Inheriting and Perpetuating

From the Book of Genesis we recall the account of Abraham pleading with the Lord to spare the city of Sodom if there were but fifty righteous to be found therein. “And the Lord said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous… then I will spare all the place for their sakes.” Then Abraham, knowing or fearing that not fifty could be found, said unto the Lord: “… wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five?” And [the Lord] said, “If I find there forty and five [righteous] I will not destroy it.” Upon Abraham’s continued pleading the Lord promised not to destroy the city if but ten could be found who were worthy to be spared. But the ten were not to be found. It has been written of another ancient empire that “Rome lasted while there were Romans.” A people may have inherited a way of life from a previous generation, but merely inheriting something does not assure its perpetuation. What men want, they seek; and what they sow, they reap. Righteousness lasts as long as men live righteously. Decency is found where decency is cherished and preserved. So it is with all else that makes life worth while. Freedom lasts as long as people place a higher value of freedom than they do on some other things. No way of life is long enjoyed unless we work for it and live for it. And we have no right to expect that privileges and blessings shall be showered continually upon us whether we earn them or not, or deserve them or not. It is not enough merely to receive. “It is not enough to be inheritors only.” And anyone who expects to inherit everything is on his way to losing what he has inherited. If enough of us are willing to pay the price to preserve the principles, we shall have some chance of saving what was so sweet to our fathers. If enough of us are not willing, we shall reap as we sow. “Rome lasted while there were Romans.” Sodom could not produce even the required ten. A way of life lasts only so long as there are those in sufficient numbers and with sufficient courage and conviction to preserve the principles and ideals that brought it into being.