‘The whole land is brimstone, salt, and burning; it is not sown, nor does it bear, nor does any grass grow there, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, which the LORD overthrew in His anger and His wrath.’

“All nations would say, ‘Why has the LORD done so to this land? What does the heat of this great anger mean?’

“Then people would say: ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD God of their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them out of the land of Egypt;

Deuteronomy 29:23-25, NKJV

 

One of the most important skills that a person can acquire is the ability to properly diagnose a problem in order to then implement the right solution. Whether we are talking about a good doctor. a good mechanic, a good citizen or a good servant of God, they all have the ability to not only observe what is wrong, but also the knowledge needed to fix that problem.

 

We have all known someone who is on so many prescribed drugs that they cannot even keep up with them. Sometimes this is needed, but more often than not, the doctor taking care of them is just searching for the right combination of drugs to make their problem go away. We have also likely taken our car to a mechanic at one time or another for a simple repair, only to find out that "There was a lot wrong" with our vehicle. While this is occasionally the case, it's usually because the mechanic didn't know what he was doing so he just started changing parts. If we are smart, we will find professionals who can diagnose and fix based on the right diagnosis. While such men and women seem to be rare they do exist, and these are the people we seek out when we need something done. All others are parts changers and pill pushers.

 

What's this got to do with the title of this article? How does this help us to know how we got to this dire point in history? Simply this: Most of us are aware of the serious problems within our nation at the present time, but we continue to surround ourselves with politicians who are clueless "parts changers" and "pill pushers". So, how can we properly diagnose the problem so that we can do the right thing about it? The same way that a doctor becomes a good doctor and a mechanic becomes a good mechanic: Study and experience!

 

I believe we have the experience part down. We look around our nation and see it on fire. We see perversion taking over, children teaching our children insane ideas in some of our schools,  and corruption from the lowliest areas of public service to the very halls of congress. We have runaway inflation, warmongers looking for the next fight, and substance abuse so rampant that it is spilling over from the downtown streets to the once safe neighborhoods of the suburbs. Again, it is clear that we have had our fill with the experience end of the deal, but what can we do?

 

In Jeremiah's time, some 900 years after the prophesy that we read above in Deuteronomy, those prophetic words of Moses were fulfilled, This was an ere that was so similar to the times that we live in that the reading of their dire situation is like reading the morning newspaper today. So, again, what does this have to do with our problems today? Simply this: If they had paid attention to God's continual warnings through the study of His word that contained those warnings, they wouldn't have allowed their nation to be destroyed, because the experience part of the diagnosis would have been complimented by a knowledge of what to do.

 

Our founders were godly men. Our Constitution is a document that was immersed in their godliness. The Declaration of Independence written 11 years earlier was based on their foundation of morals that were shaped by their Christian beliefs. We don't teach about the founders any more unless it is to undermine the character so that people won't listen to them, or read why they thought they had to remove their wicked leaders. Here are but two examples of the type of mindset of our founders that would help us today:

     "I think we have more machinery of government than is necessary, too many parasites living on the labor of the industrious." 

Does this strike a responsive chord? How about this one?  

     "To compel a man to furnish funds for the propagation of ideas he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical."

I doubt if most of us were even aware of these quotes, yet Thomas Jefferson really said these things. And they were but a mild version of what he and the other founders felt about those who would live off the labor of honest men to promote their own causes and take power and wealth from those who could not diagnose their problems properly enough to come up with the right cure. He called them parasites, sinners and tyrants!

 

Once the proper diagnosis has been made, the solution becomes obvious.

There is an election next Tuesday!

 

  Thanks to all of you who have been sharing these articles with those you think might be interested. I value your comments and look forward to hearing what you think about these things!