the past year and a half. Tens of millions of Americans have blindly followed anything and everything the CDC says, despite its known flip-flops and potential conflicts of interest. People fear the CDC. People love the CDC. People believe that the CDC holds the key to their individual and personal freedom. This is a fallacy like nothing before. Freedom comes from God.
We must be conscious of our morality. Stealing, kidnapping, murder, adultery and other forms of debauchery may give the sinner instant gratification and an immediate feeling of pleasure, but the fact is, they are breaking the spiritual paradigm that makes the world run smoothly. More so, they will find their morally corrupt being eating itself alive as they ponder over their past transgressions. Man today does not realize the impact that their actions have on the world around them. Take the example of the ramifications that a murder may have. Not only is the person who was killed taken from this world, but the lives of those close to that person are irreparably damaged. Never again will they feel safe or comfortable. In fact, they may seek revenge themselves.
We live in a society that is truly morally corrupt. Rather than those who fear and love God being praised, it is exactly the opposite. The people most adored in our world are those who openly transgress his commands. Transgender and homosexual people are considered heroes in our world today. Corrupt politicians and businesspeople are our leaders. How can a society hold itself up successfully if the people most adored and followed, so to say maintaining the function, have no foundation themselves? We must remember that worshipping anyone or anything other than God himself is the gravest sin of them all -- idolatry. When we bend the knee to those people and those things that beg for our praise, we are openly revolting against God's sovereignty over the world. It is only God who is deserving of our praise, and from him only can we be uplifted.
The United States of America was founded on the strong foundational belief in a higher power. Our founding fathers understood that the success of the new nation would not be due to the righteousness of men, but rather from the kindness of God. They recognized that the early success of the nation and our independence was Divine Providence itself. Look no further than the first Thanksgiving Day proclamation. What we today use as a holiday to watch football, get drunk and stuff ourselves with turkey, George Washington saw as, "a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness." Think of how far we have strayed from those prophetic words.
Most ironically, yet not surprisingly, it is in times of crisis and death that even the most ardent opponents of faith come to the realization of God's supremacy. They turn to him in prayer and supplication, looking for answers and for strength. They realize they have nowhere else to turn. This is not how things should be. Faith is not a tool to be utilized only when it is convenient. Faith is a lifelong struggle with God, culminating ultimately in the one idea that is common to all people -- death. It is in the last moments of a person's time on earth that they turn to their creator and reflect on their past. They think of the good and the bad, begging for mercy. Why can't we turn to our creator always?
Why has this happened? I believe there are many factors, some being our over-reliance on mass-produced and highly processed food. Eating is too easy. Those before us had to work and toil for their produce. More so, today's world requires no work. People can sit at home collecting more money from the government than by working. People are also too arrogant and prideful. They believe that their success is solely due to their being, when in fact all success and praise comes from God. I am not bold or arrogant enough to lack faith. Why can't the rest of the world open their eyes to this humbling fact? It is true that Abraham begged God to spare Sodom and Gomorrah to save the righteous. God complied, but ultimately the transgressions of the cities were too great to even save their good.
I pray that we can turn ourselves around before it is too late.