I just recently watched this documentary series on the History Channel about the 7 DEADLY SINS. It was creative, enjoyable, and entertaining.
It outlined the history of how the current list of the 7.D.S. came into being and how the list has evolved through the history of the Catholic Church and the last 2 millennium of Christianity. It was quite fascinating!
If you don't remember the list, here it is: (in no particular order)
1. PRIDE
2. WRATH/ANGER
3. ENVY
4. SLOTH
5. LUST
6. GLUTTONY
7. GREED
Anyway, as I was watching this series, I began to think of Western Culture. More specifically, American Culture. I have to be honest when I say that --- AT THIS POINT --- all signs point toward a moral decay in our society, which will, in turn, point to the eventual destruction of our society. This same decay has been seen historically, time and again, with other great cultures as well.
Please allow me to preface this by saying: I am a HUGE fan of the United States, and I love the glorious freedoms afforded to us by our great and matchless Constitution.
However, as Thomas Jefferson once wrote in Query XVIII of his Notes On The State Of Virginia: "God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the Gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever."
Obviously, I am not the first to ponder the fall of the United States from the Pedestal Of Grace on which it has sat these past 200+ years.
I just wonder: which of these 7 Deadlies will lead to our nation's ultimate demise? Will it be one individual sin? Or will it be a combination of many? If so, which will be the proverbial straw that breaks the camel's back? (does this sound like I'm too much of a Negative Nancy about our Nation???)
Please hear me: I pray that we may not have to endure the fires of judgment. I implore Almighty God that our Nation would turn from it's wickedness and seek the forgiveness and grace offered through Jesus Christ. With that said, I'm not sure that we can continue with at this same pace, with this same hell-bent attitude, without God stepping in and hitting the cultural reset button.
John Adams, our 2nd President, put it perfectly in a letter he wrote to Thomas Jefferson.
He wrote: "Have you ever found in history, one single example of a Nation thoroughly corrupted that was afterwards restored to virtue?... And without virtue, there can be no political liberty... Will you tell me how to prevent riches from becoming the effects of temperance and industry? Will you tell me how to prevent luxury from producing effeminacy, intoxication, extravagance, vice and folly?"
I would love to have you weigh in --- which of the 7 Deadly Sins will be most responsible for the demise of our Nation?
Ahhhhhhh - - -
ReplyDeleteProv. 16:18, of course. But, then, there are those 7 things the Lord hates in Proverbs 6:16-19
Haughtiness
Lying
Murdering
Plotting evil
Eagerness to do wrong
A false witness
Sowing discord among brothers
Greed is what I see the most of today...The banks the economy... Isn't the love of money the root of all kinds of evil? 1 Timothy 6:10
ReplyDeleteBP has already had people sign contracts to protect themselves from major lawsuits. Those men and woman could have received a compensation for the losses of their business fishing in the Gulf...Din't BP anounce that 2009 had been a huge year for profit?
If Negative Nancy marries Pessimistic Pete could you imagine what their kids might me named? I think they would have twins, Doom & Gloom. No doubt because of the world view they hold, their children could never be named Hope & Destiny.
ReplyDeleteIt’s not our Nation that has to turn, but the Church that has to turn our nation. This is the pivotal moment in history in which we stand. One door leads to discouragement and despair while the other to Hope and Victory. One road is wide that leads to destruction. One is narrow that leads to Life. I don’t think God is judging our nation (least not until the end) but I do believe we reap what we have sowed. So let’s start sowing the right kind of seed.
In the 7 deadly sins, I think they missed the deadliest of all….unbelief.
I say in a pluralistic society, it's likely to be a combination of many, but...
ReplyDeleteHave you ever read anything about the Enneagram? It's controversial in many Christian circles, but according to the model, there's a connection between personality "types" and the 7 deadly sins.
One of the premises is that while we sin in multiple ways, we have a primary or root sin out of which the others flow. Could it be true for a nation as well?
I haven't read his entire book, but Rohr uses countries as examples of these personality types. The US is correlated with a Type 3, Achiever/Performer whose pitfall is Vanity/Superficiality and whose root sin is untruth or disbelief (the only one which doesn't seem to connect to a deadly sin).
