August 28, 2024

                Follow Jesus First

Am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.

– Galatians 1:10

What do you believe? What faith are you living? Do you even know?

Our country is so divided politically and religiously. Loud voices mock those who disagree with what they believe. Silence fills our minds as stress hardens our hearts.

It’s so much easier to go along with the crowd. I live in Trump country. I cannot understand the infatuation with a man who continues to lie, call others names, and basically bully and condemn anyone who dares to disagree with him.

Some of my Christian friends assure me that they aren’t voting for the man but rather the principles he follows. No abortion. Close the border. Balance the budget. Take care of the United States first and then Israel. No one else.

Except he isn’t doing that. His abortion stance? Let the states handle it. Close the border? He demanded that his followers in Congress vote against a bi-partisan bill to stop border crossings. Why? Because it looks better for him if the border remains wide open.

Balance the budget? Sure. But let’s not get rid of the pork. Let’s cut social security and any funds aimed at helping children. Let’s balance the budget on the backs of the middle class and poor while rolling out tax cuts and handouts to the wealthy.

Obviously, we all want to take care of our own country and our veterans. And we do support Israel – but not without conditions. The Bible shows us again and again that the Israelites do sometimes turn from God. We should never assume that blindly supporting Israel is what God wants.

We also shouldn’t behave as though we live in a vacuum not impacted by what’s going on around the world. We tried that once before. Then the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and we were forced to look directly at evil and respond.

None of that is popular in the Deep South. But I’m not here to win a popularity contest. I am here to follow Jesus. So are you. 

Neither political party gets it all right or all wrong when it comes to following the Bible. But choosing to follow someone who arrogantly disregards basic character traits of a godly man isn’t the answer. It’s way past time that we stop blindly following men and start truly following our God.

January 25, 2018

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.