Enemy or Ally? What Shall We Make of Ourselves?

Enemy or Ally? What Shall We Make of Ourselves?

By Craig M. Szwed

As a human being and a citizen of these United States of America, I often find myself at odds with God and myself, and especially with our modernistic governmental policies.
It is these times of conflict that precipitate the need for meditation and examination of self and my surroundings, that I might find the right balance between truth and my deeds; that I might effect righteous use of my time and resources, and not have to come away from the fray with egg on my face, or a bad taste in my mouth; that I might bow to none but God and His goodness.

As the Founders of our Nation knew and affirmed, it is by the grace and mercy of God Almighty, through the Lord Jesus Christ, that our persons and Nation have been allowed to exist. Our Founders based their lives and actions on their solemn conviction that, "All things were made by [Jesus Christ]; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men." In crafting our Founding Documents, our Founding Fathers relied heavily on the revealed truth of Scripture, and the spiritual and practical morality that abounds therein. They accepted and relied upon God's Law. Our Founders understood that if there were to be lasting purpose and value in their earthly deeds, that they needed to acknowledge and surrender to the Person and Plan of God in Christ Jesus, and to His Word, the Bible. Many times, they spoke eloquently to that point, reiterating that the same Principles apply for this Nation.

Evidence of their practical, moral, and spiritual convictions abound throughout the private and public messages, as well as in the writings, public prayers, and commentaries of our Revolutionary Forefathers, such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, the Muhlenberg brothers, John Quincy Adams, and inumerable others, including their progeny, such as Joseph Story. Their own human frailties and sins did not stop these Founders from making their declarations to describe, and their attempts to adhere to, Principles and Ideals of Scripture and Natural Human Rights, that they deliberated over and installed in our Declaration of Independence, Constitutiton, and Bill of Rights. Those Statements of Principles and Ideals, along with the Founders' pursuit of disciplined lives of duty and service to Principles, and to their fellow citizens, all form a strong historical beacon to warn citizens and residents of this modern age to flee far from our idolatrous self-interest and vanity.

Many of our forebears expressed grave concerns over the life expectancy of our Nation, positing that if subsequent generations were to neglect our Constitution and our Bill of Rights, our Nation would decay into immorality and worldly strife. Some of them also stated that conversely, that undisciplined immorality and worldly strife would fail to yield to the self-discipline required to abide by our Constitution and Bill of Rights. Our Forefathers indicated that selfishness, immorality, and undisciplined living among the citizenry would overpower our collective national ability to live according to our Constitution and Bill of Rights, and that such social decay would necessitate a severe task-master to govern those who lacked the self-discipline that biblical Christianity had previously inspired and instilled in our Forebears.

Among our Founders, those who subscribed to a weaker central government, with State and Individual Rights predominating, seemed to hold a stronger view of Christian principles governing the individual, and expected that such self-governing individuals would have a significant regulatory impact upon the government and on U.S. society. By contrast, those Founders who subscribed to a stronger central government seemed to be looking to the dark day when people would or might abdicate their biblical, spiritual, Christian responsibilities and growth, to engage in increasingly worldly pursuits that would no longer allow the decadent to be governed by biblical moral principles. We are definitely in those latter dark days in our nation, except for the few disciplined souls who cling to Christ and reject the immoral world in which we live.

There are hordes of sources and websites that banter and argue the merits and demerits of the Bible, our Constitution, and our Bill of Rights, and there are many increasingly modernistic, libertine, secularistic, and other unfettered influences upon our society, including our own natural lust and greed. The challenge is for each of us to face and take up our personal responsibilities with regard to all of these things and to stop relying on being spoon-fed or deluded by the opinions of those who would twist us to serve them. It is incumbent upon us all to read for ourselves exactly what God and our Founders expect of us today. It is, therefore, with great urgency that this author would impress readers of the dire need to test all things by what the Bible says, and furthermore to re-read the social clarion calls to self-discipline and responsibility that are built into our Bill of Rights, Constitution, and Declaration of Independence. It is, also, highly illuminating to read the original comments, beliefs, motivations, and opinions of our Founders, for the lives of our Founders were greatly filled and inspired by the Bible and Jesus Christ.

