Deaf & Blind

“The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years.  During those 200 years, these nations always progressed through the following sequences:. 1. From bondage to spiritual faith; 2. From spiritual faith to great courage; 3. From courage to liberty; 4. From liberty to abundance; 5. From abundance to complacency; 6. From complacency to apathy; 7. From apathy to dependence and 8. From dependence back into bondage.”  Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor, had this to say in 1887 while discussing the fall of the Athenian Republic some 2000 years prior, but history has consistently proved his point . Why don’t we learn from the mistakes of the past?  Woody Allen put it succinctly when he said, “The reason history repeats itself, is that no one was listening the first time.”  I suppose each new society thought of themselves as the biggest and best there ever had been.  Consider the mighty Egyptian, Roman and British empires, they all reached an apex, and from that highest point it was a steady decline.  The nation of Israel went through these same stages, but for many centuries, after suffering tragedies and captivities, they repented, and God gave them another chance.  Unfortunately this cycle repeated itself many times, obviously someone wasn’t listening. As we step back, and look at our beloved United States of America, we can see the same thing occurring.  Are we listening to the voices of our founding fathers, and more importantly to our Heavenly Father?  It would seem the answer is no.  We are 36 years beyond the 200 mark, and sinking daily.  16 trillion in debt, escalating prices and unemployment are only the tip of our iceberg of issues.  I’d say we are somewhere between #6 and 7 on Tyler’s list, heading quickly into dependence and bondage.  Way back in Exodus 2:23, the nation of Israel called out to God, “And the sons of Israel sighed because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry for help because of their bondage rose up to God. So God heard their groaning; and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” Our fervent prayers for the USA don’t fall on deaf ears. Let’s be in agreement, that blind eyes and deaf ears will be opened before it’s too late.  “Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don't you remember?” Mark 8:18.