Dan may be on to something.
Pride.
ReplyDeleteThose who think we can manage without God and that government can solve every problem will discover their pride only leads to growing tidal waves of problems.
Right now the "PRIDE" OF GOVERNMENT is destroying our nation and taking the heritage we we're destined to have by our fore-fathers brilliant design to have "ONE NATION UNDER GOD". There ideology is Government is a better determinant of who should have or have not with them as the main recipient of all rights. JAH
ReplyDeleteAnother very stimulating post, Dallas. Well done. I agree with others that unbelief is the main problem. That begs the question, what are the main hindrances to people in America today believing, really believing, in a good and holy and sovereign God? In my opinion, it's relativism. By relativism, I mean the belief that nothing is absolute or true, except what I desire. Maybe relativism would fall into the pride category. I think unbelief and pride always go together, and there's probably not much point in trying to figure out which comes first. So, I think my answer to your multiple choice question is: "1. Pride." I'll write "unbelief" and "relativism" in the margin of my test.
ReplyDeleteI will say that lust would be America’s undoing but of course the answer needs explanation…
ReplyDeleteJames tells us that “every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”
We see this happen with Woman in the garden. She “saw” the fruit was to be “desired”. The word used here for “desired” is the same word used when God says “thou shalt not covet…” It also happens to be interpreted “lust”.
Therefore my answer actually covers all sin because it is lust that causes us to be drawn into sin when tempted.
The only hope for a nation carried away by its lust is a people, called by His name that humble themselves and pray. It is then He will heal our land. Part of that humility is to acknowledge that He is God and His law is right. Part of that humility means that we walk in the Spirit, so that we do not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
There is yet hope.
Love the Blog bud! I soooo enjoy Nathan's and your's if you know of any othe really good ones I'd love to hear about them. Well, Here goes. I don't tend to share much about what I think or feel but I am being challenged on this by keeping up with Nathan's blog. My Answer has to be PRIDE, Remember the old saying "Pride commeth before the fall" It seems to me that every other sin has it's root here. Disect if you will just the other 6 mentioned and you will see that they all are in a sense a pride issue. The first sin ever was Lucifer's Pride which caused him to be cast onto the earth. the phrase "If My people who are called by My name HUMBLE theselves, and pray and seek my face and TURN FROM their wicked ways, THEN I will hear from heaven and will FORGIVE THEIR SIN and heal their land." 2Cor.7:14, Humility is the opposite of pride, also I think that this scripture is very interresting in the matter that the word SIN is singular not plural. I often put myself in check by meditating on weather something is Self Serving or not. It seems to me that anything that is done to serve self as opposed to serving God and others is in itself once again a form of pride. So there you have it the oppinion and pole of Deb for whatever that is worth.
ReplyDeleteI THINK IT IS "WWE"
ReplyDeleteI am a practicing Catholic, but maybe I had a pretty open-minded priest growing up, but I have always been under the impression that selfishness, the inability to acknowledge fully and love one another as you ought to love yourself (Jesus, God, the Spirit) was where the root of these seven sins lie. Americans, praise the Lord, have the right to be who they are - no matter what religion, no matter what sin they have committed. I believe our government is doing a commendable job at addressing these issues. I live at the only surviving building of the World Trade Center Site. Last week we had a near-riot about the town's decision to build a Mosque in this very center, overlooking this hole in the ground that is a burial for the Lord's children. 29 out of 30 New Yorkers voted in favor of that Mosque, and plans are underway. I had tears in my eyes as I saw my fellow Americans drop their selfishness, their egos, in order to uphold the laws of our great nation. Everyone has their own path to the end of our time here - we have been given a gift to decide how we'd like to spend that time.
ReplyDeleteMy point is this: you are writing to a group of loving people who are believers and who go to church and believe that the church will solve the problems of this society - many of our brothers and sisters have fallen prey to the society of despair you refer to. Not because they are evil or non-believers, but because of their circumstance. We on this forum are blessed to have been raised in environments where worship is encouraged. Not everyone had that luxury. America stands up for you, AND for them. I believe it is our duty to work together to create a better world. I believe that is God's will - to trump evil and sin with love and goodness. Spread the word, Brother Dallas!
Kel
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