Our children are fed a fiery menu of confusion every day. They wake up in the morning to hear the chatter of violence, yet they are supposed to be kind to their peers. They see adults cheer their favorite hero as he obliterates his enemy in a grand explosion that takes out half the city.
Yet they are expected to shun prejudice and treat everyone equally. Gender has been reduced to penguins marching in the same line, while children see physical differences and know that something just isn’t right. They hear negative predictions of gloom and doom while being encouraged to dream for a bright future. There are consequences for disobeying the law, but it’s okay to champion those who break the law when it suits their purpose.
They learn it is alright to burn down innocent people’s livelihoods and steal their goods, if it shows how angry you are about the political status quo. They hear about this thing called the Constitution, but it was written by some ancient, prejudiced people who are out of touch with mainstream America. It is only referred to when it suits political purposes. How is a child supposed to grow up in such a mass of confusion?
The universe is governed by inescapable laws. Anyone who questions this needs to check out the law of gravity. You might want to toss up an apple above your head, but not a pumpkin, because both are coming down. You can wake up late in the morning and expect the stars to still be shining, or the tide not to come in, but, by law, the sun will shine even on cloudy days and the tide will still reach the shore. Anything else is chaos. God is a God of order and peace. Satan is the destroyer of both.
Satan’s plan is the opposite of God’s. He designs confusion and chaos. He would like nothing better than to confuse a generation. If you confuse children, who will one day become parents, you have severed the chain that holds society together. It looks like his plan is well on its way. Our only hope is to turn to God’s laws, believe them, live them and teach them. Remember, God wrote them with His own finger.
Thou shalt have no other gods before me (Exodus 20:3 KJV). The world is full of other gods, and if you question if we worship other gods, here is the test. How much time do we spend on our devices compared to the time we spend in the scriptures and trying to be like Jesus? Great promises await those who will have Jesus to be their God.
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:14 KJV).
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments (Exodus 20:4-6 KJV).
Satan has the upper hand on that commandment. We lounge before our devices and search for answers to every problem with our fingers, not our lips in prayer. What are we teaching our children? Will the Lord visit our posterity with our sins because we set a bad example, or will they receive God’s mercy because we have taught them to love the Lord and put Him above all else?
Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain (Exodus 20:7 KJV). Profaning the Lord’s name is a national habit. Listen to your favorite sitcom and count the times the Lord’s name is spoken in colorful conversation. Taking the Lord’s name in vain is not just using His name as a curse word. It is also making meaningless prayers that don’t come from the heart. It appears our nation might be guilty. We are missing the blessings of peace promised to those who respect the Lord.
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy (Exodus 20:8 KJV). I wonder how many children even recognize what the word “Sabbath” means, let alone reverence it. Sunday has become a big “game day,” a day for recreation, or a catch-up-on-work day, and “holy” has became a name for rips and tears in your jeans. By default, we forfeit all the blessing of Sabbath worship and reap all the curses of a decaying nation.
Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work (Exodus 20:9 KJV). Work is a commandment, but many have made the quest for leisure and entertainment a priority, and get-rich scams have become a national catastrophe. The media is a river of people trying to get your money. Whatever happened to earning bread by the sweat of your brow?
Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee (Exodus 20:12 KJV). Honoring parents is a double-edged sword. Parents who do not teach their children right from wrong and allow them to stumble and fall without direction in an ever-darkening world are losing their children’s respect, with good reason. On the other hand, parents who teach correct principles, who are fighting a tremendous battle against a tidal wave of evil, deserve respect.
There are other parents we need to honor, as well. In God’s sight, our ancestors who have given all for our freedoms should be revered. As a nation, we are in danger of losing the memory of those men and women of our past who should remain honored as heroes and heroines. We are missing the wonderful blessings our ancestor-parents could teach us as we allow our heritage to be destroyed.
Thou shalt not kill (Exodus 20:13 KJV). Killing isn’t just taking someone’s life. It can be destroying someone’s chances for happiness or success. It can be shaping someone’s self-esteem to failure. It is killing a child’s power to choose before he or she is capable of knowing the consequences.
Thou shalt not commit adultery (Exodus 20:14 KJV). Adultery and infidelity are glamorized in our society so much that children of unwed mothers are almost as common as children born in a two-parent home. Society says there is nothing wrong here, but the children suffer forever. Disobeying this commandment is stealing our peace and our children’s hope of a strong united family in the future. Strong families make strong nations.
Thou shalt not steal (Exodus 20:15 KJV). Finders keepers; if no one knows about it, it’s not wrong. Aladdin, in the popular animated movie, claims he has to steal to eat. Excuses for stealing abound. The blessing that comes from this commandment is trust in our neighbors and communities. You can’t put a price on that.
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour (Exodus 20:16 KJV). We are so besieged with lies and false information, we hardly know where to turn to find the truth. People are virtually cancelled by the narratives spun by the talking spiders in the media and the government. Forked-tongued politicians promise one thing and do the opposite after they are elected. The nation becomes more and more divided based on the media they choose to listen to. Peace has been taken from the earth because we listen to lies spun by the father of all lies.
Thou shalt not covet (Exodus 20:17 KJV). Coveting is the opposite of gratitude. When we have an insatiable desire to have something that belongs to someone else, we cease to be content with what we have. Gratitude is blocked from our hearts, and all we see is lack. There is power in gratitude, and we miss that power and blessing when we covet.
The Lord gave us commandments. They are not suggestions. They are laws with consequences. Just as Newton’s apple always falls, so shall nations reap the consequences of disregarding the laws of God.
