Did you ever watch a sunrise? Perhaps you have been amused by the first rays of light as they beamed over the horizon to introduce a new day. Did you ever think to yourself, “I’ll concentrate for a few minutes to see if I can detect the movement of the sun”? In a matter of minutes, you probably realized that the sun was peeping more boldly around the curvature of the earth now, but you had not yet observed even its slightest advancement. You had experienced the phenomenon that we call gradualism. The change came about so gradually that it was imperceptible.
In my younger days, I remember wading into a rough surf on a fishing trip, shuffling my feet on occasion to keep my balance or adjust my gear. After several minutes, when I turned back to the beach, it appeared that none of my stuff was where I had left it. After frantically working my way back to shore and getting my bearings, I realized that the currents had gradually carried me away from my original site without my slightest perception that I was being relocated. I was the victim of gradual change—gradualism.
Gradualism happens in the moral, social and spiritual realms as well. We as a nation have succumbed to the gradual decay of moral absolutes, wholesome philosophies, and time honored principles that long served as the underpinnings of institutions that once defined us as a Christian nation. Without the slightest detection of immediate change we find ourselves separated from our moorings, drifting away from every ancient resolve. We are not the same nation that we were, and yet, on a day to day basis, there has been no perceptible change. Gradualism has altered the hearts and souls of those who have ever lived only in the light of our blood bought freedom.
Let it suffice to say that our only hope is to return to the moral absolutes, wholesome philosophies, and time honored principles of the past. They work because they are God’s, and He promises to bless “the nation whose God is the Lord! (Psalm 33:12)” Only you can be responsible for you!