Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”
It is easy to see symptoms and consider them the cause. Unfortunately, a remedy that targets the symptoms simply masks the cause. A real remedy targets the cause itself, and the symptoms disappear as a second-order result.
The root cause of America’s problems is not a dysfunctional political process; that is only a symptom. The root cause is not an ineffective educational system; that is only a symptom. The root cause is not high unemployment; that is only a symptom. The root cause is not a faltering position in the international system; that is only a symptom. The root cause is not anemic economic growth; that is only a symptom. The root cause is not a weakened military; that is only a symptom. The root cause is not an increase in crime; that is only a symptom. The root cause is not a drop in church attendance; that is only a symptom.
The root cause is a heart that is desperately wicked. But wait, you rightfully say, if a wicked heart is the natural condition of man then what has changed in America? The answer is the second part of the root cause, the loss of a restoring force (more on this later in the week). America has been persistent over the course of the past few decades in our sense of self-sufficiency and our rejection of God. With our rejection of God’s counterbalance against our hearts, we have steadily diverged from His plan and its accompanying blessings. The impacts on our political, educational, social, military, and religious systems are simply symptoms of this insidious root cause.
PLEASE PRAY THAT AS A NATION WE WOULD BEG GOD TO COUNTERBALANCE THE WICKED PASSIONS OF OUR HEARTS. This would address the root cause by trusting in the ultimate restoring force.