Self-esteem vs. Original Sin in America

   There are basically two viewpoints concerning the nature of man.  One is that man is basically good, and the other is that man is born a sinner.  Most Christian denominations believe in the concept of original sin, acknowledging that man is not only born in sin, but conceived in sin.  This means that man is in need of a Savior.  I happen to think that most, if not all, of the framers of our Constitution believed in original sin, and that is the concept behind their insistence on devising a Constitution which limited the government and divided its powers.
   I think one of the things that has happened in America during the last several decades is that our education system has moved from a system that recognized children as inherently sinful to one which believes that children are basically good.  This change took place as the doctrines of secular humanism were successfully introduced into our government schools.  Even as I taught in the Lutheran school system, I began hearing about how parents and teachers ought to be primarily concerned about a child's self-esteem.  It sounded good to begin with, but it evolved into practices which refuse to acknowledge that children are doing things wrong because it was not desirable to harm someone's self-esteem.  I also think this change occurred at the same time as the insistence that God be taken out of our schools.  With God (and also sin) not being permitted in a school's conversation, the focus turned to telling children that they were basically good.
   Now our country is full of people who have experienced this kind of education, and I believe it has had a harmful effect on our culture and on our government.  I see this problem rearing its ugly head in the form of politicians who want to ignore the restraints of the Constitution.  I see the problem rearing its ugly head in movements such as the Occupy Movement.  I see the problem rearing its ugly head when people think they are entitled to the help of a bigger government.  I see the problem possibly getting worse because now politicians can use a "feel good" message to get elected, when in fact what we really need in our country right now is a message that we have messed up and need to change our ways.  We need the government to return to one which IS restrained by the Constitution. 
   Our country has changed from one where people recognized the importance of serving others to one where people expect others to serve them.  Now so many expect the government to serve them.  This too is a result of how we are educating our children in the government schools.  Parents need to take more responsibility for teaching their children that they are sinners. Grandparents, too, must take a larger role in teaching our children and grandchildren about their relationship with God.  
   More Americans need to turn to a God who esteemed us so much that He sent us Jesus to solve our sin problem.  More Americans need to read their Bibles, where they find out that they are in need of that Savior because of their sinfulness.  More Americans need to recognize that God knows what is best for them, and He has described that God-pleasing lifestyle in the Scriptures.  And more people need to recognize the wisdom that went into the framing of our government when the Constitution was developed. 
   When our nation returns to God, it will also recognize how important the Constitution is in enabling a successful government to exist despite the fact that it takes sinners to run it.