January 18, 2024

 Love Like Jesus

Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” – Mark 8:17-19

Almost daily we are assaulted with political diatribe directed toward illegal immigrants crossing our southern border. Politicians are good at pointing fingers; not so good at solutions that actually work. Party divisions are rampant. Yet it seems as though everyone is missing the obvious, especially those who wear the badge of conservative Christian.

Don’t get me wrong. We’ve got a problem and we need to take action. But we need to do that in accordance with what the Bible says to do. Welcome the foreigner. Love everyone. Do good to widows and orphans. Open your hearts to the least of them. In other words, live like Jesus.

Every single person who crosses the border was created in the image of God. Just like you and I. Every person has a name. God knows their name. Every person has a story and God knows and understands what it is. We don’t. We are too busy condemning them for daring to enter our borders illegally that we don’t bother to ask.

A woman and her two children recently drowned while trying to reach our country. We barely heard about them for the outcry of the jurisdictional power struggle between the state of Texas and the U.S. Border Patrol. Three people died! Did anyone mourn their loss?

Oh, how I wish we lived in a time when political leaders were actually statesmen more focused on doing what’s right than on what’s politically designed to boost their power and poll numbers. I long for the days when Christian leadership wasn’t afraid to actually preach God’s Word and guide us to action that aligns with the Bible we claim to love.

Why waste money building a wall that won’t keep people out? Spend that money on hiring more workers to review applications and reduce the amount of time for reviewing immigrant applications to months rather than years.

Stop shipping immigrants to other cities as though they are unwanted cattle. Use that time and money to organize a true plan for caring for God’s people. And they are God’s people. Create a joint plan that includes government workers and churches, synagogues and other religious groups. We are ALL called to care for the least among us. If we all do our part there will be plenty for everyone, including us.

Jesus’ disciples couldn’t understand about bread and yeast. They obviously didn’t even understand how Jesus multiplied meager offerings so that thousands could be fed. We don’t understand either. Our hearts are so hard and we cling so tightly to God’s blessings, that we miss the meaning of it all.

Love like Jesus. So simple and yet, perhaps, the hardest thing we could ever do.

July 4, 2023

 

Change What is Acceptable

Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for his inheritance. – Psalm 33:12

 

We are in political season in the United States. It seems as though we are always in political season. We’ve got national races, state races and local races. Many candidates offer themselves as the “Christian” candidate. Does such a person even exist anymore?

 

We pick and choose the issues that best suit us. We are against abortion but refuse to show financial compassion for widows and children. We vow to keep foreigners from our land even though God told us to welcome them. We condemn others for their sins but refuse to acknowledge our own sins.

 

Should I continue? We speed – which is breaking the law. We drink to excess – though the Bible tells us not to. We commit adultery with our hearts and sometimes our bodies – though both clearly violates the Bible. And with every step we take, we make excuses rather than accept responsibility.

 

We see it in the political arena again and again. It’s as though we choose our candidates based on which sins we are most likely to justify. We all sin. It’s just a matter of which sins are most acceptable.

 

Today I’ve seen this verse thrown around repeatedly. We all know we should ask God to bless our nation. We all know we should live according to His Word. We all know that government and politicians need to do different. But what we don’t seem to know is that change begins with us. When we change our behavior to more align with Christ, we change how we view the sins of others.

 

Honesty. Integrity. Kindness. Compassion. Those are all attributes of a Christian. So why are those things so often missing from the political arena? That will only change when we change how we view the lies and ugliness from all politicians.

March 20, 2018

Double Standards Extinguish Light

A just balance and scales are the LORD’s; all the weights in the bag are his work. – Proverbs 16:11

The news caused barely a ripple in this conservative town. The President had lied to the leader of another country. He admitted it. And all the conservative Christians said nothing.

They are a vocal group, these folks I know. They are quick to point out, again and again, every sin from politicians on the other side of their aisle. But the standards are different when it is someone they support.

It isn’t the first time. Extramarital affairs are the norm in this man’s life. He does it again and again and again. No one says a word. If the media brings it up, then they are being mean and unfair to a good man.

Years after the fact they are still bad-mouthing a man who lied to cover up his own indiscretion. They are still condemning his wife for forgiving him and working to rebuild their marriage. Different standards? Without a doubt.

