But I would like to highlight just a few that I think we can all agree have led to the breakdown of our moral fabric, which in the end leaves us vulnerable to both physical and spiritual attack. And I will admit that it is hard to think that this country, in which I have believed since I was a child, could ever be anything but the "beacon of freedom and an example of the best of humanity". But all any of us have to do is look around us and we can see that our foundation of faith has been excoriated and criticized, which has led to moral compromise in order to gain ungodly acceptance.
The truth is, we have been in the process of decay for a few decades now, and everything from our homes and family, to our forms of entertainment, to our government, to our military all show signs of degradation and degeneration. We are simply in decline. Here are a few of the things that have contributed to the cracks in our moral wall:
1. Approximately one-third of the entire population of the United States (110 million people) currently has a sexually transmitted disease according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It's kind of funny really ... Disease is defined as "a disorder of structure or function in a human...". And when it is sexually transmitted, we need to ask ourselves where and how have we, as a society, so disrupted the normal function of sex that it is making us ill. To think that 1 out of 3 people in the entire population (and that includes infants, children, and the elderly) is suffering from our corrupted sense of the purpose of sex, well ... it is heartbreaking. We have demeaned and debased this beautiful joining of two people to something that is for personal gratification only; the idea of beauty and respect as being involved in sex is nearly obsolete. And that is why we have fact #2.2. Every single year, there are 20 million new STD cases in America. Obviously, we are not doing a good job of curbing our sexual appetites, and there appears to be no reversing the trend.
3. At this point, one out of every four teen girls in the U.S. has at least one sexually transmitted disease. I guess there is no point in asking, "What happened to celibacy?" I'm afraid that having sex in the teen years is a given these days. That should make for some sleepless nights for every parent or grandparent of teenage girls.
4. According to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, there are 747,408 registered sex offenders in the United States. I'm sorry, but that figure is almost a joke! The obvious question for me is, how many unregistered are there? Because we all know that the sex trade is one of the most egregious businesses in this country, and there are millions of vulnerable women and children who are trafficked throughout this country. And many innocent children are victimized by sexual predators and it is never reported! I am totally convinced that Jesus had sexual abusers in mind when He warned against anyone who would cause a stumbling block to be placed before one of His "little ones"; that it would be better for him to have a millstone placed around his neck and drowned in the depth of the sea... I think He knows exactly what justice He is going to bestow on them, and it will be on behalf of every single child who has ever been harmed. I look forward to that day!
5. An astounding 30 percent of all Internet traffic now goes to adult websites. This is the by-product of the breakdown of our moral fabric. Not only has sex become less personal and less private, along with being less healthy, but now it is public and for sale. And these websites fuel the appetites of perverts, predators and the promiscuous. This is a fact that does not exactly support a strong moral foundation for a country. And here's a fact that should thoroughly disgust you...
6. It has been estimated that 89 percent of all pornography is produced in the United States. Not quite acting like the "best of humanity" are we?
7. America has the highest divorce rate in the world by a good margin. Although sex is readily available in a variety of arenas, that fact doesn't exactly lead to the enhancement of good and godly marriages. When you've been sold the lie that sex is impersonal and about erotica and self-gratification, then what can the sanctity of God's marriage covenant offer you? Especially if you don't even know the One who created it?
8. At this point, approximately one out of every three children in the United States lives in a home without a father. The moral foundation of any land or country is the family. When sex outside marriage becomes acceptable in a society, it is obvious that the dismantlement of the family will follow. The Welfare System began that journey, and now we've re-defined not only what a family is, but even what constitutes gender. Confusion, chaos, and catastrophe are the end results when "father" has no absolute meaning.
9. Without strong families, our young people are constantly in search of an identity. According to the FBI, there are now more than 1.4 million gang members involved in the 33,000 active criminal gangs in the United States. That statistic can be coupled with drug use, crime, and murder -- none of which can be classified as hallmarks of a moral nation. How could we have lost our way so terribly that gangs become the substitute for a loving and supportive family? That crack in our moral wall is becoming more dangerous every day.
