The Real Enemy

Edward Gibbon, author of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, has attributed the fall of the Empire to:
1. The rapid increase of divorce; the undermining of the dignity and sanctity of the home, which is the basis of human society. 2. Higher and higher taxes and the spending of public monies for free bread and circuses for the populace. 3. The mad craze for pleasure; sports becoming every year more exciting and more brutal. 4. The building of gigantic armaments when the real enemy was within, the decadence of the people. 5. The decay of religion--faith fading into mere form, losing touch with life and becoming impotent to warn and guide the people.
We compare these things to what is the breakdown of our society today. If we wanted to label these five problems categorically we might say:
1. The breakdown of the traditional family. 2. The unwillingness of able-bodies to enter the workplace. 3. Entertainment seen as a basic need rather than recreation. 4. Defending against enemies on foreign soil rather than materialism on home soil. 5. God and the Bible for consumerism, rather than individuals for God and the Bible.
The real enemy lies within. Satan is still active. He is doing his work to make a nation built upon faith in God to reject the very principles of its foundation. Each heart must undergo a serious self-examination if we are going to make a turn around before it is too late.
"Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people." ~ Proverbs 14:34