Prayer: Americas Hope.

America was built on the foundation and knowledge that our freedoms are endowed to us from the Creator. It is odd to me that God is one of the last places we think to look for the restoration of our freedoms. We rally and cry out to the government, “Give us our freedoms back!” We complain to our friends and family and we moan in front of the television. For over a year, Tea Parties and like groups have toiled to petition the government, elect new leaders, and fight off bad bills. To date, the new leaders have betrayed us, the government ignores us, and bills get passed silently in the night. The more we fight, the more desperate we become, yet little has changed. People are now aware of the misguided leadership betraying our country but no one knows what to do.

America, pray! There is no greater authority then our God and there is no more powerful a tool than beseeching Him to save us. If our rights are given to us by the Creator and we turn from Him for our own selfish ambition, why are we surprised that He allows us to be led by wolves? We must once again turn our eyes humbly towards Heaven. There, God waits to redeem us and restore our freedoms.

When we decided that God had no place in our lives, we turned in our God-given rights and traded them for lies spoken by power-hungry men promising us the world, if only we follow them. We believed that we had evolved past a “simpleton” need for and belief in a God. We thought that “We the People” wielded enough power to maintain our freedoms without God who gave them to us. We thought we were smart enough, wealthy enough, and powerful enough to take America into the 21st century alone. It only took 10 years to prove our folly. “We the People” were not empowered by our mass or our will. “We the People” were established “under God”. It is only under God that we as a nation are “indivisible with liberty and justice for all”. It was under the threat of communism that the words “under God” were added to the Pledge of Allegiance in 1954 to illuminate the fact that God gave America Her greatness. Why? Because communism says that man could make America great, that the goodness in us could create a better justice and liberty then God. Even as late as 1954, America still understood that God was the fountain of our freedoms and was not afraid to declare it to the world or to anyone who threatened Her sovereignty.

It is no coincidence that that God has been discounted by our leaders today. Many of us have been fighting hard to save our freedoms so that we can keep our God, but we have it backwards. We need to be fighting to keep our God so that we can save our freedoms. It is time that we stop playing games with politicians. If we truly want to save America we must remember our God. We must pray and beseech Him. It is time we hit our knees and take seriously the statement, “God Save America”.

America

America: the word just incites emotion for anyone who lives here. Sure, most countrymen love their country and are proud of where they come from. There is something in us as humans that makes us want to belong and causes us to take our country of origin personal. Yet it is different with America. People dream of becoming Americans. For centuries, families have given up everything just to cross into the protection of our borders. Why? What is it that makes America so different that people yearn for it?

Is it the kind-hearted people that scurry around New York City? Is it the courteous driving habits promoted by LA drivers? Is it the safe and lawful streets of DC or the majestic landscapes of Detroit? Why do people want to be American? People long for our country because over 200 years ago a few brave men set out to change the world with one belief: freedom and the rights of man are ordained by God and no King or ruler could tread on these God-given rights. The course that our founding fathers set America on is like no other; it is the shining city on the hill and people from all over the world covet our freedom, way of life, and the prosperity created as a result.

There is a problem, however; our culture no longer allows us to publicly believe in God. Yes, our churches and homes are “free” but with no God in the public sector, where does that leave our freedoms? If our freedoms our endowed to us by the Creator, and yet the Creator is no longer accepted, where do our freedoms come from? They must have been given to us by the Government? For those that do not believe in the Creator, in God, this may not pose much of a problem. However, the fact of the matter is that the very foundation of America was laid upon the verity that our freedoms are guaranteed by God. Therefore, in the absence of God, according to our system, there is no guarantee of freedom; there are only the rights and privileges awarded to us by the government at the will and discretion of the government. The removal of God or of the Creator as a symbol of the immortality of our freedoms was not by accident. By removing the Creator from the public sector we are left enslaved to the will of the government. We have willingly thrown out that which protected our rights and replaced it with those who would take away our rights.