10. The number of American babies killed by abortion each year is roughly equal to the number of U.S. military deaths that have occurred in all of the wars that the United States has ever been involved in combined. Can you even fathom that number? How can we even think of ourselves as a moral nation when that is our reality? Once again, I remind you what Jesus had to say about those who harmed His "little ones".
11. One very shocking study found that 86 percent of all abortions are done for the sake of convenience. What does that say about how we feel about God, the Creator? If we can so effortlessly and callously destroy what the Creator of the Universe created -- just because it's not convenient for us -- then we have no system of values which we can extoll. Which leads me to a fact that shows exactly how far from a rational and moral sense of values we really have...
12. A Department of Homeland Security report that was released in January 2012 says that if you are “anti-abortion”, you are a potential terrorist. I don't even know what to say about that fact! How can upholding the holiness of life be considered terrorizing? I can't get there, no matter how hard I try to twist rational theories. The use of the word "terrorist" is intentional and purposeful; posed to promote an agenda of child sacrifice as old as the abominations in the Old Testament. The indefensible use of that word is applied to one who wishes to preserve the sanctity of a fetus's life, yet it will not be used to describe someone who kills innocent victims because of their Christian faith. Explain that to me, if you can!
13. According to one absolutely shocking study, 22 military veterans kill themselves in the United States every single day. And we still call ourselves a moral nation? These men and women have sacrificed more than any of us will ever know, and we do not show them the respect, nor give them the care they deserve. They return home to face their demons alone, and that, my friends, is just plain wrong and immoral.
14. America has the highest rate of illegal drug use on the entire planet. It's because we are in so much pain. Everyone from our military veterans, to our elderly, to our hyper-active children are given prescriptions for anti-depressants... legal drugs to numb the pain of their realities. But those prescriptions are often abused, and if you're not on a legal pain-killer, then there are the street drugs like heroin, which has seen the number of addicts more than double since 2002. Whether legal or illegal, it's obvious we are a drugged nation.
15. Nearly 20% of all U.S. adults have no religious affiliation whatsoever. Back in 1972, only 7% of all U.S. adults had no religious affiliation. I believe this fact should measure Faith rather than religious affiliation. Because without Faith in God, you see what we get ... all of the other 14 facts I have mentioned, AND the balance of the 100 facts mentioned in the article on The Truth website.
These are just a few examples of the downward spiral in morality that is consuming our nation (and the world). When 46% of Americans never think about whether they will go to Heaven or not, then it is pretty obvious that nearly half of this nation thinks there are no consequences for immoral behavior or a lack of moral values. In fact, we're continuously being told that morality is relative; in other words there is no absolute right or wrong, therefore we should simply tolerate all behavior.
Yet, I dare say that no one would tolerate a new father putting his 6-week-old daughter in a freezer to keep her from crying, right? (This horrific scenario is from an actual news report). But when there is no concern about what happens to you one second after you are clinically dead, then it's perfectly understandable that concepts like "right" or "wrong"; or "moral" and "immoral" will have no effect upon how we live our lives in the here and now.
Just glancing over the 15 statistics I have listed gives us a pretty good idea as to the direction this country is headed... and it sure isn't towards holiness. We have become a nation focused on self-gratification and self-indulgence. It's all about us and enjoying the things that bring us pleasure and fulfillment. And whether it is the pursuit of money, sex, fun, or self-glorification, it will never satisfy our physical needs or bring us spiritual satisfaction. It just leads to more statistics like those above, and more moral failures.
I have to admit that I barely recognize my country anymore, and I shudder to think what new statistics will be recorded in the coming years. And the worse it gets, the more I feel pulled from this culture. But that doesn't bother me, because I know there are others like me; people who still cling to the Good Book and try to live their lives by walking in the footprints of our Lord. We live within our own set of statistics and could care less about whether our moral values are accepted as mainstream or not. We answer to the God of the Universe, not to the Prince of this world; and we are not afraid to stand for our principles. So read over this partial list of statistics, and determine whether you are willing to accept them as defining your life. If not, then join me in walking that straight line that leads us through the narrow gate and look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. We do not have to become a statistic when we live in the shadow of the Almighty.
Proverbs 4:14-15 "Don’t set foot on the path of the wicked;
don’t proceed in the way of evil ones. Avoid it; don’t travel on it. Turn away from it, and pass it by."
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