The Cure

One day a very sick man was rushed by his son to the hospital. The son and doctor carefully laid the man on the examination table. 
    “Doctor,” the son cried, “you have to cure him or he’ll die!”
    The doctor glanced at the son and nodded. He quickly began to check the vital signs and such. The son impatiently paced back and forth until he could stand it no longer. “Well? Are you going to cure him or not?” he demanded.

    The doctor straightened up and looked the son straight in the eye. “Your father is very sick, that much is obvious. But I cannot cure him until I know what is causing him to be sick.”
 

    Ladies and gentlemen, why are you here today? What’s the reason? I’d like to suggest it’s because you know your beloved country is sick. I think most everyone knows this fact quite well. So you came here looking for a cure.
 

    There are countless people who are suggesting different cures. The Democrats say they know what’s best. The Republicans counter with their own solution. With a thousand other remedies in between how can we know? Our country is sick and its liberty will die if we don’t do something. But what?
 

    Friends, we cannot cure America until we know what is causing her to be sick. Is it socialism? Communism? Republicanism? Democracy? Something in the water....? What is the cause of our problems?
 

    Some point to our current international policies as being the source of our problems. And certainly this is a problem. George Washington warned in his Farewell Address of falling for “an imaginary common interest [between nations] in cases where no real common interest exists.” Nations, just like people, are out for their own good. It is the nature of man. It’s folly to think that a country that oppresses and denies rights to its citizens would like to be chummy with a country that advocates individual Creator-given rights like the US.
 

    So when you get in a situation like we are now where we’re trying to be everyone’s best friend and not step on anybody’s feet, you end up doing a hopelessly futile little dance that will ultimately end in failure.
 

     The US is acting as the world’s policeman, going around and trying to solve all the international problems. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to tell you this policy won’t work very well. First of all, you might eventually run out of resources. And second, you’ll definitely run out of patience.
 

    Another alarming aspect of this is the loss of national identity and sovereignty. Can a nation that is not independent in its actions and policies truly be free? I daresay it is not, for it will ever be under the thumb to whom it is dependent.
 

    So there’s a brief run-down of our national policy problems, but is that the problem? That remains the question. Let’s move on to another set of problems. Could it be that the root of America’s sickness lies in bad economic policies? A good question, let’s examine it.
 

    Could it be, for instance our unstable currency? It’s not a secret that….America is flat broke. In large part this is due to the fact that our money is made of this nice green paper with nothing to back it up. And what do we do when we run out of paper? Hey, let’s print some more! Call it what you want but it’s essentially reckless inflation. It’s unsustainable and irresponsible.
 

    Speaking of recklessness, unsustainability and irresponsibility…. How about our little debt problem? Could this be the cause of America’s ailments? It’s a good possibility. We have a budget but we’re still in debt. Perhaps it’s because our budget is a schedule we use for going into debt systematically. 
Our gigantic debt is crushing our economy under its colossal weight. Besides our debt, there’s all the money we spend to service our debt. Bottom line is, we borrow money so we can borrow money so we can borrow money….That’s what I call a vicious cycle.
 

Thomas Jefferson was being prophetic when he said, “I am not among those who fear the people… [A]nd to preserve their independence we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. WE must make our election between economy [frugality] and liberty, or profusion [excess spending] and servitude. If we run into such debts as that we must be taxed in our meat and in our drink, in our necessaries and our comforts, in our labors and our amusements, for our callings and our creeds, our people must come to labor sixteen hours in twenty-four, give the earnings of fifteen of these hours to the government for their debts and daily expenses; and the sixteenth being insufficient to afford us bread. The [forerunner] of this is public debt. Taxation follows that, and in its train wretchedness and oppression.”
 

   How’d we get into this mess? It comes from the government spending our money outside of the proper limits of government. We’ll see more about that later, but suffice to say right now, it’s the classic “robbing Peter to pay Paul.” The government says, “Hey we’re really smart and know how to spend your money better than you do.” I don’t care who you are, that’s just plain bad policy.
 

    So, is it the bad economic policies that are ruining our country? Perhaps, but there’s one more arena we should look at. The social aspect of society.
 

    Our society has certainly changed from what it has been in the past. A Russian commenting on this once said to his friend, “In America the people are so honest, you can hang your watch on a lamppost and come back in three weeks and it’s still there.”
 

    His friend was shocked and said, “You mean to tell me that in America you can hang your watch on a lamppost and come back in three weeks and your watch is still there?”
    The first Russian laughed and said, “No, the lamppost is still there.”                                                             
    There are countless aspects to this but we’ll just touch on a few. How about the degradation of the institution of marriage? Could this be the source of our problems? History tells us that societies that disregard marriage don’t prosper and don’t last very long. Where is society’s cornerstone if not the family? It is the basic unit of society.
 

    Or what about abortion? Ronald Reagan said, “Abraham Lincoln recognized that we could not survive as a free land when some men could decide that others were not fit to be free and should therefore be slaves. Likewise, we cannot survive as a free nation when some men decide that others are not fit to live and should be abandoned to abortion or infanticide.”
 

