What if We All Practiced Restraint

Restraint.
I have written about it before; it is one of the traits that has been key to our culture here in America - it is one of the characteristics that has set this country apart.

What if  . . . .

What if the hearts of individuals in our nation suddenly turned away from the self-indulgence that seems to so possess us - and returned to an attitude of restraint?

What would that look like?

It might be as simple as pushing away from the table.
It could mean some families would downsize to a smaller house.
Restraint may take different forms; some individuals would choose to liberate themselves from the slavery of debt.

That's okay for the "haves" . . . those that already have more than they need.  But what about the "have-nots"? What would restraint look like to them?

Some may simply decide to accept no more tax-funded assistance.

To me, the most triumphant scene in Ron Howard's Cinderella Man, was when Jim Braddock - after having reluctantly stood in line to receive some government relief money during the Great Depression- stood in line again ... to return every cent.

Some could decide to stop listening to the constant siren song of victim-hood and "you can't" ... and start listening to a still small voice inside that says "try!" . . .  "do what you CAN do; and do the best you can!"

That still small voice may have belonged to one's mother or grandmother  . . . or maybe a teacher.  Someone somewhere in the past that knew that God had created every man and woman with some potential - some gifting ... He dreamed a dream for them to fulfill and gave them what they needed to fulfill it.

If only they would try.

It flashed across my mind the other day - like a dream that flourished in an instant - "What if...."

What if people in droves suddenly stopped participating in all these programs and handouts and schemes that say in subtle tones: 

 "You're a victim.  Life's been a little harder on you than on those other people... you will always need our help .   Don't even try.  You know that you will fail and then you will be right back here needing our help."

Wouldn't it be wonderful if people decided on a wholesale basis to stop taking what they didn't earn.

 As long as politicians can buy votes by funding relief style programs ... they will continue to do it.  We can't really expect them to change.  But the people could change; they could say "no more".

The days of top-down restraint are over . . . at least as far as any of the current majorities in Washington are concerned.

The people:  now that's another story.  If the people could only tap into that yearning for liberty God has placed in the breast of every man and woman, they would shake off the shackles of this false benevolence.

The people could just refuse to play the game.  Refuse to be blinded any longer.  Trade in their lifelong servitude to dependence on government programs and walk into the brisk, tantalizing breeze of freedom.

It Would Require Restraint

Such a revolution would require tremendous restraint! 
The kind displayed by George Washington when he refused a crown... and later when he refused a third term in the office of President.

One would need to have the type of restraint that was evident in our founders as they toiled together for a summer in Philadelphia, hammering out a system of government with distinct checks and balances.  Checks designed to keep restraint on power.

It would require restraint because if people walked away from the pittance they receive at the end of a bureaucratic labyrinth - it would appear at first that they were walking into certain poverty -utter devastation.

Neighbors Would Rise Up

Here's what I am sure would happen:

Churches would suddenly pick up the mantle of responsibility they long ago relinquished to the government.
Churches and other organizations - full of people - would rise up to help.

Why?

Because that is what we do in America. 
We help our neighbors.
And people would be able to help because they had practiced restraint and so they had more to give, more to invest.

Well isn't that the same thing that's happening now with tax funded programs that give assistance?
No.
It is a very different thing when your neighbor or friend gives of his or her own free will.  They are saying "I believe in you and I am willing to help you climb out and never return to the place you are now."

Where can you start saying "no" today?