These Days - The Fall of Nations - Pt 2

You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, as long as the heavens are above the earth. For if you will be careful to do all this commandment that I command you to do, loving the Lord your God, walking in all his ways, and holding fast to him, then the Lord will drive out all these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations greater and mightier than you. (Deuteronomy 11:18-23 ESV). History reveals that all governments, empires and kingdoms of men, no matter how grand, no matter how powerful, ultimately fall. It happened to ancient Egypt, Assyria and Babylon. Even Rome was not exempt; though it dominated much of Europe, Northern Africa, the Middle East and parts of the Near East, and lasted for 500 years, the Roman Empire ultimately fell. And, recalling an old idiom that “Rome was not built in a day,” we can also see that the Roman Empire did not fall in one night; its decline was gradual. Not long after it rose to world dominance, several factors were already at work contributing to the empire’s ultimate demise. Similarly, these factors are at work in our nation and should serve as warning signs of a civilization destined to fall. The first of these to explore is the systematic transformation of the family unit.

While “Leave It to Beaver” is not the perfect example of a family, it does serve as an example of the difference of the family today and fifty years ago. It defined the "golly gee" wholesomeness of ‘50s and ‘60s TV, where dad, Ward Cleaver, always gets home in time for dinner, mom, June, cleans the house wearing a dress and pearls, and the kids, Wally and the Beaver always learn a lesson by the end of the episode. There aren’t very many “Cleaver families” today. In fact, statistics are dismally low when measuring the comparative numbers of families that even remotely resemble this fictional representation of family. That decline was never God’s intent or desire. If we want to find real answers to the incredible challenges we are facing in our culture today with its violence and destruction, we must begin to understand this history. Few understand that the family unit is the basic building block of every thriving society. Within the family, young minds are first taught the importance of building character, controlling one’s emotions, setting worthwhile goals, and striving for excellence. When God led Israel out of Egypt and gave instructions to Moses for the building of their new nation, parents were to be the center for properly instructing and educating their children. They were to model a strong and active faith in God that resulted in respect for others, diligence in life, and commitment to one another. Broken marriages and fractured homes are now the norm. Few fathers take their responsibility to teach, guide, or disciple their children. In fact, much of the time there is no real father figure in the home and the mother is left to fill both parental roles. Children are growing up pampered and catered to, never learning to accept and recover from setbacks, never instructed to think of others before themselves. They live in a world increasingly more hostile toward them while we think we have protected them. Actually, we have largely seen our children progressively left less protected and equipped to face the dangers of growing up. Only a focused return to the instruction and direction of God will protect our children and ultimately our nation. This is one of the answers!