America: the word just incites emotion, but for how much longer will her light shine? Can she stand on the moral weaknesses of a government unbound to the Creator? Recent history has proven that American’s governors are no different in their corruption, thievery, and power-hungry ways than the rest of the world. Yet for 200 years our country stood free, unhindered by will of Government. What has held the government in check? Were the people that much different from us 50 years ago? Were their wills stronger than ours at fighting off the encroaching powers knocking at our doors? No! We as a people have not changed, save one key fundamental aspect. We have told the Creator that we do not need Him to protect our freedoms and that one change in belief allowed the government to move in and take the Creator’s place. 50 years ago we starting debating if we needed God; now we debate what freedoms or rights should be kept and which ones should be disposed of. 50 years ago we told the Creator that our rights and freedoms were ours because we deserved them; today we talk about who deserves life and who deserves death in terms of healthcare, social security, education, and all other entitlements. The progression from a belief system that our freedoms were from God, to today where most are content to bow to the whims of the all-powerful government has been swift and complete. The Government once held in check by the Creator through our belief system is now unleashed and is furious for the power and authority that it had been denied for over 200 years and we are left at its mercy. May God Help Us.

American Entitlement: The Debt Game

It struck me as odd last Monday night that every restaurant I passed by had packed parking lots. With the constant reminders from the media and our government about how bad the economy is, I wondered how anyone could afford to go out to eat. If I only listened to the experts, I would think that every storefront in the country was closing down. Yet, as I drive around town, businesses are not only staying afloat, many of them are thriving. Granted, more businesses than usual have closed down in the last year, 10% of Americans are out of work, and many people have lost 50% or more of their life savings in the stock market. The statistical numbers and percentages that we are bombarded with are depressing, but we are missing the other side of the coin.

90% of Americans are still working, many people still have enough savings to rebuild, and our economy is one of the strongest in the world. Most importantly, as Americans, we have the resolve, the know how, and the resources to move on. But we all sit shell-shocked and afraid to believe that we can have a bright future. Things are bad but it is not game over. Don’t discourage yourself with the media statistics. What really matters is what you do next.

Let’s start by facing the cold hard truth: many of us have lost our homes, lost our jobs, and have more debt than we can ever pay off. Many small businesses have gone under, taking millions of dollars in lost dreams to the grave. All because of the poor economy, right? We tell ourselves that all the failed businesses, the lost homes, and the maxed out credit cards are all out of our control. We believe that we are all at the helm of a ship stuck in a hurricane unable to do anything but pray we stay afloat. However, if we really want to be honest with ourselves, we chose to take out an enormous loan for a gigantic house. We chose to fill it with furniture paid for by credit cards. Then we chose to take out a second on the house to start a business in order pay for our lifestyle. For a couple of years, we were living the dream, and it was great! The problem was that we got to the dream backwards. We all thought we were smart enough to make it to the top fast and furious. We had it all planned out. But we forgot one thing: reality.

The truth of the matter is that money is not magic. If you build it, they may not come, and just because you have a good idea, does not mean you can be successful with it. In the end, we simply mortgaged our pride; we thought that we could stake it all on our ability to achieve greatness without jumping through the normal hoops. We told ourselves that we did not have to wait 20 years like our parents did to make our dreams come true. We believed that our credit and our hopes would be sufficient to pay our dues. In place of hard work, sacrifice, and sound decisions, we let luck be our guide.

We are not struggling because the economy failed us; we are struggling because we failed to follow the basics rules of economics: work, save, buy. We foolishly thought that we could buy, work, buy some more, then save whatever was left over. The economy is where it is today because we put it there, not the other way around. Economies are not some unpredictable storm. They are results of the direct actions of the people within the economies. Strong economic principles equal strong economies. This is true in the home and across the nation. Of course, the question still remains, will our economy survive? The good news is that we are in control; we are not lost at sea we simply need to start steering. If we can learn the simple principles of work, save, and then buy, eventually things will turn around. It will be hard and it could get harder, but it is time to own up to our mistakes, put on our boots and try the old tested ways of our parents and grandparents.

What now? if you are part of the 90% that currently have jobs, enjoy the rewards, but do so with restraint and remember your neighbor in need. Don’t lock yourself into protection mode, ignoring the needs of those around you. Use your resources to rebuild this country on sound principles. Make wise decisions and you will go on. For those of you in the 10%, wipe off the dirt from your fall and have hope. Hard work will never fail you in America where freedom reigns.

American Entitlement: The lie!

"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not." – Thomas Jefferson

Today we are told that, as Americans, we are all created equal and thus are all equally deserving of…well, everything. Why is it that when we are having a bad day or things just aren’t going our way we instantly tell ourselves that “we don’t deserve this”? What do we deserve? As Americans, are we automatically exempt from bad days? Of course not! There is no bill of rights that guarantees us only bright and sunny outcomes in which everyone gets to live happily ever after.

