What Is Going On?

Today I come into the office and check my stacked up email as usual. I've been sick over the past couple of weeks and but when I left the office last week I did make sure to clear my office computer of all back email. Just one of those things I do as routine. Anyway, I come in this morning and I have 215 emails sitting there waiting for me to plow through. Fortunately there were only about twenty that I actually had to open. The rest were nothing but spam. One day I'll learn how to adjust those spam filters I supposedly have on my email account. But, that is not what I'm talking about.

Here's the deal. One of my emails is a contemporary, Christian news site that sends me a daily update on the news around the country. Notice I said Christian and so you can safely assume that they are slanted in a conservative way. Fine, that's what I want anyway. What are the headlines of the commentary section? First there is this idea of the meeting of opposites as Barack Obama and Benjamin Netanyahu met and the dichotomy between the two. Nothing new really. We all saw how ill equipped the President was coming into office. But he's a quick study and has pulled together his team of advisers who will walk him though. The deal is, though, that the world is now starting to see the differences between the "leader of the free world" and the other world leaders. Are we really leading the world toward freedom at this point?

OK, I'm depressed now and thinking that if God can just bring us through the next 3 years we'll be fine as long as the GOP can champion a worthy candidate who won't shoot themselves in the foot. However, there is a second op-ed with the title, "SAME-SEX MARRIAGE & RELIGIOUS FREEDOM." This is a problem for me. I stand firm on the teachings of the Bible. And before you get the chance, let me say that I believe that I sin each and every day. Most of the time I realize it. Sometimes I don't, but I admit that I sin often. In my studies of Scripture, the Bible says in both Old Testament and New Testament that homosexual activity is wrong. If the activity is wrong doesn't it follow that marriage is wrong? But that is my opinion and I will also stand for the freedom of the individual to make a bad decision, in my mind, and live with the natural and spiritual consequences of their decisions. What bothers me is that most of this legislation and the unconstitutional rulings that are being passed along do not allow for those of us who still believe that our country is founded on and based upon Christian tenants and beliefs to refuse to give this group what ever they want. Are we as a country, in fact, establishing a state church of atheism? Are we as Christians giving away our rights and freedoms to worship the One True God, The Living God, The Creator of All, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Are we, Christians, allowing our government, all three branches, to do exactly what we said they could not do in the Constitution of the United States?

Alrighty now, I'm depressed, I'm angry, what else is there? Two more opinions, one asking if parenthood as we know it is over and another about the President's recent comments on abortion. In talking about parenthood, the writer is discussing the "morning after pill" and how Obama and his minion are pushing it to be available without prescription to girls as young as seventeen. Are we taking parental responsibilities away from parents by allowing such legislation and rulings from federal judges? What's the deal? Of course we've all heard Obama with all his rhetoric dealing with abortion and we understand that he is pushing for abortion on demand. However, the writer points out, and I think rightly so, that it is only rhetoric and that there seems to be no substance. He talks about talking about these tough issues, skirting around them to give the sound bites that give false hope to his opponents and false expectations to his devotees. There is just enough for both sides to continue the arguments for another couple of weeks. This man, elected by the slimest of margins in the popular vote, is following his Hollywood advisers and speech writers well, never saying anything while giving the supporters enough to make them think they are hearing what they want to hear.

In 2 Timothy 4:3, the Bible says, "The time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear." Has this great nation come to that point? Do we only what to hear what we want to hear? Are going to allow our "leaders" to tickle our ears with what we want to hear while they do nothing and give our nation away to other countries? Are we as Christians going to sit back and allow it to happen while we sit here in our air conditioned buildings with our heads stuck in the sand?

Jesus was being asked about taxes, but I believe his comment applies to us in this situation today as well. He said, "Give to Cesar what is Cesar's, give to God what is God's." As Christians we must pray for our President Obama. We owe him, and God, that much even if we didn't vote for him. He is still our president and God has told us to pray for them. Pray for his wisdom, for God to lead him, that he would hear, see, feel, and accept God's leading for our country. But, we as Christians need to do more, we need to speak out on all of these issues that we find biblicly and morally objectionable. Let your voice be heard. Stand up on election day and have your vote counted. Democrats shortly after the election said, "It was the Christian community not voting in the presidential election that allowed Obama to win." We can make a difference, but we will not unless we stand up, speak out, and vote. What's your opinion? LET IT BE HEARD!