prayers of our forefathers (guest writer #7)

On April 30, 1789, in the nation’s capital, George Washington was sworn in as the first U.S. President. In his Inaugural Address, the first words ever spoken by a president to this country, he proclaimed:

“The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself hath ordained.”

Upon completing the speech, Washington walked a few blocks down the street, leading America’s first senators, representatives, and cabinet to a place called St. Paul’s Chapel. They prayed together, asking for God’s protection on the new nation.

America is a different country today. There are those who think our current course risks disastrous consequences. Others think those people are crazy.

I am one of those people. And I’m not crazy. My concerns are financial, moral, and spiritual…

The financial issue is straightforward. We are drowning our children in an ocean of red ink. The national debt exceeds $16,871,725,000,000. Economists argue about whether the economy will crash at 80 or 90% of Gross Domestic Product, the size of the entire economy. We currently stand at 76%.

At that point, the government will have no choice:  turn on the presses and start printing money. That inescapably results in hyperinflation. Let me describe how that works. There are currently about $3 trillion dollars in circulation. If the government prints another $3 trillion to make a small payment on the debt, everything will double in price. So if gas costs $4/gallon, it will cost $8. If they print $17 trillion to pay off the entire debt, the money supply increases by a factor of 6.7, and gas will cost over $25, $400 to fill a 15-gallon tank.

People old enough to remember recall this is exactly what happened in pre-Nazi Germany. Their economy in shambles from World War I, they printed money, hyperinflation ensued, and there were vivid pictures of people taking wheelbarrows of money to the store to buy groceries. This is what led a nation to turn itself over to the rule of Adolf Hitler.

This is the path we are on, to say nothing of Obamacare and Social Security. Continuing to kick that can down the road with zero hope of financial solvency once baby boomers hit retirement may be the most unconscionable sin a generation has ever passed on to its children.

But there is plenty of sin beyond that. Any sense of moral standards has eroded in our society. Media once considered pornographic are now broadcast into our homes. Drugs are being legalized. Each week brings news of yet another senseless shooting. Over 40% of children are now born out of wedlock, and the number of abortions exceeds the entire populations of Canada and Australia combined. People took to the streets celebrating the redefinition of marriage from what it has meant for all of human history.

It is worth noting that the founding fathers provided processes for deciding important questions such as these last two. But advocates of minority positions bypassed the democratic process through the Supreme Court. In spite of the Constitution being silent on both issues, 5 of 9 people dressed in black robes overruled the legislative will of 300 million. The comparisons to Hitler are again appropriate.

Finally, there are spiritual overtones to all of the above. I’ve studied biblical prophecy about the end times. If anyone says they know when this is happening, they are wrong. But I believe that if every prophecy about the first coming of Christ was fulfilled in exact detail, then so will every detail of the Second Coming. These prophecies include ten nations coming together, led by a charismatic leader who will first befriend, then declare war against Israel.

One thing is crystal clear:  in those days, America will no longer be a superpower. If any nation declared war against Israel today, we would put a stop to it. Since such circumstance is foretold, we must no longer have that capability in those times.

Here is my point. I don’t know if America’s demise is imminent or 1000 years away. But the problems we currently face have the potential to bring us down. Spending ourselves into more debt than we could ever hope to repay and a moral decay that can only result in anarchy or tyranny could someday leave the world wondering about our country no differently than the Roman Empire. But the root of the problem is turning our backs on the God our forefathers entrusted with the protection of the nation.

Let me not leave you without hope. Second Chronicles 7:14 says, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” I take great comfort from the fact that the solution to this problem does not require me to change the mind of anyone who disagrees. It only requires those of us who agree to start acting like it.

Let me close with a history lesson. Washington, D.C. did not become the capital of the United States until 1800. The first capital was Philadelphia, and under the Continental Congress and Articles of Confederation, the capitals included Baltimore, Princeton, Annapolis, and Trenton. When George Washington became the first President in 1789, the capital was New York City. Washington was inaugurated in Federal Hall, and he walked down Wall St. as he led the Congress to St. Paul’s Chapel.

The building in which the first government committed our country’s future to God’s protection is located directly adjacent to Ground Zero. St. Paul’s Chapel sat untouched, despite every building around it being damaged or destroyed on 9/11.

“The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself hath ordained.”

Respectfully,

MP