18: THE CONSTITUTION
The Power of the Written Word
Fifty-five men in the Constitutional Convention (fifty-three of them staunch evangelical Christians) clearly designed our nation as a king-sized bed for the prospering haven and growth of the multi-denominational Christian faith.
You do well to wish to learn our arts and ways of life, and above all, the religion of Jesus Christ. These will make you a greater and happier people than you are. Congress will do everything they can to assist you in this wise intention.
I now offer you the outline of the plan they have suggested. Let an association be formed to be denominated “The Christian Constitutional Society,” its object to be first: The support of the Christian religion. Second: The support of the United States.
It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ!
Those well-intended Founding Fathers built a future for manger scenes in every city park at Christmastime, crosses atop every schoolhouse, and New Testaments on every schoolhouse desk. They specifically wrote God’s Word onto the stone walls of their government buildings, appointed Christian chaplains to their army, read Scripture at every legislative session, used Scripture as the benchmark of every Supreme Court ruling, put a Bible in the saddlebag of every Pony Express rider, and used Scripture in every school textbook on every subject from biology to literature to law.
Those men had a written Constitution that in less than 200 years made America the most envied, most powerful, and richest nation in the history of the world.
Today, the Constitution is being bent, fragmented, broken, and misinterpreted, and our nation is spinning in a whirlwind of crime and moral decline.
I am convinced that every man and woman who wants to live at the top of the world in terms of a life of real love, real inner peace, and real fulfillment needs a clear, written constitution describing the values he or she cherishes and the boundaries he or she will not forsake.
Do you have one yet?
When Satan sought to distract and dethrone Jesus in the wilderness that fateful day near Jericho, each time Satan threw out the bait on the trap, Jesus responded as resolutely as an eagle soars above the treetops, “It is written.” “It is written.” “It is written.”
He had a personal constitution, and He knew it by heart. I’ve been working on mine for more than forty years. I wish I would have written one at age thirteen! I’ve refined it; clarified it; looked for loopholes and trimmed them away; and used it more times than I can remember. Without it, I’m sure I’d be flat on my face today.
I’m an expert at rationalization when I want something, but my personal constitution holds me to the line I want to live by.
As a man, as a husband, as a dad, and as a professional, I need to have my boundaries as clearly defined as a graduating high-school senior on the night of the prom.
If you want to ensure a productive life with no regrets, dive into this chapter with both feet the way a red-tailed hawk swoops emphatically upon its prey with talons extended.
You can assure yourself that your deep valleys of failure will be minimized and your snow-capped peaks of triumph will be maximized. Here are some guidelines:
- Make your perimeters crystal clear. The allurement of desire creates masters of deception. The eyes of lust propagate geniuses of rationalization. For example, for me and my staff, we know that our self-control is so weak that we’ve elected not to drink even one drop of alcohol. Although it has been a major stumbling block for many of us before, since that statement went into our constitution many years ago, even the desire has been a big fat zero.
- Make it specific. Use measurable goals. If our U.S. Constitution’s writers would have been a little more specific on their desires for religious freedom and the sanctity of life, the godless Supreme Court rulings that allow millions of murders of unborn children and the banning of prayer, the Ten Commandments, and Bible usage in schools would have never happened.
- When the movie rating system first came out, my wife and I rented this PG-13 movie. It took the name of my Father in heaven in vain and belittled sex to the point of a joke. I added to my constitution that night that I’d never watch another movie. Don’t you hate it when somebody cusses out your mom or your dad or makes fun of the girl or boy you love and how you love them? Man, that pushes my button. PG-13 means major sex language. R means extreme decadence. NC-17 means extreme violence, profanity, and/or nudity. Although magazines, albums, and certain parties, dates, bands, and so on aren’t rated, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to evaluate their intentions.
- Make it bold. My mentor Howard Hendricks said, “Aim low and you’ll get there every time.” The Marines get some of the finest when they say, “We’re looking for a few good men.” A tiny ten-year-old gymnast is a one-in-a-million athlete when she sticks a full-twisting layout back flip on the balance beam. She’s filled with exhilaration, and the crowd comes to its feet in unison. But when a man and woman engage in sexual intercourse in the purity of their Hawaiian honeymoon, minds unhampered with pictures of “Miss October,” thoughts unscathed by today’s pornographic rap and other music pounded into their brains, hearts untarnished by high-school romances numbers one, two, three, four, five —that honeymoon, my friends, dwarfs any Olympic gold medal like the shadow of a basketball over a tiny BB.
- Tear out your constitution and post it on your dresser mirror or tuck it in your billfold, where you can be reminded of it often.
- Finally, rewrite it when you find a loophole or a soft spot. Remember, the higher you reach, the more fantastic the view.
Oh, yes, by the way, let me issue a warning so you won’t be surprised when it happens. The critics will be numerous. They’ll call you legalistic, fanatical, fundamentalistic, whateveristic. Let ’em jeer. You can laugh all the way to the Maui Hilton.
Discussion Questions
- How do you think a personal constitution will help you maintain sexual purity?
- What “measurable goals” would you put in your constitution? Why?
- What would making your constitution “bold” look like for you?
Personal Constitution
God’s Blueprint
The Eyes: Psalm 101:3
“I will set no worthless thing before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not fasten its grip on me.”
The Ears: 2 Timothy 1:13
“Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.”
The Tongue: taste: Proverbs 20:1
“Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is intoxicated by it is not wise.”
speech: Colossians 4:6
“Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.”
The Touch: 1 Corinthians 6:18
“Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body.”
The Mind: Philippians 4:8
“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”
The Heart: Psalm 119:11
“Your word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against You.”
Personal Constitution
My Standard
The Eyes: I will ____________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
The Ears: I will ____________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
The Tongue:
taste: I will ____________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
speech: I will ____________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
The Touch: I will ____________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
The Mind: I will ____________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
The Heart: I will ____________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________