PRAYER Rx --- February 2
Dear Lord, sometimes as a nation we need to pause to get our bearings. First of all, remind us that all wisdom was not arrived at in just this century. ... One philosopher observed that those who will not learn from the past are bound to repeat its mistakes. ... Was Edward Gibbon* not wise in 1788, when he set forth these five basic reasons why great civilizations wither and die: (1) the undermining of the dignity and sanctity of the home, which is the basis for human society; (2) higher and higher taxes, and the spending of public money for free bread and circuses for the populace; (3) the mad craze for pleasure, with sports and plays becoming more exciting, more brutal, and more immoral; (4) the building of great armaments, when the real enemy was within -- the decay of individual responsibility; and (5) the decay of religion, whose leaders lost touch with life and their power to guide. ... Lord, help us to pause to consider both Gibbon's words and Your ten commandments, and then ask ourselves if we as a nation can find our direction without You?
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
* (From "THE RISE AND FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE," by Gibbon)