Tomorrow we will celebrate our nation’s birthday with traditional 4th of July festivities. Truly, we are blessed in this nation and it is good that we can still enjoy the love of freedom which moved our founding fathers to establish our beloved country. But, as we all know, our nation and these cherished freedoms were not free. Countless men and women have given much, even their lives, to secure this great national treasure and the battle still goes on.

Most of us can personally reflect upon at least three major threats to our nation’s existence. First, the Axis powers of WWII arrayed themselves against us. Then Communism sent chills up and down our national spine. 911 awakened us to another potential monster known as Radical Islam.

Even though all of these are serious threats to our way of life, (and there are others) none have the destructive power of the subtle force known as selfishness. The Apostle Paul stated that the first identifying characteristic of “terrible times” would be that “men shall be lovers of self…” 2 Timothy 3:1-2

I understand that Paul was writing about spiritual, not political matters, but the application of the truth he stated should be obvious to all honest people. When a person is driven by selfish concerns, he quickly discards respect for anyone except himself. A selfish electorate in a democracy votes for those who promise to give them what they want. Selfish politicians keep making promises crafted to get them elected and we all know where this vicious circle eventually leads—implosion.

Don’t misread me; I am not advocating another form of government, unless we could have a monarch who had all of his subjects’ interests at heart. “Too idealistic”, you say. It might surprise a lot of people to know that we have a King exactly like this—Jesus Christ; King of Kings, Lord of Lords. No, He is not, nor does He plan to rule over a political kingdom on earth. His kingdom is spiritual (Luke 17:20-21; John 18:36) and His rule is absolute (Mat. 28:18). His way is perfect.

Some might see all the turmoil and disagreement in the religious world as evidence to the contrary. Is it? No. The reason God’s perfect plan may appear faulty is because of selfishness. When men opt for doing their will instead of God’s, the end result is lawlessness (Mat. 7:21-23). If we can see the peril of selfishness politically, then we should be able to see the spiritual parallel. Satan has our self in his sights and he is blasting away. Only the shield of faith can repel his fiery missiles—use it effectively against the enemy.