This week on LIFE Today, Stream publisher James Robison begins a powerful series showing us how we can all be “Living Amazed.” You can see Monday’s episode right here. You can track the rest of the series episodes at LIFEToday.org. The series is based on James’ new book Living Amazed: How Divine Encounters Can Change Your Life. His own experience “living amazed” will find him this Friday speaking at the Baccalaureate Service for Liberty University, the evening before Donald Trump delivers his first commencement address as President. The Stream will be covering both events. In the meantime, here James speaks on the “first principles” which must guide our nation.

Almost every daily newspaper and newscast reveals a blatant disregard of God’s Word, eternal truth and undeniable principles. Over the last few years, we have witnessed assaults on our First Amendment rights, which protect freedom of speech, religion and the press from government interference. We have also seen evidence of deceptive cover-ups in the Benghazi attack, paid protesters bringing havoc to our streets, and a disregard for the sanctity of life as exhibited by Planned Parenthood selling the parts of murdered babies. 

Did you think you would ever witness such damaging practices, troubling trends and apparent indifference?

The consequences of such actions are grave. The fact is, we do not actually break God’s laws or scientific laws; we defy them. And doing so ultimately breaks us. Many Americans believe the only absolute is “there are no absolutes.”

The Ripples of Relativism

These are major problem areas, which should lead to focused, prayerful attention.

Our nation is drowning in a sea of relativism. As the brilliant contemporary philosopher Ravi Zacharias has pointed out while lecturing at Harvard, Oxford and other major venues throughout the world, the pure relativist cuts off the branch on which he is sitting while telling you the branch cannot be severed. Nevertheless, relativism has gained currency in our society, greatly weakening our foundations.

Absolutes, however, do not change over time. They are not made to fit our circumstances. Instead, we must remake our thinking to conform to these truths. We must continually remind ourselves and others of the importance of moral and biblical absolutes.

The pressing realities we faced then are more urgent now. These are major problem areas, which should lead to focused, prayerful attention. We are in serious trouble for many reasons. National leaders have lacked the character to make wise decisions. Radical partisanship prevails at the expense of the people and our best interests. Comfort and economic prosperity have become more important than principled living. Compassion has been redefined from a personal touch to a take-and-distribute mentality that abdicates our God-given responsibilities and foolishly puts more power in the wrong hands. Our intelligence and protection agencies fail to safeguard our security because of bureaucratic tendencies to protect their turf and fret over public relations, thereby short-circuiting clear communication and cooperation.

Protecting innocence and the innocent has become an object of scorn. Justice has become a baseless, arbitrary thing.

Truth: The Bedrock of Society

We must reexamine some of these “first principles.” They are not only the foundations of justice but the bedrock of a stable society.

1. Evil is real. Just look to Paris, San Bernardino, Boston, or scores of other marred cities where radical Islam has senselessly, randomly and brutally struck. The ability to recognize and discern right and wrong is one of our most important responsibilities and requires wisdom that can only come from God.
2. Ideas have consequences. Every belief system will ultimately bear fruit — and the fruit will be consistent with the root from which it comes. It is time to take an honest look at the consequences of our ideas and practices. Have they led to a more just society?
3. We are spiritual beings. To deny the existence of God is to set our minds at war against our hearts. God exists, and He created us with the capacity to know His truth. As our founders expressed, God is not only essential to creating a system of justice but He is the source of true justice.
4. The majority is not always right. History — both secular and biblical — demonstrates that “popular” is not the same as “just.” Democracy without responsible, principled, self-governing citizens will lead to mobocracy. Laws must be based on something more firm than the blowing winds of public opinion.
5. Truth withstands debate. We can agree to disagree, but we must reaffirm our commitment to freedom of speech. Only then will truth be given a voice and the opportunity to transform society. Truth is much like a lion: turn it loose and it always defends itself.
6. People matter most. The apostle Paul said, “The whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Galatians 5:14). The Bible has stern warnings for nations guilty of shedding innocent blood, whether through slavery, abortion or other injustice. Every life is worth affirming, enabling and protecting.
7. Equality is not sameness. God made no two people, no two fingerprints and no two snowflakes the same. Difference and diversity are beautiful qualities. The cause of justice is made all the more essential by our differences in aptitude, motivation and ability. Attempts to make all outcomes the same result in great injustice.
8. If government doesn’t serve, it will enslave. We must be vigilant to keep the blessings of government within their proper bounds — lest they come to dominate the whole of our lives. When society depends on government for sustenance, the people fall into bondage. Government has nothing it does not first take from its citizens.
9. Truth has a source. There are many other absolutes, and they have been revealed to us through the ages. Time-tested, historical principles can be found in the Bible, which is the Word of God. The principles of the New Testament, as expressed through the life of Christ, form the basis for just living. Forsaking these principles for relative values creates the chaos we are witnessing today.

This article is adapted from the book The Stream: Refreshing Hearts and Minds, Renewing Freedom’s Blessing by James Robison.