If The Foundations Are Destroyed, What Can The Righteous Do?

If the Foundations Are Destroyed, What Can the Righteous Do?

—Psalm 11:3

A news reporter once asked someone, “What are the two greatest problems facing America?” The man replied, “I really don’t know—and I really don’t care!” And there you have it, the two greatest problems facing our nation: ignorance (“I don’t know”) and apathy (“I don’t care”). No two single factors are working harder to destroy the very foundation of our nation than ignorance and apathy.

Three thousand years ago King David asked this very penetrating and probing question that’s all too relevant today: “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3). We are living in a time when many of the moral and ethical values that once formed the infrastructure of our great nation are crumbling before our very eyes.

George Washington entered the office of the presidency with these wise words: “The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained.” In 1796 he left office with this farewell: “Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism who should labor to subvert these great pillars.” Sadly, our first president would not recognize his nation today. We can no longer pray at high school graduations, Christmas carols are forbidden in elementary schools, and long-held religious liberties are diminishing with each passing day.

What are these pillars that have helped America be a shining city on a hill before the rest of the world? While many pillars hold up our country’s foundation, there are four that have significantly made America a great nation “under God.”

THE PILLAR OF DIGNITY

Through the decades, human dignity, the worth of an individual, self-respect and the respect of others, and the value of human life have kept the foundation of America strong. President Washington warned of people who would labor to subvert this “pillar” of dignity, the value of life. Our courts have ruled that innocent, defenseless, unborn children have no right to life. To many, these precious little lives are simply globs of flesh undeserving of any human dignity.

Yet at one time we were the forerunner of the world in regard to human rights. All the wars in which we have been engaged have a critical common denominator: we never attacked first. My father fought in the South Pacific in the 1940s. Why? Because Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, starting a war that eventually cost America hundreds of thousands of lives and billions of dollars. A few years later, on the deck of the USS Missouri, the Japanese signed a peace treaty. And before the big guns on our battleships and the engines of our planes cooled down, American freighters were plowing across the Pacific to take the Japanese people what they needed to rebuild their nation. Why? Because we believed in the dignity of human beings and the value of life.

That belief is proclaimed by Emma Lazarus in words found on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” King David’s question echoes down the corridors of the centuries to today: “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”

THE PILLAR OF DEVOTION

One of the things that has made our nation great is our devotion to God, home, and country. We were birthed as a result of our ancestors’ devotion to God. While not all the Founding Fathers were what we would call “born again,” they were at least deists: they acknowledged the rule of a sovereign and supreme God who was above all.

Drive through New England even today, and you’ll see a church steeple at the center of every little village you pass through. These buildings stand to testify that this pillar of devotion to God was at the heart of who we were and where we came from.

This is true not just in the ecclesiastical world but in the educational one as well. Each of our nation’s oldest colleges were founded by a Bible-based denomination wanting primarily to train ministers. Harvard, founded in 1636 by New England Puritans, was once so ingrained with devotion that for several years their commencement addresses were given in Hebrew. Presbyterians founded Princeton in 1746; Anglicans founded Columbia in 1754; Baptists founded Brown in 1764; and the list goes on.

Sadly, schools today sweep their roots under the rug and promote a culture throughout the educational process that cannot display the Ten Commandments, and where prayer is prohibited. The pillar of devotion is being destroyed. People used to get a lump in their throats singing the national anthem at a ball game or from singing “Faith of Our Fathers” at a commencement service. King David’s question: “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” is one we should all take seriously as more and more words like patriotism become forgotten words in our American vocabulary.

THE PILLAR OF DUTY

Through the years America has been set apart by the pillar of duty, by our work ethic. But, like other pillars, it too is crumbling before a culture that advances an entitlement mentality, where almost one half of Americans are receiving some type of federal financial assistance. The free enterprise system is what encourages ambition and incentive to work; the welfare system doesn’t.

There is a dignity and a duty in a solid work ethic. Hard work has always been key to success and satisfaction in life. Again, we hear David’s question echoing down through history to us today. Can you hear it? It is not a whisper, but a roar: “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”

THE PILLAR OF DECENCY

Common decency—basic morality—is also one of the attributes that has helped shape America, but our sense of decency has been radically redefined. I remember seeing the classic movie Gone with the Wind when I was a child and hearing Rhett Butler say to Scarlett O’Hara, “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.” The shock and rage that viewers expressed resulted in an uproar of condemnation. Yet today, many movies made for our youth are filled with expletives, and deemed acceptable. Major television networks show nudity without a word of complaint, and scripts are expected to be vulgar and vile. Pornography is now a multibillion dollar industry, and lifestyles that were hidden in dark alleys not that long ago now are paraded proudly down Main Street in most every American city, town, and village.

While the foundations are being destroyed, the church is too often symbolized by the answer to the reporter’s question: “I don’t know and I don’t care.” Ignorance and apathy are weakening the pillars of dignity, devotion, duty, and decency that made America the great nation it is.

One more point. Our neighbors to the north and south—Canada and Mexico—were discovered by explorers looking for gold and dominion. But the American settlers were looking not for gold, but for freedom to live out the gospel of Jesus Christ. They were in search of God, not gold. They came to the New World, as stated in the Mayflower Compact, “for the glory of God and advancements of the Christian faith.”

Q & A: “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” What shall we do? First, before saying, “I don’t know what to do,” look at the root cause of our problems. Then stop trying to apply political solutions to what are essentially spiritual problems. Instead of saying, “I don’t care,” begin to pray. Remember, we are the salt of the earth: we are preservatives. We are to be light in this dark world and take a stand for truth. Don’t give in . . . Don’t give out . . . Don’t give up. Start saying, “I know!” and declaring, “I care!”