Our country is in the grips of a disease more deadly than any that has ever gripped us, and I am not thinking about AIDS. Recently, Newsweek magazine gave its front cover to it, without naming it. It said a spiritual malaise of discontent and despair has gripped America. Its symptoms are seen daily in the media and in human relations. There is a growing national sense that America's best days are history. Worst of all, said Newsweek, this sense of national despondency is incurable.

Now, while I, like you, have seen firsthand evidence of this plague that poisons the soul of America, I do not believe for one minute that it is without cure, for the cure is already in our possession. Indeed, I am so bold as to say that I have a prescription which, if applied, will work every time. That is why I bring you this message. Furthermore, I have given this disease a name: Attitudinosclerosis.

Attitudinosclerosis! You have heard, no doubt, about arteriosclerosis, a chronic disease in which thickening and hardening of arterial walls interferes with blood circulation. It is sometimes called, "hardening of the arteries."

Attitudinosclerosis is a chronic disease of the human spirit in which thickening and hardening of negative attitudes interferes with the Holy Spirit's circulation in the life of its victims. That is what makes this malady more deadly than perhaps any other known. One major difference between arteriosclerosis, hardening of the arteries, and attitudinosclerosis, which can be called, "hardening of the categories," is that the latter is highly contagious.

But it can be cured. You can stop it dead in its tracks. Long ago, God, through the inspired pen of the apostle Paul, told us how to avoid attitudinosclerosis: "Be transformed by the renewing of your mind."

To conquer this disease that eats our national soul we must develop new ways of thinking. Long before the development of the disciplines of mind science, Paul recognizes that everything that enters our mind affects our speech and behavior for good or evil. The Bible repeatedly affirms this.

Paul summons us to make a deliberate and intentional dedication of our lives to God. To do this he resorts to a Greek technical theological term more often used in connection with the temple collection. His Greek word, paristemi, means, "Show your offering."

A favorite Bible story recalls how Jesus commended a widow for putting her last two mites in the temple offering. Mark says Christ praised her generosity even though, "Many rich people threw in large amounts" (Mark 12:41). What is all the more remarkable for us is that He paid His tribute to the widow in public. Imagine what would happen if someone did that in a congregation in modern day America, where we stress the anonymity of giving!

Obviously Christ was not the temple bookkeeper. How did He know what people gave in church? According to the paristemi principle all church offerings were public worship demonstrations. The New International Version attempts to capture this in the phrase, "your spiritual act of worship" (Romans 12:1).