It doesn’t take much discernment to see the civility of our American culture continuing to spiral downward, year after year. Here in the U.S., our government labels Christians as “domestic terrorists,” and our president declares ours is not a Christian nation, while taking every opportunity to praise Islam, joining in and hosting Islamic celebrations, while leading Islamic prayers.
Our tax dollars are confiscated from us and used to pay for the murder of millions of unborn babies through Planned Parenthood. Private business people are now forced to cater to unholy unions, in the name of “Marriage Equality.” The concept of “Hate Crimes” has now morphed into “THOUGHT Crimes.” Video surveillance is everywhere, along with massive governmental intrusion into our personal communications and correspondence.
We set hardened criminals free and we “rescue” military traitors if they are Muslim; but we don’t lift a finger to save a Christian mother from a death sentence or a Christian pastor from ongoing torture and imprisonment. Evil is called good and good is called evil. Every day. I’ve never seen anything like this... the devastation left behind in the wake of this president’s administration. But its not just Obama destroying America; because the supposed opposition, the Republicans are certainly no better.
How in the world has this happened in a nation that was set apart and blessed by God for centuries? By His grace, we became the most powerful, the most prosperous, the most technologically advanced, indeed the most BLESSED nation on Earth. I believe this was because our country was built on solid Judeo/Christian values and God’s inerrant Word. We had true leaders and statesmen who unashamedly led by example, and who unashamedly gave GOD the glory, honor and respect He deserves.
As we investigate the downfall of America, we must first look at the foundation, and then at every building block that rests upon it. We know that a house built on sand will never withstand the storm. Our foundation is Jesus Christ. Many will argue that ours was never a “Christian” nation. I beg to differ. Most all of our founding fathers had a deep reverence for God’s Word, and not just an academic interest. It is clear from history -- a history that modern public school textbooks are now trying to erase -- that our founders were Godly men, with a deep, abiding faith in Christ as Savior. They understood 1 Corinithians 3: “For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.”
And thus, with Christ as our foundation, despite many trials and tribulations, our nation flourished and grew. Our laws, culture and society were all based on God’s Word and His commands, which we held as sacred. We were a nation of solid, intact families, where fathers and mothers worked hard, day and night, to provide a better life for their kids than they had. And as a nation, our moral compass was trained on God’s Holy Word.
Imagine a country where pre-marital sex was considered an abhorrent sin, where divorce was a shameful thing, along with drunkenness, laziness, and cowardice. And where homosexuality was considered deviant behavior. Alas, we can now only imagine, because in our lifetimes, things have changed. It’s not that such sins didn’t always exist, because we know there is nothing new under the sun; man has been in a fallen state since the Garden. But I remember an America where these things were considered shameful, not paraded around in public, demanding everyone embrace and pridefully celebrate such behavior.
Because our adversary, Satan, could not prevail in any assault against our foundation, he instead took aim at the next layer -- the most basic building blocks of a nation and a culture: the family. Of course, if you want to destroy the family, you first take aim at the family’s foundational structure: the man, the husband and father. Destroy or neuter the husband and father, and the rest will come crashing down.
In the beginning, a man was the leader of his family. He was the spiritual leader, the family “pastor,” if you will, shepherding his flock, discipling them, and leading them beside the still waters of salvation in Christ. His duties were spelled out in Deuteronomy 11: “Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”
In addition to being the spiritual leader of his home, a man was also to be the family’s provider, God’s representative and minister (servant) to his flock. If his wife or children suffered with poverty or lack, it brought shame upon such a man, and a man understood that it was his job -- as a man -- to be a good provider and protector. To not care properly for one’s wife and children meant such a man was an utter failure. 1 Timothy 5:9 reminds us, “Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” Providing for, and caring for one’s family was the man’s responsibility, and he knew it, and took that responsibility most seriously.
The Christian man also knew how to treat his wife, how to care for her, fulfill her needs and serve her. Down through history, real men did not take advantage of, selfishly use or abuse women. On the contrary, as gentlemen, we looked upon the fairer sex with great esteem, honoring them as precious gifts from God. Proverbs 18:22, “He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the LORD.”
