Saturday, July 11, 2009
Alcoholics and the United States.....same principles
photo courtesy of OakleyOriginals
Just laying in bed this afternoon, a revelation came to me. Revelation is the first word that comes to my mind.
The United States is in an economic downturn now. Iran is in turmoil, it looks like North Korea is trying to infiltrate our computer systems, and widespread nuclear proliferation is all but inevitable. Our nation is anything but a secure, happy nation.
I'm beginning to draw a correlation between the state of affairs of our nation, and the state of affairs of an alcoholic or drug addict. For an alcoholic, alcohol is only a symptom of an underlying cause. Our nation's woes are also only a symptom of an underlying cause. For both the alcoholic/addict, and our nation, the true cause of our problems has its roots in moral values. I'm going to spell out the 12 steps of AA, except I'm going to substitute our country, and you will see where I am headed with this.
1)As a nation we admitted we were powerless, and that our state of affairs had become unmanageable.
2) As a nation we came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to wholeness.
3) Made a decision as a nation to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
4) Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of our nation.
5) Admitted to God and to ourselves and our fellow nations the exact nature of our wrongs.
6) Were entirely ready to have God remove all of our nation's defects of character.
7) Humbly asked Him to remove our nation's shortcomings.
8) Made a list of all nations we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9) Made direct amends to all nations wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10) Continued to take personal inventory and when we as a nation were wrong, promptly admitted it.
11) Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as a nation, praying only for His will and the power to carry it out.
12) Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we as a nation tried to carry this message to all other nations, and to practice these principles in all of our affairs.
An alcoholic has to hit some kind of a "bottom" and his life has to become unmanageable. Our nation will have to hit "bottom" also. What if our economy were to collapse, we had a devastating famine, we were invaded by other nations, and had nowhere else to turn? We have come to be known as the world's "Super Power" and our nation's ego has become large. E.G.O. is what happens when we Ease God Out. We have eased God out of our lives as a country. I see it every day. All our focus is on material things rather than spiritual things and spiritual principles.
Our country was founded on spiritual principles and morals. We have all but lost them. We have forgotten where we have come from. We are addicted as a nation to instant gratification. On-Demand television, cell-phones, texting, jet travel, the information super-highway, fast food, fast cars, and our moral values are in a steady decline. We find a way to justify whatever we want to do morally as a nation, rather than rely on solid principles. This is typical alcoholic and addictive behavior. And what eventually happens to an alcoholic? He or she hits a bottom. I believe our nation is going to hit a bottom. I don't know when this will happen, or if it will be a "high bottom" or a "low bottom", but eventually we will hit bottom and have no choice other than to admit we are powerless over our state of affairs, and will have no other choice but return to God.
Rick's World by Rick is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at ricksworld411.blogspot.com.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://ricksworld411.blogspot.com.
Just laying in bed this afternoon, a revelation came to me. Revelation is the first word that comes to my mind.
The United States is in an economic downturn now. Iran is in turmoil, it looks like North Korea is trying to infiltrate our computer systems, and widespread nuclear proliferation is all but inevitable. Our nation is anything but a secure, happy nation.
I'm beginning to draw a correlation between the state of affairs of our nation, and the state of affairs of an alcoholic or drug addict. For an alcoholic, alcohol is only a symptom of an underlying cause. Our nation's woes are also only a symptom of an underlying cause. For both the alcoholic/addict, and our nation, the true cause of our problems has its roots in moral values. I'm going to spell out the 12 steps of AA, except I'm going to substitute our country, and you will see where I am headed with this.
1)As a nation we admitted we were powerless, and that our state of affairs had become unmanageable.
2) As a nation we came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to wholeness.
3) Made a decision as a nation to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
4) Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of our nation.
5) Admitted to God and to ourselves and our fellow nations the exact nature of our wrongs.
6) Were entirely ready to have God remove all of our nation's defects of character.
7) Humbly asked Him to remove our nation's shortcomings.
8) Made a list of all nations we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9) Made direct amends to all nations wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10) Continued to take personal inventory and when we as a nation were wrong, promptly admitted it.
11) Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as a nation, praying only for His will and the power to carry it out.
12) Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we as a nation tried to carry this message to all other nations, and to practice these principles in all of our affairs.
An alcoholic has to hit some kind of a "bottom" and his life has to become unmanageable. Our nation will have to hit "bottom" also. What if our economy were to collapse, we had a devastating famine, we were invaded by other nations, and had nowhere else to turn? We have come to be known as the world's "Super Power" and our nation's ego has become large. E.G.O. is what happens when we Ease God Out. We have eased God out of our lives as a country. I see it every day. All our focus is on material things rather than spiritual things and spiritual principles.
Our country was founded on spiritual principles and morals. We have all but lost them. We have forgotten where we have come from. We are addicted as a nation to instant gratification. On-Demand television, cell-phones, texting, jet travel, the information super-highway, fast food, fast cars, and our moral values are in a steady decline. We find a way to justify whatever we want to do morally as a nation, rather than rely on solid principles. This is typical alcoholic and addictive behavior. And what eventually happens to an alcoholic? He or she hits a bottom. I believe our nation is going to hit a bottom. I don't know when this will happen, or if it will be a "high bottom" or a "low bottom", but eventually we will hit bottom and have no choice other than to admit we are powerless over our state of affairs, and will have no other choice but return to God.
Rick's World by Rick is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at ricksworld411.blogspot.com.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://ricksworld411.blogspot.com.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
I don't agree that the underlying cause in any addiction is necessarily "moral" in nature, so I don't agree with your assertion that drug addicts and alcoholics have a problem with their morals.
That being said, I also don't agree with what you think our country is addicted to. Maybe it's what you are addicted to, but it certainly isn't a problem of mine.
- I don't watch TV.
- I don't have a cell phone, can't text anyone.
- Last time I traveled by plane was more than 10 years ago to attend an out of state funeral.
- The information superhighway is part of my job (can't avoid that if I want to earn a living)
- I don't eat fast food.
- I don't know how to drive and take the bus or walk when I need to get somewhere.
And nothing you mentioned has anything to do with morals. Are you implying only evil, morally corrupt people do these things?
And a belief in God doesn't equal morality. If you need proof of that, you can do something as simple as thinking about the children that were molested by priests, or the preachers caught cheating on their wives with prostitutes, those that murder in the name of God, the believers caught shoplifting, and any Christian that has ever broken a promise or told a lie.
And we are not powerless as a nation to repair the damage to our economy. But it will take the responsibility and involvement of every citizen to ensure our elected leaders do not keep making the same mistakes or signing bills into law that give their friends a pat on the back and a buck in their pocket.
We can't keep swallowing the lies and sticking our heads in the sand, believing everything that is told to us, or that politicians know what is best for us, or that we need our government interfering in every part of our lives, or that we need our government to take care of our every need from birth to grave.
Hiding in your church won't fix anything. And neither will praying for corrupt politicians.
Watch, look, listen, learn, get involved and participate, make a lot of noise when politicians are planning stupid things that hurt our country, or you will be accepting anything that happens (good or bad) as ok by you, and forfeit your right to complain about it when it doesn't work out how you'd like.
I agree that hiding in a church won't fix anything, but I disagree about prayer. Prayer does work.
We all have the right to our opinions, and you have the right to disagree with me. In the meantime I'll be praying for you. :)
Just happened to come across your blog today. What an interesting comparison. I enjoyed reading this post.
Great analogy Rick! Sure not every individual fits into this analogy, but corporately you have made what I see as an accurate assessment. Along with the instant gratification theme is the "me, mine, more, I know better" attitude America has. I see a country that looks strikingly similar to what happened with the Tower of Babel. "We can do this and make a name for ourselves". If we continue, it won't be long before the tower falls and confusion ensues.
Only when we the people become a priority against greed and power ....do I think this world has a fighting chance.
People tend to lose faith when they feel like they have no where else to turn and when they feel betrayed...an immediate mistrust sets in and the viscous circle goes on!
You definitely have put your words to good use and it was interesting to read!
Very interesting blog. I have read it a few times with interest. You present the information in a way that I have never never see it before.
Keep saying the truth as you see it!
Love
Kat
Post a Comment