No. 1015 - A VALUE-LESS SOCIETY
No. 1015
Jim Davidson -- NEWSPAPER COLUMN
A VALUE-LESS SOCIETY!
It has been said the beginning of civilization occurred when a savage hurled an insult instead of a spear. To be sure, in today’s “civilized” society I would much rather someone disagree with me or take exception to something I have said or done, than for them to do me bodily harm, rob me or, in an extreme case, shoot me and take my life. There is certainly no bright future in that.
Have you noticed, as I have, that over the past several years our society has become much more coarse and disrespectful of the rights, property and the lives of others? Personally, I don’t like what I see as the result of this lack of respect and decency. I had much rather see kindness, love, compassion, fairness and a genuine concern for the well-being of others, values that should belie a truly civilized society.
When we talk about values, the greatest of all is the value we place on human life. Ever since our nation was founded, this value has set us apart from most of the other nations in the world, especially those constantly at war. While I never want to paint with a broad brush because there is still so much goodness in our nation, in some respects we have become a value-less society. Why else would we have hundreds of murders taking place in our nation each year. Perhaps the greatest indication of all would be the 54-million-plus abortions that have taken place since Roe vs. Wade in 1973.
We have reached the point in the moral and ethical values of our country that most people will probably disagree with what I am going to say next. All I ask you to do is give it some thought. There is a way that we can right the ship and put our nation back on course that will make us a truly civilized society -- this is for our nation to experience a real spiritual awakening. This statement can be summed up with just one verse of scripture from the Bible, found in II Corinthians 5: 17: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things have passed away; behold all things are become new.”
You see, the Christian life is based on change. When a person’s heart is changed, his values are also changed. When a person harbors values, feelings and attitudes such as hate, envy, greed, and jealousy, they can certainly justify taking an innocent human life, robbing someone, being dishonest and having no character values or morals. On the other hand, contrast this with the Christian, new or old, whose life is changed by having a personal relationship with Jesus. To enable you to better understand what I am saying, consider this verse found in Galatians 5:22-23 -- “The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”
Now, this simple question please -- does this make sense to you? Can you see the real change that would take place in our nation if all or most of us had these values? It has been said that you must have a goal before you can have a goal come true. The sad thing, and the major reason our nation is in such deep trouble, is that most people in our culture have never been taught these values. This is why it is so important that our young people be taught the Bible, the word of God, because they are the future of America.
We just have to decide what kind of nation we are going to have as we look to an uncertain future. I truly love and believe in America. I have children and grandchildren who I would love to have a bright future in the greatest nation in the history of the world.
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(EDITOR’S NOTE: THE DEAL OF THE CENTURY – Begin your day on a positive note – 365 days for $12. This will benefit the Bookcase for Every Child project. Go to www.apositivemomentwithjim.com to subscribe.)
