I once read an article by Charles Swindoll that really caught
my attention. It was entitled "Stop the Revolving Door". In the article,
he chronicled the rise and fall of civilizations from the Babylonian
Empire to the Athenian Republic. The article suggests that there is
historical evidence to suggest that there is a certain "inevitability"
to the ultimate decline of human efforts. The evidence is compelling.
Here is the course of decline Swindoll quoted in his article:
From bondage to spiritual faith
From spiritual faith to great courage
From great courage to strength
From strength to liberty
From liberty to abundance
From abundance to leisure
From leisure to selfishness
From selfishness to complacency
From complacency to apathy
From apathy to dependency
From dependency to weakness
From weakness back to bondage
As
I read this description of human decline, I couldn't help but be taken
by the sense of inevitability in the flow. Yet, I wondered if it really
has to happen this way. Isn't there room for something distinctively
contrary to this commentary upon history? Swindoll's article concludes
with a plea for individuals to take up the challenge and he suggests,
rightly I believe, that it is only through the power of personal
response that the tide can be turned.
So, I
want to issue a challenge to those who have ears to hear and who will
take up the challenge of writing new history into the future. What if we
moved ...
From bondage to spiritual faith
From spiritual faith to great thankfulness
From great thankfulness to personal humility
From personal humility to spiritual discipline
From spiritual discipline to personal blessings
From personal blessings to blessing others
From blessing others to greater abundance
From greater abundance to greater thanksgiving
From greater thanksgiving to greater faith
From greater faith to greater humility
From greater humility to greater spiritual discipline
From greater spiritual discipline to greater blessings
From greater blessings to greater blessings for others ...
Why
couldn't that be the way the story goes? I just believe it could work
that way. I think the key lies in staying anchored in a humility that
only faith can produce. Arrogance will forever be our fall. And yet, it
is not our inevitable conclusion. We have seen it lived differently
before and for over two thousand years we have been invited to follow
His lead. I for one believe His way to be the answer to the this
question of inevitability history seems to demand. I personally choose
to follow His lead. Do well, my friends. Our future depends upon it!
a082609t
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