What Do You Stand For?

Posted by Larry Miller on October 14, 2009 under How | Read the First Comment

Many People in the US claim to be Christians. According to a recent Gallop poll, 77% make the claim. Yet we have courts and an administration promoting homosexual marriage, the slaughter of innocent babies, and the destruction of the American economy by wasteful and unwise spending. One has to ask… “What are we thinking?”

I understand those who claim to be Christians are not a monolithic block of citizens with a uniform belief system. We are not all alike. The book of Matthew talks about some of these:

“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ Matthew 7:15-23 (NIV)

We are not looking to judge those who say they are our brothers… that’s not our job. However we do need to be aware of the fruit produced by the various approaches to the Christian faith. Where we see peace, joy and the rest of the promised qualities, we can look for the truth. Where we see the envy and strife that come from the atheistic mind of Karl Marx… we can look for the opposite.

But in a country and a world that is falling apart at the seams, knowing the truth is not enough. Our country is being destroyed and desecrated by people who make no pretense of having or appreciating the Judeo-Christian values of our country’s founders… worse yet, they appear to take delight in subverting them at every opportunity.

Matthew 5:13-16 (NIV) tells us:

You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? … You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid… Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Basically, we are told to speak up, be the example to the world around us… show the world a better way. Glenn Beck puts it, “Question with boldness.” Like Queen Esther, we are all living in this point in history with a purpose, just as our founding fathers were the people for their time.

The country needs Godly leadership, but that is not enough. We are getting the leadership a majority of voters have chosen. This means that the our society has its own problems and our country will not be back on track until the people are back on track.

Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer who lived in, what may be frightenly similar times, told us, “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.” He was a man for his time… helping countless Jews escape from Nazi Germany, although it ultimately cost him his life. He understood that complaining and whining did not get the job done. If we are here at this time and we see problems, they become our responsibility.

Some shrink back from this by saying that Romans 13 tells us we need to submit to governing authorities. It does. However, for those of us in the US, the ultimate governing authority is the people themselves. Our constitution tells us that any power our government uses comes as a delegation from their employers… the citizens of the country. We are abdicating this power and responsibility when we sit by quietly watching these atrocities take place. Even 60’s radical and contemporary of Presidential ghost writer Bill Ayers, Abbie Hoffman understood this when he said, “Respect for authority will be the downfall of democracy.”

The question is, will we hide behind our church doors or we go out into our world and be the salt and light? Esther rose to her challenge. Our founding fathers rose to their challenge. Bonhoeffer rose to his challenge. Now is our time. Will we rise to the challenge?