Madeline Crabb
What America needs most: personal responsibility
By Madeline Crabb
America has become a nation of whining, sniveling, belly-aching, finger-pointing, excuse-making, and justifying, grumblers and complainers. Absurd, you say? Not. And as for me, I am sick and tired of it. Be honest...don't you agree? Or does the statement describe you?
Hey, don't get mad at me. I just deliver the messages God imparts to me.
This message is the second in a series of what's wrong with America, and thus Americans, and what we need most. So, what does America need most? We need personal responsibility.
It's amazing! There is a demand for change from nearly every area of society. But it's always someone else who needs to change. It's as if a case of "mass amnesia" has swept across the nation. Nobody is responsible for their personal behavior. Every action is justified by blaming someone else, or some circumstance. We are no longer responsible for anything we do. Maybe the devil made me do it...or my mother/father were mean to me...or maybe some awful kid in school laughed at me...or maybe it's because my mom always liked my brother or sister more than me... Or what about parents making excuses for their kids' bad behavior? Oh, my child can't do this or that because of a teacher, coach...or maybe the rules just aren't fair for everybody... or maybe it's because "they" don't understand how special my kid is... or my kid can't behave because of whatever...and on and on and on it goes. ENOUGH ALREADY!
We need to stop blaming others for our problems or bad behavior, and take personal responsibility. True, blaming someone else for our personal behavior began in the Garden of Eden. In chapter three of Genesis in the Holy Bible, we read about Adam and Eve. After receiving specific instructions from God, Eve was deceived by, chose to believe the serpent/devil, and ate forbidden fruit. Adam chose to be "charmed" by Eve to eat of the same fruit. Thus, the first sin and disobedience to God were committed. God was NOT pleased. Consequently, He had to pronounce judgment on them because of their disobedience – their sin.
Today, after millennia, we are still being deceived by the devil. And today, when we are deceived, even when we know the truth, we are still pointing fingers at someone else, the devil or other humans, instead of owning up to our own mistakes – our own sins. And just as God was not pleased with Adam and Eve, and had to punish them, God is not pleased with us, and must punish us for our sins and disobedience, even though He loves us. This principle applies to us as individuals, and corporately, as a nation.
The reality is that America is going to hell in a hand basket, and yet, all we hear seems to be belly-aching and self-pity. America is being destroyed from within because of irresponsible individual Americans. Hello! As I mentioned in my last column, the late Michael Jackson sang the words in his song "Man in the Mirror" that if we want to make the world a better place, we need to look at ourselves, (at the man in the mirror), and make a change. In other words, we need to take personal responsibility for our own situations. I mean, really...
Blacks are still saying whitey or rich men are keeping them down. Uh huh. I'm afraid the "whitey" argument died when Obama was elected our president. While he may be half-white, he has dark skin and black relatives. Further, he is not exactly poor. So let it go already. And if you are poor and black, once again, it is not whitey's fault, nor is it the fault of the rich. If you don't believe me, perhaps you will believe yet another rich, black man. This is from a recent post on the Tea Party News Network:
In the Garden of Eden, Adam was told he would have to toil for a living. In the New Testament, we are taught: "The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat." (2 Th. 3:10 NIV) Don't misunderstand, there are those who truly are unable to care for themselves, and we should be caring for them – a role of the Church and other charitable institutions. But the government started interfering in this area, and has thus taken away the incentive to work and exercise personal responsibility, creating a class of victims.
Rich people are the job creators. Instead of condemning and hating them, they should be applauded. They care enough to take their hard-earned money, and re-invest it in businesses that employ workers. Furthermore, in case you haven't heard, America is the land of opportunity.
Most rich people aren't born into "rich" families. And even if they are, somewhere along the line, their ancestors had to work to obtain their wealth. I know this isn't taught in today's schools, but money does NOT grow on trees, or fall from the sky. It is earned. In other words, people work for it. Such people take personal responsibility for themselves and their families, and are free to either haphazardly spend everything they earn, or wisely save or invest, thus growing wealth for themselves, or wealth they can share by creating opportunity for others through job creation. Sometimes people work more than one job to achieve their wealth. And contrary to the popular belief that work is a dirty four-letter-word, work is an honorable thing. It's disturbing that so many people think it's the job of government, or other people to take care of us. What is being taught in the home?
Sadly, there are far too many parents who bear children, but then hand-off the responsibility of teaching their kids to someone else. Newsflash: If you have kids, they are YOUR responsibility. Not mine, or school teachers, or even the State. And if we all raised our kids in the way they should go, per Bible teaching, then when they are grown, they won't depart from those ways. (Prov. 22:6) But even if our own parents didn't do a good job, there is still no excuse when we become adults that we can't function properly. There are still enough role models for us to learn from. Choosing victimhood is not the answer.