Real men were the protectors, the providers, the defenders of women. Real men treated women with the utmost respect and adoration, standing when they would enter a room, holding their chair for them, opening car doors for them, speaking respectfully to them, removing their hats in their presence, honoring them as ladies. To disrespect a lady or to speak harshly to them (even to one’s own wife) was considered the height of arrogance. To strike a lady would label the offender a shameful coward. Such behavior was not tolerated in civilized society, and men who behaved badly were rebuked and held accountable for such shameful acts.
Certainly, it was a shameful thing for a man to be provided for by a woman. Now I am sure there are likely some reading this who will take that statement and label it as old fashioned, outdated, and even chauvinistic. Because in today’s world, we believe everything should be 50-50. He provides half, she provides half. While this may seem like the “fair” way to go about married life, it is actually quite incorrect.
You see, it was (and is) God’s plan for the man to be the provider, the servant-husband to his beloved wife and their children. When we try to change that dynamic around and reverse it, we are really reversing the whole structure of a society -- we are living in direct opposition to God’s model, His perfect blueprint for all that would be built upon His Foundation. And what happens when the perfect plan and blueprint are tossed out, or reversed? Chaos, brokenness, selfishness, torment, anguish, disease, destruction and death.
This is exactly what has happend to so much of our society. Most American families today look nothing like they did when our nation was at its peak, and they bear little to no resemblance to God’s blueprint for a peaceful, harmonious home. So as we consider the downfall of America, we need not spend a single minute guessing, nor need we ever doubt. Our downfall was caused by the destruction of the family, and the family was an easy target for the adversary once the husband and father was taken out... remove the provider, protector and defender, OR make him useless, impotent and irrelevant, and you have won the battle.
Let’s check that premise, and see if it is true. First, as we look around our nation, our state, our county, our city, OUR family: are men serving as the spiritual leaders of their homes? As the family pastors, are they really shepherding their flocks, taking responsiblity for their Christian education and discipling them for the Lord? Some would ask, “what planet are YOU from?” Instead, today if the family is involved in any “religious” activities at all, 90+% of the time it will be the wife and mother in charge. Men tend to view church and Bible study as “womens’ work.” Often among their co-workers and friends, they are even ashamed to let it be known they go to church at all. Worship of God is equated with “wimpy.” Ironic, isn’t it? That all of Christ’s disciples (not to mention millions of martyrs) not only believed in Him, they also defended Him ‘til death, rather than renounce Him. That doesn’t sound “wimpy” to me. It sounds courageous and heroic. I’d like you to note something here, because it represents a pattern: The FACT: serving Christ takes real men of courage and character. Satan’s LIE: serving Christ is “wimpy,” “feminine,” a “crutch.” Which do most men follow? Answer: the LIE.
Now, let’s look at the man as Provider, Protector, Defender of his family. Certainly a Godly wife and mother will contribute her share, and in fact, most likely a lot MORE than her share to the family. But please understand that the husband-wife relationship is to reflect the relationship of Christ and His church. Do we, as the church, provide, protect and defend Jesus? Or does He do that for us? Obviously, He provides all our needs and sustains the life He created as He holds us in His hands. He doesn’t need our money. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. To think otherwise would be absurd.
But in our world today, we have men who are able -- but refuse -- to work. Some are waiting for that “perfect job” they went to college for. Anything else would be “beneath” them. Meanwhile, they’re perfectly content to live off their wives, or more likely, their live-in girlfriends.
If this were the extent of the problem, that would be bad enough. But it gets worse. You see, so many have an “entitlement” mentality. They’ve been trained into it by the Nanny State. In our rich -- but bankrupt -- country, we demand easy, happy lives, filled with easy living and abundant STUFF. Madison Avenue markets an unrealistic lifestyle where everyone has every gadget, every gizmo, every toy to make for a happy life. In the scenario they present, work is unnecessary, and the chickens of massive debt never come home to roost. Even our politicians -- who are supposed to be learned and wise men -- cannot escape the bait of the enemy here. Just look at our nation’s debt: $17 trillion.
