The problem is... Me?

In my last writing, (http://jdbirmingham.blogspot.com/2012/11/america-in-with-roarout-with-tweet.html) I briefly examined what I believe are the roots of our nation's moral and fiscal decline, as I asserted that our national degradation can be blamed in large part on rampant selfishness, along with a culture that feeds that deadly sin by pandering to the individual's whims.

Our nation was founded by a people who longed for religious and economic freedom.  They pursued this, at great personal risk, in order to secure the hope and promise of freedom for themselves and their offspring.  However, as the country went on and achieved unparalleled prosperity over the years, we have devolved from admiration of those founding principles to a people that more and more look at those who have attained some success with varying levels of suspicion, envy, and disdain.

Which of us has not looked at some high achiever, whether they be entertainer or athlete, or a business tycoon or whatever, with one of those negative feelings?  Rudimentary observation will show this tendency repeated all around us. 

I recently observed the mother of a toddler at a Christmas parade in our home town.  She concluded that the candy being distributed to the onlooking children was being given out in what must have been a disproportionate amount to kids on the other side of the street.  So, she marched herself and her little angel over to some of the parade participants and, in a not too pleasant tone, demanded some of the candy for her budding entitled one.  This little one who, no doubt, had never had a piece of candy of her own, right? 

If someone would get so up in arms over cheap pieces of candy, thought to be unequally distributed, how much more does this indignation rise when someone is being paid millions for something that may not seem quite fair.  What about--oh, I don't know--say, to put a round, orange ball in a basket over and over?  Never mind that the ones who decry that paycheck are usually the very ones who pay for the over-priced tickets and exorbitant cable TV prices that lead to those salaries in the first place. 

However, even more insidious than looking down at others with some perceived moral superiority, it has now become increasingly "reasonable" to systematically seize the resources of another and give to those who are (often) unwilling to make the same level investment and sacrifice.  And even if it is not the work ethic that led to success, but simply that someone was in the right place or time, or maybe is more naturally gifted, does that then justify taking from them to give to another, without their consent?

I would just like to ask, is it not just as selfish to demand the productivity of another to be given to you, as it is for the one with plenty to hoard all his wealth for himself?

Even those of us who claim to value individual success and freedom, and try to live in such manner most of their lives, can fall prey to these kind of thoughts.  I am not exempt, and neither are you. Covetousness is forbidden in the Ten Commandments for a reason. 

Selfishness is then undoubtedly one of the primary threats to our democratic system of government, and our founders knew this, as they understood that a tyranny of the majority will arise when the people learn that they can vote for themselves resources from the "public" coffers.  And it is for this reason that our founders also knew that our system of limited government and free enterprise could not succeed if the people were not a religious and moral people (as asserted by John Adams, among others).

It is only a people who understand their proper place in the cosmos, that they are indeed accountable to an ULTIMATE authority, who can thrive in a system where the success of others may far surpass their own.  It is for this reason, that I believe the fundamental problem we have in this country is that we (I include myself) are selfish.  We don't want someone else to have more than we do, even if they earned it.  We find it difficult to rejoice in the successes of others. 

Oh, how hard it can be to rejoice in the blessings or successes of others, particularly if we are struggling!  We may be inclined to think, "they didn't really build that", or "someone gave them an unfair advantage", or "they must have cheated or lied to get where they are".  We demonize anyone who has reached high levels of success as having obtained it unfairly in some manner.  Perhaps it is true, at times, or perhaps it simply makes us feel better for our own difficulties or failures. 

It is upon these observations that I identify what I believe to be the ultimate solution to our national problem.  As I have said, the answer is simple, but not easy to implement.  Quite simply, we must exterminate the selfishness within ourselves.  Jesus has given this command as an absolute prerequisite to anyone who wishes to be his follower.  This is the essence of true Christian discipleship and is exemplified by Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34, and Luke 9:23.

"Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me."  Luke 9:23

If this is the bedrock upon which the Christian religion is built, then it is certainly a good foundation for our country as well.  However, it is my strong belief that the broader institution of the "Christian" church (of all denominations) in the USA has failed to live out this call, and it is this abdication of responsibility that has led to our national moral decline.  The church, as a whole, is indistinguishable from the rest of the world and until those INDIVIDUALS who claim to know Christ will live more faithfully the call to die to the self, we can not expect the rest of the nation to follow, to any degree. 

Thankfully, my wife and I share many of the same brainwaves and some of the thoughts I originally planned to explore related to this topic have been beautifully conveyed in a recent blog post on a similar theme:

http://jdbirmingham.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-hobo-within.html  

I would strongly recommend reading that post as it is a very comprehensive and entertaining exploration of the dangers of self centered thinking and the need to rid ourselves of... well... the self.

It is my contention, somewhat ironically, that it is the exaltation of the self that has led to the decline of our country and will ultimately be our final undoing.  In the future, I plan to examine how self denial should be lived out practically in the life of an individual Christian if there is to be any hope of reclaiming what has been, and will be, lost. 

G.K. Chesterton famously replied to a newspaper editorial that posed the question "What is wrong with the world?" with the following:

Dear Sirs:

I am.

Sincerely Yours,

G. K. Chesterton

What remarkable depths of insight in such a succinct statement as that!  This captures the essential attitude of a true follower of Christ better than many full length books and is worthy of full consideration.   

The Problem by Downhere  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Keppnmh9yMM

There's got to be some reason for all this misery
A secret evil corporation somewhere overseas
They're pulling strings, arranging things
It's a conspiracy
Or what about the ones who shape the course of history
What if we petitioned for one grand apology?
I'll write to my prime minister
You, write your president
Everybody's wondering how the world could get this way
If God is good, and how it could be filled with so much pain
It's not the age-old mystery we made it out to be
Yeah, there's a problem with the world
And the problem with the world is me
Some will say the devil and his legions
They put us in a headlock of submission
But they lost all power over me
A long, long time ago
And since I was a kid you know I've caused a lot of hurt
And no one ever taught me how to put myself first
It came so very naturally
But I'm not a prodigy
So I will look no further than a mirror
That's where the offender hides
So great is my need for a redeemer
That I cannot trust myself
No, I cannot trust my self
I dare not trust myself
So I trust in someone else
The sooner you can sing along
The sooner you can sing this song
The happier we'll be
The problem with the world is me