Why is it that we look past the bad behavior of some politicians and condemn the same behavior in others? Yet we don’t understand why the world around us doesn’t think too highly of Christians. They look at us and see hypocrisy but we can’t see the same thing in ourselves.

We fight to throw out foreigners God called us to be good to. We demand an end to support for the poor God called us to help. We respond with vengeance against those who do wrong, demanding justice rather than mercy and forgiveness. We seek to kill criminals and the broken, deny medical care to those without the means to pay for it, and cast aside the children who suffer through no fault of their own. In the next breath, we condemn abortion and call ourselves justified. Does no one see the double standard? Well, yes, the world sees it and turns away from God.

We pick and choose which of the Bible verses we will hold dear. We condemn homosexuality and throw out a verse to prove our point. We “forget” that God also condemns divorce unless it involves adultery or violence. We judge what was never our place to judge because it makes us uncomfortable. We don’t like different so we shove it aside rather than love where God has called us to love.

We cling to our possessions like they actually define us, forgetting they are gifts from God and not some “right” we have earned. We wallow in ourselves rather than reach out to the least, the broken, the widows and orphans in our midst. We choose who is “worthy” and ignore our own ignorance with a smile and a check to those we choose to care about.

And, yet, we don’t see the double standards in our own behavior. We don’t live with kindness and compassion in our hearts but rather with condescending judgment and hatred. We use God’s holy name to justify ourselves when He has no part in our ugliness. We push people away when God tells us to draw them near.

There is no politician that is either all good or all bad, just as there is no person who is all good or all bad. The same standards apply to everyone, whether we acknowledge that fact or not. Every time we cast a stone, we are holding ourselves up to a standard we’ve already failed to achieve. God judges evenly. Does that make you uncomfortable? It should.

January 17, 2018

Are We Following God or a Deceiver?

Like a coating of silver dross on earthenware are smooth lips with an evil heart. – Proverbs 26:23

He likes headlines. He likes confrontation. He likes to stir things up and pit people against one another. And he does it all while proclaiming the gospel.

I am amazed at those who blindly follow his bandwagon. Don’t they see? Can’t they step back and look at proven facts? I suppose they could but then they would have to question their own blind allegiance.

The truth isn’t always comfortable. Just because someone proclaims the gospel, doesn’t mean he’s living it. Wanting it to be true, doesn’t make it so.

We want a hero but, honestly, when was the last time a politician fit that role? We want to believe in truth and honestly. The facts are messy.

He took a huge salary from a charity. He has a history with underage girls. He laments about a monument while the same words hang in dignity inside the state building. They don’t hear any of that.

Why are we so blind? All anyone has to do is hold up the Bible and proclaim to be a Christ follower. We are determined to ignore anything else and place him in to elected office. Again. We can’t see the sugar coating that covers up a heart that really never seems to love Jesus first.

It’s not enough to preach the gospel. We have to live it too. It’s how others know that our faith is real. Why can’t we see that?

Maybe because we see ourselves in him. We, too, proclaim a gospel we don’t always live. If we question him too closely, our conscious might force us to question ourselves. How many times do we preach a sermon we don’t even begin to live?

One political party doesn’t hold the key to the gospel, no matter how we would prefer to look at it. Abortion, homosexuality, death row, poverty, money. There are many issues. We pick and choose those that make us feel good, while ignoring those that might impact our own lifestyles.

It’s not an easy thing to hear. It’s much easier to support someone based on party affiliation. It’s easier to look the other way rather than research the issues for ourselves. We’d rather ignore the evidence than admit maybe that man proclaiming to be a man of God really isn’t.

There are few easy choices in this world filled with deceit. But when we blindly ignore proven facts we aren’t following God, we’re following a deceiver.

January 11, 2018

Will We Ever Learn?

Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may have zeal for them. It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and to be so always, not just when I am with you. – Galatians 4:17-18

We have thankfully completed yet another election cycle. The ugliness was awful but not unexpected. One of the candidates has a way of stirring things up, calling himself a conservative Christian and his opponent a liberal who is light on crime.

