CULTURE WAR REALITIES

From My Perspective - - -

The recent American Elections may have magnified the underlying issues within this nation that too many have chosen to ignore for too long. Some have grown permissive regarding the trends of our times and chosen to ignore them. They may have convinced themselves and hoped that if these trends are ignored they will collapse and fade away. They have forgotten that the battle for the minds and souls of people is not always a frontal one and can be more stealth until the right moment for it to surface. At that point, it becomes blatant. Those who have allowed themselves to be permissive and to ignore the trends and behavior are suddenly aghast at what is taking place. When they arrive at this moment of awakening, it is too late. The minds and souls of a generation has been changed. The sad lament of those who should have known better all along becomes, either “how did this happen” or “we’re too late – we should’ve done something sooner.” The “could’ve, would’ve, should’ve” syndrome – all too late to effect a change and maintain the needed moral base and values.

In a New York Times article on November 9th, 2012, the Headline was: “Christian Right Failed to Sway Voters on Issues.” The article summarizes: “Christian conservatives, for more than two decades a pivotal force in American politics, are grappling with Election Day results that repudiated their influence and suggested that the cultural tide…has shifted against them. They are reeling not only from the loss of the presidency, but from what many of them see as a rejection of their agenda. They lost fights against same-sex marriage in all four states where it was on the ballot, and saw anti-abortion-rights Senate candidates defeated and two states vote to legalize marijuana for recreational use…Millions of American evangelicals are absolutely shocked…by the entire avalanche of results that came in. Albert Mohler,….said in an interview. It’s not that our message — we think abortion is wrong, we think same-sex marriage is wrong — didn’t get out. It did get out. It’s that the entire moral landscape has changed…An increasingly secularized America understands our positions, and has rejected them.”

Albert Mohler has a keen sense of the times in which we live and his evaluation – “the entire moral landscape has changed… An increasingly secularized America understands our positions, and has rejected them.” – needs to sink into the Evangelical mindset. In our Churches, many an Evangelical Minister is preaching to empty pews – that alone should be a wake-up call – but it hasn’t been. The article notes: “The evangelical share of the population is both declining and graying, studies show. Large churches like the Southern Baptist Convention and the Assemblies of God, which have provided an organizing base for the Christian right, are losing members….” Praying about these matters is fine – but where is the action? If one thought that negative rhetoric and commentary regarding secular humanism that is dominating our culture is the way and means to combat it need a wake-up call. Guess what? It did not work!

Will the culture surrender its gains willingly? The question is absurd. The answer is – Absolutely not! What can the “church” and/or “evangelical" do? Consider what Daniel did at the outset of the Babylonian Captivity – Daniel 1:8 – “Daniel purpose in his heart that he would not defile himself before God…” No matter what the challenge or cost, this was his commitment. It was a settled matter before God. Consider what Peter stated to the believers who were being persecuted by Nero in Rome. In I Peter 1:1-6 – “To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.” Basically – keep your focus on Biblical truths that never change. Peter underscores that they are God’s “…elect, possessing a living hope because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, given an inheritance that is incorruptible, undefiled and that will never fade away, and they are kept by the power of God through faith…” No man or movement can separate one from his/her position in Christ. 
No man or movement can demolish your personal commitment or remove your moral values. Are you ready and willing to meet the challenge of the day regardless of the cost? There’s work to do – don’t be running to a cave yet. It’s time to follow-through on Christ’s command and commission, namely, “You are my witnesses…” Consider these things with me!