CONVOLUTED TIMES

From My Perspective - - -

To say that our culture is not operating on an even keel, is an understatement and a misnomer. The ship of state appears to be running full speed ahead toward a Bermuda Triangle. All different things are attempted to indicate all things are operating as they should but when the ship is listing, it is apparent something isn’t right. Civil Government is similar to a family structure – if there is no fiscal and familial discipline – and – no standard being adhered to,  there will be an atmosphere of chaos and erosion of true values.

Do you ever grow weary of our politicians talking about “classes” of people in our nation? It’s almost as though some of the “leaders” think they are operating within a feudal state. When did we become a nation with an aristocracy/plutocracy and the rest of the citizenry viewed as peasants? When did “we the people” allow for the Constitution of the United States to become an ignored or shredded document? When did we allow for our rights to be surrendered to the inevitable and the rule of law to be defied? Why do we allow for the politicians to promote with their rhetoric – racial division, class division, ethnic division, financial division – and generating envy among the citizenry? What is the benefit or gain if and when the moral base is undermined and the moral values eradicated?

Something is wrong when people who have gone to a theater to view a film are suddenly victimized – shot at, maimed, killed – by a stranger who behaved strangely! Something is wrong when groups of girls or boys viciously beat a stranger – punching, kicking, stabbing – because they are bored! Something is wrong when a city, Chicago, has more reported deaths than the war zones where American troops are at risk! Something is wrong when an organization – Family Research Council, an organization that promotes and defends the classic American values of faith, family and freedom – is subjected to the hatred of a gunman - Floyd Lee Corkins II – who shot a security guard at the group’s headquarters! He was found to be carrying symbols of a recent flare-up in the culture wars - 15 Chick-fil-A sandwiches arrested, a 9 mm pistol and 50 rounds of ammunition. The fast-food chain’s president Dan Cathy had voiced opposition to gay marriage. The corporation’s stated purpose is “to glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us. To have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A.”

How did we become a nation that no longer cherishes foundational purposes and values? In the Christian Religion, there has been an adherence to and practice of “The Means Of Grace”, namely, The Word, The Sacraments and Prayer. The Word and Prayer had carried over into the public life of the nation. What happened regarding The word and Prayer in the public consciousness? When and why was it diminished and discarded? “The United States Supreme Court issued two bans on prayer in public schools. The first ban came in 1962 and the second was issued in 1963. The bans were the result of a court case sponsored in part by Madalyn Murray O'Hair. She was but one of the litigants in the lawsuit, but her name became synonymous with the case and the promotion of atheism. The ban not only outlawed prayer in public schools but it also banned Bible reading in public schools.”

One should read Romans 1:18-32 for the reason why our nation has become a godless nation. Verses 28-31 describe how we are becoming who we are: “since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, He gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heart-less, ruthless.” Jeremiah 5:31 would add – “…my people love it this way. But what will you do in the end?” We need to return to our foundational principles, moral base and core values – quickly!  Consider these things with me!