Our current president and his administration are actually proud of the fact that more Americans than ever before are living on welfare and food stamps... no longer do they need to work, because now they are content to suck on the teat of government handouts, for the rest of their lives. Free food, free housing, free healthcare, free cell phones. But friends, there is no free lunch. Hear this, from Proverbs 6: “How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest -- and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man.”
It is clear from Scripture that God expects us to work, to provide for ourselves and our loved ones, and as men, this is our duty; its been that way since Genesis. Ephesians 4:28, “Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.” Indeed. What kind of man are you, that you are content to live off government handouts, or to send your girlfriend to work while you lay around the house? Again, let’s observe: The FACT: God expects men to work to support their wives and children, and in fact, to earn even more to share with those who cannot work. Satan’s LIE: “Why should I go to work when I can make more money staying home? The government owes me my benefits.” Which do more and more men believe and practice today? Answer: The LIE.
In examining the crumbling building blocks of our country, we’ve looked at two main duties of a Godly man: serving Christ and providing for one’s family. Before we close, let me mention one more thing. Men are called to be ministers, or servants, if you will, to their wives and families. The wife, as the weaker vessel, entrusts her life to the man she marries. She is counting on him to be her spiritual leader, her provider, protector and defender. He is to be God’s representative to her here on earth. As Christ is head of the church, and gave Himself up for her, so is the man to give himself up for his wife.
Scripture tells women they are to submit to their husbands. But so many men view this as a license to abuse and take advantage of their wives and yes, today, even their girlfriends. Can you imagine Jesus -- because as His church, we are His bride and we’re instructed to submit to Him -- can you image Jesus taking advantage of us, using us, beating us down, mistreating us, being unfaithful to us, abusing us? Of course not. Yet this is the liberty so many men today take and their dear wives suffer in fear and torment...and some of these men who mistreat their wives defend their actions as being “biblical!” Rest assured, men, if you are mistreating your wife, you will get no mercy from the Lord. Scripture says He will not even HEAR your prayers.
The FACT: As the husband and father in your household, God has given you a tremendous responsibility for the lives and souls of your dear family. As the husband and father, your job is to SERVE. Not to be served. Satan’s LIE: “The Bible says you’re supposed to submit to me, woman! Obey me, NOW!”
I have two daughters. They are grown now, but they are still my little girls. I love them with all my heart. They have not yet been “courted” by any man, but one day, I expect that will happen. Can you imagine a man, marrying my daughter, and then refusing to go to church, or invest any time in raising Godly children, but instead leaving the “religious stuff” to my daughter because he views it as “womens’ work?” What if this man also refused to go to work because it was “beneath” him, being content to live off the income of my daughter? Or a man who abused my little girl verbally, mentally and/or phsically.
Then this man comes to me and asks my blessing. Would I bless him? Or would I curse such a man? How much more will our Father in heaven hand out the proper and just reward for those men who abuse His daughters! Men, beware.
We see our nation crumbling. The religion practiced in most church buildings is vain and futile. It’s a form of religion but with no power of or reverence for God. The enemy is at the door, constantly pounding on us, hammering away at the basic building blocks of our society: the family. Our government, shaking it’s fist at God and trampling our Constitution and the laws of the land, seeks to redefine marriage and family, turning it all upside down and inside out, in the name of “equality.” Meanwhile, the enemy of our souls chips away at our foundation from within.
Men, YOU are the first line of defense. If there is to be a victory in this battle, it will only be because YOU took up the challenge, and putting on the full armor of God, accepted your divinely-appointed role as spiritual leader, provider, protector, defender and servant. It begins with you. Will you accept your mission? Will you, as the courageous men who walked with Jesus, lay aside self interest in order to serve? Will you be like Jesus, who said, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” Lord, help us, to be like You.
