Where Is Jesus?
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in
airing their own opinions. – Proverbs 18:2
As I write this, our government has shut down. Not
really, of course. It’s just that Congress is having yet another fuss and
nobody is getting paid. Except for Congress. They always get paid.
Everyone has an opinion. Few people have even tried to
understand the issues. It’s not a Republican or Democrat issue. It’s not an “us”
vs. “them” type of issue. It’s a people issue. It’s also an economic issue. But,
for Congress and the White House, it’s a power issue. And that is the root of the
problem.
Battle lines have been drawn. Hateful words and finger
pointing make all the news reports. Except no one really seems to care about
the people who will suffer. There are those who won’t be paid. And there are
those who might be deported from the only country they have ever known.
Where is Jesus in all this? Does He live in the hearts
of those who would exile those who don’t have proper documentation? Is He
evident in the lives of those who place politics above the financial security
of government workers, including our military?
The truth is Jesus isn’t present at all. He isn’t
present in the lives of those who spew hatred on Facebook. He isn’t evident in
the hearts of those who think with their pocketbooks rather than their faith.
I don’t have any answers. That might surprise you. I
know that Jesus wouldn’t deport people who grew up in this country because of
the mistakes of their parents. He would grant them grace and a pardon. And I know
Jesus would pay people the fair wages they had earned.
And I believe above all else that Jesus would tear apart
the members of Congress for their political ploys. He wouldn’t care which
political party they belonged to. I would love to see our Savior marching in,
throwing aside desks and demanding that the members rule in love, with integrity
and compassion.
Those things left long ago. Now it’s all about political
agendas and power. Why should Congress solve the budget issues? Really, it
doesn’t impact them. They don’t pay into Social Security. They have their own
health care system. They have a cushy retirement with very few years on the
job. They have no incentives to fix the issues facing the rest of us.
We the people are so split that we can’t rise up to
change Congress. We the people are so busy fighting each other that we can’t collectively
remind Congress that it works for us, not the other way around.
I don’t know how this is all going to end. It’s just
so sad.
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