“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7: 14
Do I sound bitter and angry? Well maybe just a little. Go
ahead and throw that stone. I’m used to it.
I have been involved with politics for a long time now.
Sometimes I almost feel like I can’t help it. It is a part of who I am. I was
raised that way. And somewhere early on, my folks were able to convey to me,
the importance and the reasons to be involved in what is going on in our
nation.
I’ve seen the dirty looks, snickers, and the rolled eyes,
when I want to talk about anything “political”. I have been castigated for
being one who doesn’t know when to keep silent. Criticized for not understanding
that “we shouldn’t talk about things like that.” I have even been silenced by one who overheard my private conversation with one who thinks like I do, and believes we should “talk about things like that.”
The truth is what people who try to silence me and others like
me, don’t understand is that none of our concerns and dialogue is actually about politics. It is singularly about our faith!! This is all about God and doing
what we are instructed to do – spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. “Politics” is
merely one of the tools that enables
us to get it done.
“Politics” for me is about preserving our rights to freedom
of religion. Politics is about keeping our rights to share, to meet and even to
pray. Politics is about ensuring we can continue to take the Gospel overseas to
the mission fields, as well as maintaining all those other things in which we so
greatly pride ourselves for doing.
The truth is, “politics” is nothing more than either preserving our faith, or destroying it. Those that are purposely seeking to destroy our
faith get that. Those who are
apolitical or anti-political – and those who love to criticize those who are
using politics to preserve our faith – apparently don’t get it.
We have now entered an age where it is perfectly alright if
you are a man, to say you are a woman; it is just fine if you are white to
claim you are black. People claim Islam is a religion of peace and people buy
it. I was on a Christian site the other day that did nothing more than white-wash the truth about the Islamic "religion", exactly as the left does. (More of that in a moment.) And just today we can say marriage is not
only between man and woman, but also between two people of the same sex. The thing is, is
that all of this is contrary to what God says. It is God who determines your
sex; It is God who determines your race. It is God who sets the bounds and laws
by which we are to live. Man doesn’t get to change that. We are however,
responsible to preserve what God has
done.
How does Islam find its place with these other examples?
Islam means “submission”, not “peace” as so often declared by many. “Well, that
isn’t so bad”, some Christians say referring to the word "submission". We innocently misunderstand
and assert Islam only means “submission to God”. That’s a good thing, right? We
forget that the god of Islam is not the same God we worship and honor as Christians. Islam’s
god is a god that calls for the removal of our heads. "Therefore, when you
meet the Unbelievers in fight, smite at their necks…” - Sura 47:4. If we say it
is ok to submit to that god, we are
hypocrites. Submission to a false god is not the same thing as submitting to
the True God. We are lying to ourselves about Islam when we white-wash it, exactly as we lie when we
say Bruce Jenner is a girl.
We, as Christians sometimes wring our hands and say, “We
need to pray.” Well that’s a good place to start, but the truth is God calls us to action as
well. Read Exodus 14:15. When Moses was “crying out to God” over the situation
the Israelites were in, what did God say? He said, “Why are you crying out to
me? Raise your staff and part that water!” (That’s a small paraphrase, please
read the text for yourself.) Clearly there is a time for prayer; (Moses had done that.) but then there
is a time for action. The truth is, prayer always leads to action - or at least
it should. Politics is merely a tool which enables us to act. And it if we are
not participating in the freedoms and responsibilities that we have been
blessed with in this Christian nation, then we are negligent. We are missing-in-action. Instead, if we do
what God expects us to do and if we are obedient to His Word, God will
intervene in miraculous ways for us.
Why do you think Jesus told Peter where the gold peace was
to pay the temple tax? (Matthew 17:27) Jesus could have produced it at that
very moment. It is my belief that Jesus sent Peter fishing, instead. Jesus wanted
to show us that God will provide, but we need to act.
The truth is, we (Christians) are the ones responsible for
the Supreme Court decision. How can we expect the world to stand for holiness,
when we won’t? Yes, it is true; the Supreme Court acted unconstitutionally in
their decision. But who, in reality, is responsible for that? We are; because we
have allowed our nation to get to the place in which we now find ourselves. This is exactly why our
Founders said "we are a government of the people, by the people and for the people." This is why they declared our rights were inalienable, given to us by God. If that
is the case, then no human can take them away. We are a soft and lazy generation if we
refuse to protect those rights. When we change that which is simply a tool - “politics” - and turn it into a dirty word as an excuse for inaction, then we shouldn't expect God to "uphold us with His righteous right hand". Isaiah 41:10
Go ahead cast that stone. At least that shows action. But in
doing so, you are joining the side that uses politics to destroy our
faith rather than preserve it. I will
continue to be “political” to ensure that we are able to do what God has intended
for each of us. We each have a gift given by God that needs to be protected. It is the job of each and everyone of us to preserve that for each other. We don't get to stand idly by and say, "Oh well, God will take care of it. Oh well, God knew this would happen." God calls us to action!
Each of us are indeed “political” whether we know it or not. It
is simply a matter of sides.
“The Supreme Court has spoken with a very divided voice on something only the Supreme Being can do - redefine marriage. I will not acquiesce to an imperial court any more than our Founders acquiesced to an imperial British monarch. We must resist and reject judicial tyranny, not retreat.
This ruling is not about marriage equality, it's about marriage redefinition. This irrational, unconstitutional rejection of the expressed will of the people in over 30 states will prove to be one of the court's most disastrous decisions, and they have had many. The only outcome worse than this flawed, failed decision would be for the President and Congress, two co-equal branches of government, to surrender in the face of this out-of-control act of unconstitutional, judicial tyranny.
The Supreme Court can no more repeal the laws of nature and nature's God on marriage than it can the laws of gravity. Under our Constitution, the court cannot write a law, even though some cowardly politicians will wave the white flag and accept it without realizing that they are failing their sworn duty to reject abuses from the court. If accepted by Congress and this President, this decision will be a serious blow to religious liberty, which is the heart of the First Amendment.” Former Governor of Arkansas - Mike Huckabee
The truth is, the only way "Congress and this President" will act appropriately is if we hold their feet to the fire by our voices. It is time we grab our tools and get to work. Or we can join the other side and do nothing.
