Spirituality & The Constitution?
What’s the connection?
It’s simple . . .
Spirituality is where
you are grounded,
The Constitution is where
the Country is grounded.
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When Americans revive their internal spirituality then they would be capable
of understanding the genius that formed and penned our Constitution.
Without an active, personal spirituality we are incapable of understanding
how the founders intended for us to use this document and sadly are incapable
of accepting this God given gift to our founders; the only one like it ever
given by any preceding generation to their heirs.
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Who we were . . . .
America was blessed by Divine Providence - when we adhered to God’s eternal truths.
Our history is replete with examples of this, such as; Columbus’ conviction
of being led on a sacred mission as he was blown off course to discover America;
the Pilgrims landing in the only non-hostile area of the Northeast coast;
General Washington’s miraculous “foggy” retreat from Long Island; the saving
of West Point from Benedict Arnold’s treasonous acts; and many other documented
events which bear evidence of God’s protection in the founding and then establishment
of this unique nation.
When our forefathers values were threatened, they took up arms to defend
what they knew in their hearts was right and secured OUR freedom.
After considering every civilization, society and government that preceded
them, they created a unique democratic-republic, with control vested directly
and indirectly in the people - with no political party involvement.
It was solidly bedded on biblical principles, acknowledging the endowed truths
and is still regarded as the most unique governmental structure known to
man.
We were a Christian nation, founded by people who believed in God, who lived
their beliefs daily. Biblical principles were involved in every aspect
of their lives. They understood and practiced a balanced life-style,
successfully melding their physical needs with intellectual pursuits and
spiritual nourishment. By balancing body, mind and spirit they controlled
their destiny to create a safe, anointed environment which gave them a peace
and prosperity not known before on earth.
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Who we are . . . .
Recent generations have turned away from our spiritual heritage. The
hindsight of history depicts an abandonment of not only the eternal truths
but also the fragile and unique form of government that was created.
Materialism is the new idol we worship. Contemporary truths have replaced
eternal truths. Fear has replaced trust. Rules have replaced
conscience. Socialism has replaced independence. We have failed
our founders. We have put ourselves outside of God’s protection.
Will we choose to turn back to it?
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The Founders’ Vision
The founders’ vision did not just collectively appear to them one night.
It was the distillation of several generations of personal and social life
experiences and circumstances in the American colonies all wrapped in a spiritually
nourished atmosphere. This fertile environment was the catalyst that
firmly set this vision in their minds; and being balanced, allowed them to
create the legacy that was handed down to us.
The Constitution
Events precipitate actions. The following events caused the founders
to crystallize their vision and reduce it to tangible documents which spelled
out their grievances, demonstrated their resolve and ultimately their solutions.
The King’s lack of basic human fairness through the levying of onerous taxes
to support England’s war with Spain created the final blow which sparked
the indirect tax revolt, the Declaration of Independence, the Revolutionary
War and ultimately this nations shining symbol of self government, our Constitution.
Distilled in these documents was their belief that a God fearing people could;
organize, self manage and function in an atmosphere of freedom; and collectively
represent themselves to the world and take their place among the worlds’
nations.
Generations
Generations are simply groups of people who experience life together.
Viewing the history of our country generationally allows us a simpler, more
practical perspective in how we’ve evolved. When the history of this
nation is broken down into generational increments, we see that the babyboomers
are the seventh generation to inherit the unique gift of self government
from the founders’ generation.
Each generation had unique experiences. Each one’s environment was
based on past and current experiences, as do the “rules” that they inherit.
These become cumulative and are what the current generations are either blessed
or burdened with. The panel entitled “Who We Were . . . Who We Are
. . . gives an overview.
Internal Spirituality
As the first leg of the Spirit, Body, Mind trilogy, Spirituality is essential
for personal and social balance. Spirituality is essential in creating
the arena where we live. The strong and practiced spirituality of our
founders created the atmosphere which produced the founding documents.
Their ability to focus on and nurture this fundamental element within themselves
allowed them to triumph over fear and anger, to achieve a balance and consequently
an environment where God and God’s Natural Law prospered. This would
not have been possible in an environment void of this essential internal
connective element.
Constitutional Wisdom
In this spiritually balanced environment, they established a nation, where
citizens would never be controlled by government unwillingly. Our history
is replete with quotes which tell us this, and also give us many warnings
regarding the preservation of their gift. Recent generations
have been unable to grasp their meaning though, because we are not balanced.
We have not maintained the strong and active spiritual environment necessary
to benefit from this gift.
History’s Tale
What happened? What caused this spiritual environment to erode?
The hindsight of history depicts the ebb and flow of this delicate balance.
Through the generations, technological innovation eroded the Christian
principles of loving others and putting others ahead of ourselves. Intellectual
superiority crept into men’s minds and gave them a false sense of control.
Humility and service became less important, ego and self-gratification became
more important. Mind accelerated ahead of spirit and body. Fear
replaced Faith; external control replaced internal guidance; the stool started
to tip.
Today, our technological achievements are so incredible that they are hard
to comprehend. Many in our country do not understand this technology
but nevertheless support it. We sacrifice our families and children
(born and unborn); life-style, health and internal peace for the sake of
participating in this technological frenzy. Our stool is way out of
balance and beginning to topple. No wonder it’s hard to handle the
load of life.
Our Solution
Is it repairable? The very formula that caused the founders to prosper
is where we need to return; a balance of Spirit, Mind and Body. We should
be like the stool with three equal legs, balanced, to effectively carry the
load of life. But as long as we continue to place undue importance
on intellectual solutions, we’ll continue to get more unbalanced and life’s
challenges will become harder to maintain. The founders knew this.
They encouraged an environment that was spiritually, mentally and physically
balanced. Their daily internal decisions and external actions
were interwoven with their Christian principles. No matter how great
the load, this balanced life-style allowed them to carry it, as history shows
us.
As a society they recognized the importance of remembering: who they were;
where they came from; and what their purpose on this earth and in this country
was; and it wasn’t about accumulating as much as possible at the expense
of their spirit, honor, family or country. Being balanced gave them
an understanding of what was important; when was enough and where to find
peace.
Babyboomers’ Challenge
Each generation shows how much they’ve learned from their past teachers;
we show it by our actions and the legacy we create. Look around you,
have we learned well? Are you proud of what you see, how you feel and
where you are?
It’s not to late to change it, it’s never to late. Listen to your spirit
inside of you, begging you to nurtured, to be more in harmony with the eternal
truths, to rediscover our founders’ long lost gift of a spiritually involved
and balanced generation. Babyboomers, it’s our turn; we must cheerfully
choose this balance, embrace it, and teach it.
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