Basically, we all make our own beds and then must sleep in them. Americans need to wake up. Nobody is owed anything by any other human being. We are allowing our government to force us into taking care of a bunch of deadbeats who refuse to do even the simplest of jobs to care for themselves. It's not just food and shelter they get from the government, which is funded by those who actually work and pay taxes – there are lots of other freebies. It's become a sort of "cottage industry" in seeing how much one can get from the government. Can anyone say Obama-phone? Yes, let's be sure that all deadbeats in America can sit on their ever-expanding backsides and talk and text for free. But again, nothing is free. Everything given away to someone is taken from someone else! And quite frankly, some of us are sick and tired of it!
But aside from the outrage felt by hard-working, responsible Americans, we must seriously consider what God thinks about our individual and corporate irresponsibility.
First of all, God hates grumbling, complaining, arguing, and fault-finding. Throughout Scripture, God punished complainers. We are told, "Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation." (Php 2:14 NIV) When we grumble and complain, and blame others for our plight in life, God is telling us we are to blame, that we are impure, and that we are with fault. He is going to hold us accountable. As for me, I want to obey God. I do not want to be punished for my disobedience. How about you? And dear friends, when we don't take personal responsibility for our lives and our families, we are being disobedient.
"But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God – having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them." (2 Tim. 3:1-5 NIV) This is the picture of America in 2014. And this mess didn't just happen. We all must take responsibility for this state of affairs. Will we continue pointing fingers at others for our individual and corporate condition, thus perpetuating the mess, and bringing punishment upon ourselves, or will we take a look at the man/woman in the mirror, take personal responsibility for our sins and disobedience, and begin to make a change? Again, just as God punished Adam and Eve, He will punish us. Dear friend, don't think that any of us can continue to "pass the buck" regarding our own behavior, that God doesn't care, or doesn't really punish people. He does care, and still punishes. Personal irresponsibility is sin in God's eyes. When we grumble and complain, we are really doing so against God, which is also sin.
And the Bible says the wages of sin is death. (Rom 6:23)
So what does America need most? Personal responsibility. We need to STOP our whining, sniveling, belly-aching, finger-pointing, excuse-making, justifying, grumbling and complaining, and become responsible human beings. God has given us instructions. Isn't it time we started to obey? To anyone willing to hear....
© Madeline Crabb
July 7, 2014
America has become a nation of whining, sniveling, belly-aching, finger-pointing, excuse-making, and justifying, grumblers and complainers. Absurd, you say? Not. And as for me, I am sick and tired of it. Be honest...don't you agree? Or does the statement describe you?
Hey, don't get mad at me. I just deliver the messages God imparts to me.
This message is the second in a series of what's wrong with America, and thus Americans, and what we need most. So, what does America need most? We need personal responsibility.
It's amazing! There is a demand for change from nearly every area of society. But it's always someone else who needs to change. It's as if a case of "mass amnesia" has swept across the nation. Nobody is responsible for their personal behavior. Every action is justified by blaming someone else, or some circumstance. We are no longer responsible for anything we do. Maybe the devil made me do it...or my mother/father were mean to me...or maybe some awful kid in school laughed at me...or maybe it's because my mom always liked my brother or sister more than me... Or what about parents making excuses for their kids' bad behavior? Oh, my child can't do this or that because of a teacher, coach...or maybe the rules just aren't fair for everybody... or maybe it's because "they" don't understand how special my kid is... or my kid can't behave because of whatever...and on and on and on it goes. ENOUGH ALREADY!
We need to stop blaming others for our problems or bad behavior, and take personal responsibility. True, blaming someone else for our personal behavior began in the Garden of Eden. In chapter three of Genesis in the Holy Bible, we read about Adam and Eve. After receiving specific instructions from God, Eve was deceived by, chose to believe the serpent/devil, and ate forbidden fruit. Adam chose to be "charmed" by Eve to eat of the same fruit. Thus, the first sin and disobedience to God were committed. God was NOT pleased. Consequently, He had to pronounce judgment on them because of their disobedience – their sin.
Today, after millennia, we are still being deceived by the devil. And today, when we are deceived, even when we know the truth, we are still pointing fingers at someone else, the devil or other humans, instead of owning up to our own mistakes – our own sins. And just as God was not pleased with Adam and Eve, and had to punish them, God is not pleased with us, and must punish us for our sins and disobedience, even though He loves us. This principle applies to us as individuals, and corporately, as a nation.
The reality is that America is going to hell in a hand basket, and yet, all we hear seems to be belly-aching and self-pity. America is being destroyed from within because of irresponsible individual Americans. Hello! As I mentioned in my last column, the late Michael Jackson sang the words in his song "Man in the Mirror" that if we want to make the world a better place, we need to look at ourselves, (at the man in the mirror), and make a change. In other words, we need to take personal responsibility for our own situations. I mean, really...