    Abortion is a blot on our country to be sure, but is it the root cause of America’s sickness? Perhaps instead it’s the failure of our education system. We know that it is vital that a nation have an educated and informed citizenry in order for it to function properly. 
 

This has always been an emphasis in America. In Idaho, our budget allocates a huge share of the money to education. However, with all the money we throw at it, there doesn’t seem to be much of a change in how well students perform. So maybe it’s a poor education system that’s the cause of America’s sickness.
 

Maybe….can you tell I’m building?  Friends, the things I’ve just mentioned to you are extremely serious problems that we face as a nation. However, they are merely symptoms of a bigger problem – the real cause of America’s sickness. So what is the real cause??
 

Alright, let’s recap. We know the US is sick and liberty is slowly dying. The symptoms that we face are serious. You came here looking for an answer. And I’ve just spent this whole time getting around to that.
I know I’m throwing a lot at you in a short period of time but this is all important stuff. You all have been so kind in bearing with me. We’ve looked at the problems and what the proper role of government should be, in other words, we know what is causing America to be sick.
 

So now, on to cure. This is the moment you’ve all been waiting for. I suggest to you that the cause of these symptoms, the root of America’s problems is…..the forsaking of our heritage. We have strayed from our foundation and as a result we are slowly crumbling into a pitiful excuse for a country. What is this heritage that we have abandoned? I’d like to let our Founders tell you about it in their own words.
 
“[T]he Christian religion, in its purity, is the basis, or rather the source of all genuine freedom in government….and I am persuaded that no civil government of a republican form can exist and be durable in which the principles of that religion have not a controlling influence.” Noah Webster
 

“[T]he propitious [favorable] smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained.” George Washington
"There must be religion. When that ligament is torn society is disjointed and its members perish….The most important of all lessons is the announcement of ruin to every state that rejects the precepts of religion." Gouvenur Morris, Penman and signer of the Constitution
 

“I…recommend a general and public return of praise and thanksgiving to Him from whose goodness these blessings descend. The most effectual means of securing the continuance of our civil and religious liberties is always to remember with reverence and gratitude the source from which they flow.” John Jay, First Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court
 

I could go on, but I think this brief sampling makes it clear. As Patrick Henry put it “The great pillars of all government and of social life…[are] virtue, morality, and religion. This is the armor, my friend, and this alone that renders us invincible.”
 

Now, some of you are giving me skeptical looks, so allow me to put your doubt to rest. I’ve given my diagnosis, America’s sickness and symptoms are caused by forsaking our Godly heritage, now like any good doctor, let’s test this diagnosis by prescribing a cure and seeing if it would work. A good cure will not only heal the root cause of the sickness but will get rid of the symptoms.
 

The first symptom we discussed was problems in international policy. Let’s apply a good dose of our Godly heritage and see what happens. George Washington said, “Observe good faith and justice towards all nations; cultivate peace and harmony with all. Religion and morality enjoin this conduct; and can it be that good policy does not equally enjoin it?”
 

Here our first president is telling us that good faith and justice (which we previously defined as “distributing to every man that right or equity which the laws and the principles of equity require.”) to all nations. While we do that, our goal should be peace and harmony. However, you’ll notice that justice comes before peace.
By the way, this means not granting a “most favored nation” status to a country that tramples on its citizens rights. So, what is our heritage cure for foreign policy? Peace through justice.
 
Wait a minute, you say, what about trying to be an international policeman? Glad you asked. Again, we go back into the mind of the great George Washington. He said, “The great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign nations is in extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connection as possible. So far as we have already formed engagements, let them be fulfilled with perfect good faith. Here let us stop.”
 

 The Founders made it clear, commercially let’s extend relations as far as possible under justice and peace, but keep out of entangling political alliances. I could go on and on about this but I’ll just say read George Washington’s Farewell Address. It should be our manual on international policy.
 

Relating to what I just said about not getting into entangling political alliances, we see in our heritage cure the need for maintaining our national identity and sovereignty. How is this done? In Federalist 11, Alexander Hamilton said, “The rights of neutrality will only be respected, when they are defended by an adequate power. A nation, despicable by its weakness, forfeits even the privilege of being neutral.” That’s what we call neutrality through strength.
 

So there you can see returning to our Godly heritage would be the cure for our international policy. Wait a minute, you counter, that was only one of the symptoms. Would this cure work on our economy? You betcha!
Let me show you. Going back to our unstable currency, our heritage cure would tell us that money should be a “just weight,” or one that is honest in its value. Our current US dollar is anything but that. Frankly, it’s not worth the paper it’s printed on.  A just weight would be money with a solid backing, such as gold and silver, not politician’s promises.
 

On the symptom of debt, there is so much I could say. But I’ll refrain.  Briefly stated, our Godly heritage cure is the virtue of frugality. Benjamin Franklin said, “Rather go to bed supperless, than run in debt for a breakfast.” As a country, going into debt places a burden on the next generation.
 