Because of their inspiration by the Christ of the Bible, our Founders were also greatly self-disciplined, and socially, spiritually, and intellectually rich when compared to our modern, self-indulgent ways that soften and corrupt us. Their adherence to Principles and the Truth of God's Word gave them the courage, strength, and direction that they needed to found this Nation, to give us the Documents which they left for us to cherish, and by which to abide. If we fail to discipline ourselves, as they disciplined themselves in subjection to Jesus Christ, God's Bible, and necessary self-discipline, we shall utterly fail to honor the treasures of civil liberty that they have entrusted to us, for with every God-given liberty comes responsibility to ourselves and to those around us. Faith, liberty, self-discipline, and responsibility must be accepted and integrated into our lives in order for us to succeed and to produce righteous deeds. Without that integration we shall continue to become increasingly covetous, idolatrous, and restless, for our modern society gives us no peace, as sin gives none.

In their zeal to pursue their unconstitutional agenda, many officials or special interest groups may vigorously protest that religion should have no influence on our government, but that view is in opposition to the intents of our Founding Fathers, who loved, feared, respected, and trusted the God of their faith, and consulted Him and His Bible in their construction and governance of this Nation. Until recent years, the very buildings of our Nation's Capitol served as chapels for Christian meetings (of various demoninations, back when they still believed the Bible). That common spiritual usage of the buildings and grounds can be verified as one reads the history of the Capitol. If, therefore, the very buildings and grounds of our Nation's Capitol were considered hallowed, God-given ground, and publically, prayerfully treated as such for many generations after our Nation was founded, then that evidence supports and enlivens the argument of pro-Constitution, pro-Bill-of-Rights supporters, that there was a Sacred concern and trust formed during and by the birthing of our Nation, that, therefore, to those Ideals, all citizens of these United States of America owe our full allegiance. In support of this cause, the faith, intents, and purposes of our Founders' Documents enlighten and command us that we must trust God, in Christ, to be able to honor, support, and defend the Ideals and Principles of our Founders and our Founding Documents.

While there were those, like Hamilton, who immediately began arguing for bigger and more powerful central government, the mainstream of early U.S. leadership (Washington, Jefferson, et al) were insistent upon the constraint of the federal government, that the federal government might serve the people and not interfere more than was absolutely necessary, in deference to the Rights of the individual and of the states. The Bill of Rights was subscribed to and passed that the principles of the Bill of Rights might dominate and protect said Rights, that the government not become an overlord that was bent on infringement and dictatorial powers. The Bill of Rights is an attempt to remind and prevent government from subjugating the responsible, self-disciplined citizenry. 

In over 200 years, since our founding, many political regimes have come and gone, and with each has come increasing pressure by secularizers, the power-hungry, and special interest groups to subvert and equivocate about our Constitution and our Bill of Rights. Attacks against the Bible, God, and faith have also severely undermined the will of "the People" to stand against ignorance, fear, doubt, evil manipulations, and the lusts of the flesh. The increasing drift, away from the Bible, God, and the written and spoken intents of the majority of our Forefathers, has moved us toward the top-heavy, overly powerful, central government that we have today (much like the Roman Empire). That drift from liberty to federal subjugation has happened largely because of the lack of faith, will, knowledge, concern, and even a preponderance of fear among the citizens of these United States. U.S. voters have allowed their own Rights and powers to be usurped by power-hungry interests and persons throughout our states and nation. Often U.S. citizens have sold their Rights for crumbs of bread, so to speak. This author maintains that it has been the lack of knowledge, lack of willingness, and/or lack of  participation by undisciplined citizens, that has given over the controls of this nation into the hands of the elite few who broker their self-interested deals at the expense of the common citizens.

Within this past year, most citizens, with whom this author has spoken, have expressed that they feel powerless and angry at the present imbalance of power and the overbearing nature of State and Federal governments. These same citizens seldom acknowledge that they still hold the key and the power to elect whom they want in order to reset our government, to return it to the Eternal Standards of the Bible, and to our Bill of Rights. Citizens must learn to actively participate, in order to reclaim this State and this Nation; to return State and Federal Government to what our Constitution and Bill of Rights say this Nation should be, back to the initial functions; to stop government from making further infringements that enslave our citizens; to stop the government from killing our national Ideals and our society. But, let us not stagnate in our agonies. Yes, there are many laments and complaints throughout our Nation, but as Edmund Burke said, "Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little." (https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/17142.Edmund_Burke)

Burke also commented, "But what is liberty without wisdom and without virtue? It is the greatest of all possible evils; for it is folly, vice, and madness, without tuition or restraint. Those who know what virtuous liberty is, cannot bear to see it disgraced by incapable heads, on account of their having high-sounding words in their mouths". That principle applies to everyone, both in and out of government. Years ago, there was a popular bumper sticker that said, "When the people lead, the leaders will follow". There is only one way that our State and Nation can be successfully returned to honor, support, and defend our Constitution and Bill of Rights, for far too many of our government officials fail to abide by their oaths of office, even as citizens we neglect our civic responsibilities. U.S. citizens and U.S. officials abuse our system of govenment.