It’s not true, of course. But he has used this platform and repeatedly been elected to political office. It’s like he has on a Teflon coat that mud refuses to stick to.

He knows exactly what buttons to push. Prayer. Pro-life. The second amendment. He conducts his campaign in churches, refusing to participate in a debate or answer questions from the media. Why should he? There are too many people who support him, refusing to believe the facts.

It’s no different than when he loudly protested his Ten Commandments monument, insisting that it belonged in front of the Judicial Building. He neglected to mention that the Ten Commandments were already on display inside. News reports pointed that out but his followers didn’t pay attention.

I wonder how many of them have read the Old Testament. How many recall the snakes and how God had said anyone who was bitten could look to the bronze snake he’d had Moses make. (Numbers 21) Later God ordered that it be destroyed because the people were burning incense to it. (2 Kings 18)

It was never about the bronze snake. It was about God. And it was never about the Ten Commandments. It was about a politician using God’s people to make a name for himself.

This same politician has been accused by numerous women of improper conduct. When they were teens and the politician was in his 30s, he would come on to them. He would have inappropriate contact with them. He would warn them that no one would believe a teen over a District Attorney.

Now they have come forward, speaking loudly. He denies knowing any of them, despite evidence that says he did. Still, his followers stand supporting him as though he is one of God’s chosen people instead of an imposter enjoying his moment of fame.

We have an obligation to look beyond party lines and really pray about the candidates. A political party affiliation doesn’t mean one person is a better Christian than another, nor does it mean that a person who claims Jesus really knows Him.

How can we be so blind? It is a pattern with us all. God’s people have always allowed ourselves to be deceived by those who would use us to gain glory for themselves. Will we ever learn? Probably not.

May 9, 2016

Pray For Politicians

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. -- 1 Timothy 2:1-2

Maybe you’ve noticed that we’re in the middle of a rather contentious presidential race. There’s plenty of finger pointing to go around.

It simply highlights what has been going on in our country for the last few years. We have a Congress that seems so intent on arguing that they can’t get much done. Except hold hearings. They hold lots and lots of hearings.

Honestly, sometimes they all seem inept. Whatever happened to common sense? Whatever happened to them being our representatives not political powerbrokers?

And whatever happened to praying for those who in authority?

This was part of our discussion yesterday and everyone agreed that praying for our politicians seems like a wasted effort. This mess -- and how can we call it anything else -- seems too far gone to fix. How can we turn these professional politicians into respected statesmen (or women) who know how to reach across the aisle and form a compromise that benefits everyone?

Maybe we are selling God short. Huh? Yeah. You read that right. We don’t pray because we don’t see a possibility of fixing it. We can’t. You and I. But God can. God can do anything. So if we truly believe that why aren’t we praying for Him to intervene?

if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. -- 2 Chronicles 7:14

There it is. If we call on His name, if we repent and seek God, then He will heal our land. We want that. We’re quick to say that we want God to heal our land. But do we really?

May 3, 2016

God Controls It All

For the revelation awaits an appointed time;
it speaks of the end
and will not prove false.
Though it linger, wait for it;
it will certainly come
and will not delay.

-- Habakkuk 2:3

They are repaving the highway where we live. Traffic is a mess. I know that eventually it will be worth all this aggravation but the time between now and then sure is frustrating.

Life can be like that. The journey is sometimes messy and hard but we know that one day it will be worth it all. One day we will be in heaven with Jesus and we won’t care about all of today’s drama.

This presidential race has really gotten ugly. Oh, politicians always throw out accusations and point fingers. But this year it just seems so much worse.

The news broadcasts show protests and it scares me. Certainly, we have the right to peaceful protests. Our country is founded on freedoms such as that. But when emotions run high, things have a way of getting out of control quickly.

It seems like our country, our world, is falling apart. History tells us this isn’t the first time. Maybe we feel it more deeply because we see it so clearly on the news and on social media. There’s no hiding anymore.

Maybe I have no patience for the drama on the political stage because of the drama in my own life. Maybe the fear line blurs. I have no control over my life just as it we have no control over what will happen on the national stage.

Yes, I vote. I always vote. But ultimately it is anybody’s guess as to who will win and who will lose. And who knows about the political bloodbath that will take place in the coming months. I dread it all.

