Foundations

How important is a good foundation? I mean, if you were building a brand new home, how important would it be to you to have a good foundation? Several years ago, down the street from our house, they were building a new house. Shortly after they had put up all the framing, the tore the whole thing down. Then they brought in a team to tear up the foundation and haul it off. After that process was completed they started all over and rebuilt the house from the ground up.

The reason for all that extra work and expense was because the foundation was flawed. It became cracked and as a result, had to be fixed. Nobody building a brand new house wants a cracked foundation from day one. If the foundation is flawed, the structure will have all kinds of problems. Doors won't close, tile floors will crack, ceilings will crack, roofs will leak, etc. Let's face it, if we get the foundation wrong, building a structure on it, would be truly unwise.

Equally as unwise would be attempting to move a sound structure away from a good foundation. Think about it. If you attempted to remove your house from its foundation, the whole thing would crumble. It's impossible for a structure to remain sound if it is ripped from its foundation.

Naturally, one would wonder why in the world anyone would attempt such a fete. I feel the same way when I look at what I believe to be the greatest country in the world attempting to distance itself from the very foundation that made it such. I would dare say, that like any other structure ripped away from its foundation, our country will suffer the same fate. The foundation layed by our forefathers, which included God as a center point, created a government characterized by separation of church from state, not state from church. Those who framed our Constitution understood all too well man's feeble attempts at government apart from God would ultimately end in failure.

As I write this, I really don't want to get all that political. This isn't a democratic or republican party issue. We all get up in arms when our side or our man is not in power, but I really think the problem is so much deeper than that. To be honest, I really don't even think this is so much a political thing as much as it is a spiritual thing. What we see playing out in leadership is a direct result of the spiritual climate of our nation and the world around us. Deception, greed, unkept promises, lack of integrity, selfish ambition, bribes, ungodly motives, power grabs, etc. are all spiritual issues and only become political issues when they manifest themselves in the political arena.

The fact is that whenever a man or woman moves independent of God, the result is never a good thing. It makes no difference whether you're a school teacher, plumber, executive, or hold public office. Of course, this is always magnified in those whose decisions and actions affect others, like government officials. When those in leadership are driven by selfish ambition, special interests, political ideologies, manipulation, or anything other than the Spirit of God, they will lead us in the wrong direction. The more distance we put between God and us as a nation, the closer we get to becoming a nation destined for destruction.

As I study history, I find that most of the founders of this great country were God fearing men. Not all, but most. And no, they weren't perfect, but God was at the forefront of their culture and lifestyle. They actually invited Him into the building process rather than excluding Him from it. God is our foundation. He is the only foundation that cannot be destroyed. Building on that foundation results in a strong and healthy structure. Whether we are talking about individuals or governmental structure. Anything not built on that foundation or pulled away from it, will not stand. Proverbs 14:34 says that "Righteousness exalts a nation but sin is a reproach to any people." Our form of government works great when those at the helm have a heart that is open to God and are determined to allow him to order their steps. But, what makes it work best is when we as the church have hearts that are open to God and are more apt to pray for our country rather than criticize those in leadership.