Blacks are still saying whitey or rich men are keeping them down. Uh huh. I'm afraid the "whitey" argument died when Obama was elected our president. While he may be half-white, he has dark skin and black relatives. Further, he is not exactly poor. So let it go already. And if you are poor and black, once again, it is not whitey's fault, nor is it the fault of the rich. If you don't believe me, perhaps you will believe yet another rich, black man. This is from a recent post on the Tea Party News Network:
-
Actor Morgan Freeman spoke with Don Lemon on CNN. Lemon asked an all-too-typical question for the race-hustling leftist media by asking if Freeman believed that race played a part in wealth distribution.
Without hesitating to hear the end of the question, Freeman inquired, "To date?"
"Yeah," Lemon responded.
"No," Freeman quickly replied.
"You don't?" Lemon wondered.
"No, I don't," Freeman candidly admitted. "You and I: we're proof. Why would race have anything to do with it? Stick to it; put your mind to what you want to do and go for that."
In the Garden of Eden, Adam was told he would have to toil for a living. In the New Testament, we are taught: "The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat." (2 Th. 3:10 NIV) Don't misunderstand, there are those who truly are unable to care for themselves, and we should be caring for them – a role of the Church and other charitable institutions. But the government started interfering in this area, and has thus taken away the incentive to work and exercise personal responsibility, creating a class of victims.
Rich people are the job creators. Instead of condemning and hating them, they should be applauded. They care enough to take their hard-earned money, and re-invest it in businesses that employ workers. Furthermore, in case you haven't heard, America is the land of opportunity.
Most rich people aren't born into "rich" families. And even if they are, somewhere along the line, their ancestors had to work to obtain their wealth. I know this isn't taught in today's schools, but money does NOT grow on trees, or fall from the sky. It is earned. In other words, people work for it. Such people take personal responsibility for themselves and their families, and are free to either haphazardly spend everything they earn, or wisely save or invest, thus growing wealth for themselves, or wealth they can share by creating opportunity for others through job creation. Sometimes people work more than one job to achieve their wealth. And contrary to the popular belief that work is a dirty four-letter-word, work is an honorable thing. It's disturbing that so many people think it's the job of government, or other people to take care of us. What is being taught in the home?
Sadly, there are far too many parents who bear children, but then hand-off the responsibility of teaching their kids to someone else. Newsflash: If you have kids, they are YOUR responsibility. Not mine, or school teachers, or even the State. And if we all raised our kids in the way they should go, per Bible teaching, then when they are grown, they won't depart from those ways. (Prov. 22:6) But even if our own parents didn't do a good job, there is still no excuse when we become adults that we can't function properly. There are still enough role models for us to learn from. Choosing victimhood is not the answer.
Basically, we all make our own beds and then must sleep in them. Americans need to wake up. Nobody is owed anything by any other human being. We are allowing our government to force us into taking care of a bunch of deadbeats who refuse to do even the simplest of jobs to care for themselves. It's not just food and shelter they get from the government, which is funded by those who actually work and pay taxes – there are lots of other freebies. It's become a sort of "cottage industry" in seeing how much one can get from the government. Can anyone say Obama-phone? Yes, let's be sure that all deadbeats in America can sit on their ever-expanding backsides and talk and text for free. But again, nothing is free. Everything given away to someone is taken from someone else! And quite frankly, some of us are sick and tired of it!
But aside from the outrage felt by hard-working, responsible Americans, we must seriously consider what God thinks about our individual and corporate irresponsibility.
First of all, God hates grumbling, complaining, arguing, and fault-finding. Throughout Scripture, God punished complainers. We are told, "Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation." (Php 2:14 NIV) When we grumble and complain, and blame others for our plight in life, God is telling us we are to blame, that we are impure, and that we are with fault. He is going to hold us accountable. As for me, I want to obey God. I do not want to be punished for my disobedience. How about you? And dear friends, when we don't take personal responsibility for our lives and our families, we are being disobedient.
"But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God – having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them." (2 Tim. 3:1-5 NIV) This is the picture of America in 2014. And this mess didn't just happen. We all must take responsibility for this state of affairs. Will we continue pointing fingers at others for our individual and corporate condition, thus perpetuating the mess, and bringing punishment upon ourselves, or will we take a look at the man/woman in the mirror, take personal responsibility for our sins and disobedience, and begin to make a change? Again, just as God punished Adam and Eve, He will punish us. Dear friend, don't think that any of us can continue to "pass the buck" regarding our own behavior, that God doesn't care, or doesn't really punish people. He does care, and still punishes. Personal irresponsibility is sin in God's eyes. When we grumble and complain, we are really doing so against God, which is also sin.
And the Bible says the wages of sin is death. (Rom 6:23)
So what does America need most? Personal responsibility. We need to STOP our whining, sniveling, belly-aching, finger-pointing, excuse-making, justifying, grumbling and complaining, and become responsible human beings. God has given us instructions. Isn't it time we started to obey? To anyone willing to hear....
© Madeline Crabb
The views expressed by RenewAmerica columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of RenewAmerica or its affiliates.
(See RenewAmerica's publishing standards.)
