What Should We Do Now?
The Israelites were spurred to action by the gruesome act of the Levite. (Judges 19:30) They all gathered together to decide what to do. Quickly, they took action. They had two major setbacks, but soon the tribe of Benjamin was punished severely for their sins. As we read the end of the book of Judges, consider carefully what they decided to do. Was it the right response? Did it solve the problems? I believe these questions will help us, as we ask ourselves what we should do now in the USA.
There are some people who want to greatly expand the death penalty and capital punishment in America? It would be somewhat of a deterrent, because the ones put to death would not commit other crimes, and it could stop others, but it would not change the culture by itself. Some want to put everyone who commits a crime in prison for a long time. This costs a lot of money, and it teaches some people to be serious criminals, because of what they learn from other inmates. Some want to legalize certain drugs and decriminalize a lot of things that are crimes now. This would send the wrong message to people. It would lead to worse behavior and more crimes in the end, I believe. So, what should we do?
The people of America have a heart problem, and only a change of heart can change our culture. We have to look back to the times in our country when these crimes were not so prevalent and people had a much different attitude about life. What caused that? The family was strong. There was a father and a mother in almost every home. The schools taught morals and values at the same time as academics, and they were successful because the parents supported their efforts. The Judeo-Christian values that were taught were basically the Ten Commandments. Everyone was free to believe in God as they saw fit, but church attendance was encouraged. Therefore, my answer to what we should do is this, "We should get back to the basics of the family and the Ten Commandments in all we do." However, there is one vital thing that has to come first. Christians must share the gospel in love and the power of the Spirit with every person in our country, start as many new churches as possible in homes and other buildings, and be as active as possible in being salt and light for our culture by living out Biblical faith. Then, hearts will be changed, family structure and values will be restored, and we can see a reversal in the decline of our culture. In my opinion anything less is futile.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Judges 21 and Ruth 1-2.
There are some people who want to greatly expand the death penalty and capital punishment in America? It would be somewhat of a deterrent, because the ones put to death would not commit other crimes, and it could stop others, but it would not change the culture by itself. Some want to put everyone who commits a crime in prison for a long time. This costs a lot of money, and it teaches some people to be serious criminals, because of what they learn from other inmates. Some want to legalize certain drugs and decriminalize a lot of things that are crimes now. This would send the wrong message to people. It would lead to worse behavior and more crimes in the end, I believe. So, what should we do?
The people of America have a heart problem, and only a change of heart can change our culture. We have to look back to the times in our country when these crimes were not so prevalent and people had a much different attitude about life. What caused that? The family was strong. There was a father and a mother in almost every home. The schools taught morals and values at the same time as academics, and they were successful because the parents supported their efforts. The Judeo-Christian values that were taught were basically the Ten Commandments. Everyone was free to believe in God as they saw fit, but church attendance was encouraged. Therefore, my answer to what we should do is this, "We should get back to the basics of the family and the Ten Commandments in all we do." However, there is one vital thing that has to come first. Christians must share the gospel in love and the power of the Spirit with every person in our country, start as many new churches as possible in homes and other buildings, and be as active as possible in being salt and light for our culture by living out Biblical faith. Then, hearts will be changed, family structure and values will be restored, and we can see a reversal in the decline of our culture. In my opinion anything less is futile.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Judges 21 and Ruth 1-2.