It sounds ridiculous to even mention the idea. But we are told this lie every day. We are told that there are countless Americans that deserve a better life, and that our duty as productive citizens is to make sure that no one is left out. Then, in the same breath, we are told that success is a big house, 3 cars, maxed out credit cards and more bills than we can pay, because we deserve it and everything will turn around if we just believe in ourselves.

I say it is all pure baloney. Why do we deserve it, and why should we believe in ourselves when we know that if we fail, the government will bail us out (with our own money mind you)? It is amazing to me that we can purchase a house we know we can’t afford in 2005, in 2008 sue the bank because “they never should have given us the loan”, and then in 2010 get mad because the banks aren’t loaning any money. Where is our accountability? It does not exist because we have never been held accountable. We are all entitled to peace, love, and harmony. We are the only country in the world that thinks they can drink too much wine and whine about being drunk. Let’s sue when are coffee is too hot and complain when it is too cold.

Perhaps I am being too harsh; it has taken years for us to buy into the lie that we deserve everything. We did not wake up one morning greedy and lazy. No, we have been practicing to the point where it is second nature and we are now not even aware of our foolishness. This is, however, not an excuse for our behavior, though it is important to note that many of us sincerely do not understand the impact that our since of entitlement has on our world. The problem is not that we want everything; it is that we think we deserve everything. America’s people used to be motivated by pure desire to better themselves and their circumstances. They worked hard to provide extravagant amenities for their families, and even the poorest of the poor had two things going for them; the opportunity for greatness, and the ability to provide basic necessities for their families. Americans knew that if they worked hard, they would earn more money and improve their circumstances. This work ethic served everyone both rich and poor. Yes, the rich got richer but so did the poor. That’s right: they worked hard and they got richer. What a concept.

We all need to stop believing the lie that “we deserve it”. In reality, we reap what we sow and if we make good choices and work hard, we deserve the reward. But if we make a mistake or outright ignore sound reason, we deserve the consequences.
In the end, we should want nice things, striving to gain achievement, wealth, and a better place in life. That work ethic is what makes us Americans, but don’t ever again let someone tell you that you simply deserve it.

American Entitlement: Who’s to Blame?

“The Revolution was affected before the War commenced. The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people; a change in their religious sentiments of their duties and obligations ... This radical change in the principles, opinions, sentiments, and affections of the people, was the real American Revolution.” -John Adams

Today everyone is blaming everyone else for their problems. The Democrats blame Republicans for past failures; Republicans blame Democrats for current woes. Meanwhile, the rich blame the poor for taking too much welfare and the poor blame the rich for not sharing enough of the wealth. Let us put blame where it belongs once and for all.

Let us blame Republicans for taking advantage of our need to feel protected by enacting costly laws and creating new departments that tear away our freedoms and eat at the very soul of what makes us American.

Let us blame the Democrats for taking advantage of our need for justice by enacting new programs that take from the rich and give to the poor at an exuberant cost to our liberty and ability to govern ourselves.

Let us blame the rich for not showing generosity and goodwill on their own and for creating companies without hearts or common sense.

Let us blame the poor for believing that a handout is better than a hand-up and for not having enough faith in themselves to build their own success.

More importantly, let us blame ourselves for staying silent. Let us blame ourselves for embracing the idea that life is about the corporate ladder rather than about sticking together. Let us blame ourselves for teaching our children that divorce, giving up, giving in, pushing forward, compromising our values, forgetting God, and believing that in the end everyone wins is a good way to live.

The country that we now have in front of us was not created by evil men, conspirators, or schemers; it was created by you and me, one selfish lie at a time. Every day, we had opportunity to better ourselves, to serve our community or to help a stranger, but instead, we chose to ignore the needs and excuse ourselves by saying that we had our own problems to fix. Taking the high ground has become to mean that we have not stooped as low as those around us. We judge our efforts not on the effect they have on the world, but on the effect they have on ourselves. Our selfishness has created this country. The worst part of the whole story is that now we look around at what we have created and we beg those around us to fix it for us. We plead with our government, with our bosses, and with our neighbors, believing that if they tried just a little harder, if they did things just a little differently, our lives would be so much better.

The time has now come to stop looking to your right and to your left for a fix or blame. We are at a point where only looking out for one’s self is no longer the way to win the game. We must accept the fact that our fate lies within our ability to forget our selfish ways or our destiny will be to destroy ourselves one day at a time.