Then I remember this verse from Habakkuk. God’s promises reign. No matter who wins the election, God is in control. No matter what anyone else does, God has already won the battle.

I will probably always get impatient with this time between where I am and where I know I’m going. My heart longs to be home with Jesus. My mind knows my time is in His hands.

So I will go forth as best I can in this troubled world, seeking to be His light no matter what happens around me. And, for today, that is enough.

March 6, 2016

Don’t Buy The Lies

Save me, Lord,
from lying lips
and from deceitful tongues.

-- Psalm 120:2

The comment was so sad. In the aftermath of last week’s primary election, where Clinton and Trump won big, the woman wanted to know how we had gotten to the place where our only choice for president was a liar.

I was amazed that she still believed there was such a thing as an honest politician. I was also amazed that she didn’t recognize that we are all liars in one way or another. That includes her, you and me.

I’ve written about that before. We don’t view ourselves as liars. Telling someone an outfit looks good when it really doesn’t, makes us a liar. Enough said.

I once was involved in the political process. I was young and amazed that backroom deals really happen. They are a necessary part of the political process. One of the problems in Washington now is that the master politicians of old are all gone, replaced by angry and selfish politicos who care more about their own agendas than our nation. They don’t know how to compromise anymore. We don’t know how to compromise anymore.

But we know how to lie. We know how to take credit when the credit isn’t ours. We know how to weave a fancy story that has no place in reality. One of the candidates has been doing that, then brushing off any attempts by others to ask necessary questions such as “How will you pay for that?” Funny thing as I write that I realize it could apply to more than one candidate and in both parties.

Why do politicians deal in fantasy? Because it’s what we want to hear. We want to believe there’s a quick fix. We won’t to believe we can have it all without having to pay for any of it. We want to believe that if the illegal immigrants and the poor go away, it will benefit us financially.

You love every harmful word,
you deceitful tongue

-- Psalm 52:4

Politicians lie to us because we like what they’re saying. We want to believe it. We do. We want a wonderful god-fearing country without any of the work or sacrifices. We tell ourselves we work hard. We deserve good things. And we do. But others do as well.

Do you want our country to follow God again? Start with you. Start with me. Recognize your own imperfections and then hold yourself and our government leaders, those politicians that run for office, accountable. Seek truth and don’t be deceived by the lies.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Politicians Should Be Guided By Jesus

Pride leads to disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. -- Proverbs 11:2

Sometimes the fighting and bickering in Washington makes me want to give up thinking that our elected officials will ever be able to put the country’s needs before partisan politics. Of course, they would argue that their partisan politics is merely a fight for what’s best for the country. And so the circus goes.

Each side -- and there are way more than two -- has people who truly believe they’re totally right and everyone else is totally wrong. Of course, it doesn’t work that way. Nobody is all right or all wrong. That’s why they need to compromise.

One of the most bothersome things about this entire spectacle is that so many of those involved claim to be Christians. You know. Those people who believe in Jesus. The One who told us to love everyone, including our enemies. I would think He probably also meant political rivals and people in that other political party.

Adam Hamilton addressed this issue in his book, Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White. He wrote, “Part of the polarization we are experiencing in our country today is a result of pastors and church leaders who have abandoned the teachings of Jesus an the apostles regarding the way we speak of those with whom we disagree. Part of the healing of our nation must come from the church modeling for our society how we are to love those with whom we disagree. Right now we’re modeling for society how we destroy with our words and actions those we disagree with.”

Does that convict anyone? It should. Politicians sometimes seek to polarize groups, pitting themselves as the “good” guys against all others. It doesn’t serve any purpose beyond pride and self-advancement. And that has nothing to do with Jesus.

Hamilton gives four ways to avoid speaking ill of each other: avoid judging others, search your own heart, look for the good in other people and be humble. Sounds like something that came out of the Bible.

Imagine a political world where everyone refrained from judging those who disagreed with them, where all politicians searched their own hearts for motives, where all people looked for the good in others and where everyone did away with their pride and humbled themselves, realizing how insignificant we all are in comparison to the awesome God we serve.

Wow. Washington could actually start solving issues rather than making things worse with all the drama.