George Washington realized this and counseled not to “ungenerously throw…upon posterity the burden which we ourselves ought to bear.” He reasoned that in times of peace we should vigorously discharge all the debt we possibly could then save some away for a rainy day. Boy, there is so much I could say here….
 

 Ok, one more thing, frugality can only be obtained when the government operates within its proper limits. Allow me to quote James Madison, the Father of our Constitution who said, “"If Congress can employ money indefinitely to the "general welfare," and are the sole and supreme judges of the "general welfare," then they may take the care of religion into their own hands; they may appoint teachers in every state, county, and parish and pay them out of their public treasury; they may take into their own hands the education of children, establishing in like manner schools throughout the United States; they may assume the provision for the poor; they may undertake the regulation of all roads other than post-roads; in short, everything from the highest object of state legislation down to the most minute object of police would be thrown under the power of Congress, for every object I have mentioned would admit of the application of money, and might be called, if Congress pleased, provisions for the "general welfare." Chew on that for a while.

     Economic solutions from our Godly heritage cure. Now, the final symptom I mentioned was problems in the social arena. Let’s administer our Godly heritage cure here and see what happens.
 

Marriage, the US Supreme Court, in a case called Murphy v. Ramsey & Others, in 1885 summed it up as follows, “Certainly no legislation can be supposed more wholesome and necessary in the founding of a free, self-governing commonwealth…than that which seeks to establish it on the basis of the idea of the family, as consisting in and springing from the union of life of one man and one woman in the holy estate of matrimony; [the family is]the sure foundation of all that is stable and noble in our civilization; the best guarantee of that reverent morality which is the source of all beneficent progress in social and political improvement.” 
 

That’s the cure from our Godly heritage for marriage. One man, one woman, without that, society crumbles.
The next symptom is abortion. This problem goes back to the basic, basic aspects of our Godly heritage cure. Our Declaration of Independence reads that, “All men are endowed by the Creator with certain unalienable (non transferable, they cannot be taken away) rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” How much more specific can you get than “all?” Unborn children are given by God the right to life, and it is murder to take that right from them.
 

Abraham Lincoln said, “Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally.” I think the same way about abortion. When I hear someone arguing in favor of it, I think, would you like it tried on you?
 

That’s how our Godly heritage cure will heal the symptom of abortion. The next issue was education. It should come as no surprise to you by now, that yes, the Godly heritage cure can take care of this symptom as well.
Our Founders understood the responsibility of education to fall at the feet of the parents, not the government. Our Founders also understood that the Bible must be the basis of education, because it’s by the fear of the Lord that we get knowledge.
 

Let me back these claims up with a little help from some of our Founders. Gouverneur Morris, the penman of the Constitution and one of its signers said, “Religion is the only solid basis of good morals; therefore education should teach the precepts of religion and the duties of man towards God.”
 

Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration, “[T]he only foundation for a useful education in a republic is to be laid in religion. Without this there can be no virtue, and without virtue there can be no liberty, and liberty is the object and life of all republican governments. Without religion, I believe that learning does real mischief to the morals and principles of mankind.”
 

Noah Webster, “In my view, the Christian religion is the most important and one of the first things in which all children, under a free government, ought to be instructed….No truth is more evident to my mind than that the Christian religion must be the basis of any government intended to secure the rights and privileges of a free people.”
 

Fisher Aimes, the man who authored the wording for the first amendment, "Why should not the Bible regain the place it once held as a school book? Its morals are pure, its example captivating and noble, the reverence for the sacred book that is thus early impressed lasts long. And probably, if not impressed in infancy, never takes firm hold of the mind."   
 

I could go on. But I think you get the picture. The Godly heritage cure will work on the symptom of education.
Ladies and gentlemen, I’ve just put the cure in your hand. You came here knowing that America is sick with a sickness that went deeper than the symptoms. I’ve told you what that problem is – the forsaking of our Godly heritage. Now the cure: coming back to that Godly heritage. But this is a special kind of cure. It must start on a personal level - with you.
 

I’m talking about our Godly heritage, but what does that mean? When I say that I’m referring to the faith that the good share of our Founding Fathers had in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
 

I’m sure you’ve heard it before. God loves you so much He sent His Son, Jesus Christ to die in your place. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.“
 

You see, everyone, including you and me, have sinned. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” Sin is a violation of God’s law. Sin can separate us from God for eternity. “For the wages of sin is death….” (Romans 6:23a)
   
Thankfully, it doesn’t stop there. The Bible goes on to say, “….but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23b) Your sin has separated you from God and the judgment for that sin is eternity in Hell. 
 

     But because God loves you, He sent Jesus Christ to take the punishment for your sin by dying on the cross. Then, after Jesus was in the grave for three days, He conquered death and rose again. Now He offers you this gift, salvation and a home in Heaven forever. 
 

     All you must do is believe what He has said in the Bible and trust Him to be your Savior. The Bible says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” (Romans 10:9) 
 

    That is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, our Godly heritage, the cure for America. Now the cure is in your hands. The question is, will you help me heal America?