If U.S. citizens want or expect this "grand experiment" to succeed, then each one of us must demonstrate repentance in our own lives: repentance, by turning away from our godless worldliness, back to Jesus Christ; repentance, by turning away from the immoral self-interests that we each pursue, returning back to the Christ-honoring self-discipline that Jesus set before us, and to which our forefathers clung, giving them the focus, courage, and strength to establish these United States of American. Without the godly self-discipline of repentance and righteous living before the One True God, Jesus Christ, our Creator, upon whom this Nation was founded, our citizens, our Nation, and our states shall continue in their present increasing degradation, as we succumb to the lack of self-discipline and to increasing immorality, about which our Founders, and our Founding Documents, warned us in their pleas and their adurations. Our modern, sensual, self-interested age wants little or nothing from the Bible, the Constitution, or the Bill of Rights, unless something from those Documents can be twisted to serve the unholy desires of those who attack those Documents held sacred by our Founders.

There was a newspaper cartoon that ran for many years, called "POGO". One of cartoonist Walt Kelly's most famous POGO sayings (1970) was, "We have met the enemy and he is us." Though applied, at the time, to ecological conservation issues, it is obvious to this writer that we are often our own worst enemy, whether physically, morally, spiritually, financially, or practically. It is through self-deceit and the undisciplined exercise of worldly self-indulgence, through neglect of duty to God, family, Town, State, or Nation, and failure to fulfill our duty to self, to be disciplined, that we have allowed and continue to allow the decay and degradation of ourselves, our families, our states, and our Nation.

Many citizens complain about what the government does to us, but, the government cannot perform what an informed and active citizenry determines is an intolerable governmental action. If government officials are out of line, it is up to all of us citizens to get active and stay active to correct the problems being instigated by government. When government starts infringing on our Human Rights, it is up to all of us to tell them to stop and to vote them out of office, or impeach them, if they do not listen to us. It is also incumbent upon citizens to force the repeal of all the bad laws that damage our society and our Rights. If we, the citizens, do not actively and continually work to monitor and correct the violations of government, then we have only ourselves to blame for allowing ourselves to remain in such living conditions, or bearing the weakening of our Rights.

Although our Forefathers strove against tyranny, by the strength of their Christian Principles and the Bible, in order to forge our Founding Documents, our Liberty, and this Nation, we modern citizens have proven that we are our own worst enemy, for we have tolerated and failed to act together to stop the growing, immoral, unconstitutional, socialistic behemoth which our government and society have become. The good news is that, we do not have to remain stuck in our present uninvolved complaining behaviors about this immoral socialistic nightmare of government and society that our Founders did not want for us. By repentant action, we citizens can begin to reverse ourselves and our government, at all levels, which will surely benefit all who would live by Principles and Truth. That goal and victory can only be attained by getting active and staying active, to implement the necessary changes. We must become so active that we become our own best defense and our own greatest ally, after Jesus Christ, Himself.

We must remember to pray for our leaders and ourselves, for wisdom, and to do what is right, to honor God, His Word, and our Founding Documents that He gave us. We must put God's ways before our ways. Let us no longer be found lacking in self-discipline or in righteous action, but rather that we would live and work in godly ways, and thereby turn ourselves, our Nation, and our States back to the Ideals and Principles of the Bible, our Constitutiton, and our Bill of Rights, for that, by God's grace, is the same order of life and duty in which our Founders believed, lived, and brought about the Liberty of this Nation.

May God bless all citizens of these United States of America to put off "the sin that so easily besets us", that we might, once again, become a moral and spiritual light in this dark and dying world. To borrow from a common saying, Pray as if it all depends on Jesus Christ, and let us work hard together as if it all depends on us. May God bless us all to work toward these sacred objectives, for if we pray and work toward these blessed goals we shall greatly increase our likelihood to be able to responsibly live and fully exercise all of our Rights without infringement.