THE ROMAN EMPIRE – IS AMERICA LISTENING?
Edward Gibbon, in his series of books describing deteriorating conditions in the Roman Empire, cited 5 factors that contributed to it eventual fall.
1. A lack of respect for the sanctity of the home, as evidenced by alarming rates of divorce. Not only do 50% of first marriages in America fail, millions have been divorced at least 3 times. Moreover, the divorce rate would be closer to 70% if not for the fact that tens of millions don’t bother to get married; they instead opt to live in fornication.
2. Higher and higher taxes and the spending of public monies for free bread and circuses for the populace.Although Christians should pay their taxes (Rom. 13:6-7), we should be aware that hundreds of millions of our tax dollars subsidize abortions, the promotion of homosexuality, grants for artistic (pornographic) media expression, and dozens of dubious “causes”.
3. The mad craze for pleasure; sports becoming every year more exciting and more brutal. Many Americans spend their leisure time watching pornographic videos, attending parties featuring sexual entertainment, consuming alcoholic beverages, gambling or using drugs. Our obsession with sports is obvious – 50% of conversations between males involve sports. Vicious cage fighting, with few rules and frequent bloodshed, is watched nightly by millions of Americans.
4. The building of gigantic armaments when the real enemy was within, the decadence of the people. Old Testament prophets repeatedly warned God’s people to place their faith in Him, not horses, chariots, or weapons. Sadly, the amount of money America spends on weapons DAILY exceeds our ANNUAL expenditures on programs designed to uphold traditional families. A prominent world leader once said that America would eventually fall without a shot being fired from an outside enemy.
5. The decay of religion—faith fading into mere form, losing touch with life and becoming impotent to warn and guide the people. Paul spoke of the “last days”, in which people would be lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power - 2 Tim. 3:4-5. Many religious groups have evolved into “social clubs” promoting “feeling good”, getting rich or enjoying social activities, as opposed to intense study and application of God’s word.
America – once the home of the proud, free and brave - is forgetting about God. Some of our most influential leaders even want to ban “in God we trust” from our currency, etc. As Christians, we must tirelessly pray for our country, our leaders and our homes - 1 Tim. 2:1-2.
“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” Prov. 14:34.
Jesus, always Jesus!
Dennis
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