The Decline and Fall of the American Empire

We've all heard it before: those who fail to learn from history are bound to repeat it. I love reading history. I think it's fascinating to learn how things have been done in the past, what made certain people and civilizations great, and what brought them down.

David, King of the United Kingdom of Israel, was highly favored of God for many years. He listened to the prophet of God, Saul, and HEEDED Saul's counsel. Then, after many years of war, bloodshed, and incredible success, David listened but failed to heed Saul anymore. He was full of himself, full of pride at what HE had accomplished, and eventually stopped listening to the Lord's prophet altogether. Then came his fall. He tried earnestly to repent, but never quite made it back into the good graces of God.

Solomon, the Wise, King of the United Kingdom of Israel and son of David, ruled well and wisely...as long as he obeyed the commandments of God as given to him by the prophets of his time. He was even allowed to build a temple of the LORD in Jerusalem. But, again, he was lifted up in the pride of his heart and stopped listening to the voice of the Lord, the prophets.

It seems that when people stop listening to God's promptings, whether they come in answer to questions we pose to the Almighty in our personal prayers or from the Lord's own prophets, they (we) become full of pride and we fall. The fall of all great civilizations has been the result of leaving behind their religious beliefs and relying on their own strength, intelligence, wisdom, and forgetting that they got where they did because of the blessings of a loving Father in Heaven. Ingratitude and faithlesness pushes us away from God and He lets us do it our way. When we have fallen on our collective faces and become humble and teachable, then He calls to us once again and says "Follow me". If we heed the call, we can and will be blessed once more.

After 9/11, after Katrina, after virtually any major disaster, people turn back to God and ask for His help. When the help comes, they are grateful. After a few months, maybe a year or two, they forget from whence the blessings came and go right back to their old ways. The thing is, Father in Heaven WANTS to bless our lives, our crops, our homes, our nation. All He wants from us is obedience to His commandments, our willingness to follow Him and our selfless service to His children. He also wants us to be grateful, which requires humility. When we acknowledge His hand in our affairs, He prospers us further.

Why can't we, as a nation, as a people learn from the mistakes of the past and remember the Lord, our God? Why can't we be humble on our own and thank Him daily for our blessings at His hand? Why can't we love and serve one another on our own, without the force of law and the redistribution of wealth mandated by the liberal government? PRIDE, LAZINESS, SELFISHNESS, HATRED, and GREED are reasons that leap into my mind.

What do my readers have to say? I'd like to hear from you. And if this post makes you think, then I've done some good today. May God bless America. And may HE bless you, too.