Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Black and White in a world full of Greys

Okay, so, did I write about this before?  I can't remember.  But I've been thinking about this again, (because I do kinda often) so I'm gonna write about it:  If something is wrong, it's wrong. And nothing about that changes when it comes to our country and it's laws.  Okay, I guess I should back this up a bit...

We live in a spiritual world in a physical realm.  That means that our actions have spiritual ramifications.  Honestly, though, I think we often skip over the part were there are consequences before just ending up in heaven or hell.  There are blessings and curses in this world that come as result of how we live.  (No, we don't earn blessings, but we do open or close the door them, and I think the same is true of curses.)  That being said, I don't think blessings and curses are reserved only for individuals; they are also available for businesses, churches, families, and even countries.  Throughout the Bible we see that God sends prophets to speak to kings and nations about His will.  Usually this is Israel, but we also see Jonah, Daniel, Joseph, and even Balem,  go and speak to the foreign nations and leaders.  We see repeatedly that when a nation lives by the word of God the nation prospers and flourishes, but when it denies God's word and does it's own thing it eventually faces some type of destruction.  God has not changed.  His name is still, King of Kings, Lord of Lords and Lord of Hosts (which really means, Lord of Armies.) Psalms, 110 says, "He will judge the nations..." and Joel 3 says, "...I will sit to judge all the nations on every side."  So, I think it's safe to say that  want my nation to be on God's good side, if you will.  I want to have a nation that stands up for the things Jesus would stand up for, I want it to do good and restrain evil.

This is what brings to mind the thoughts that things that are wrong are wrong no matter what.  So, if something is wrong, as a nation, we should refuse to let it be legal.  Take rape, for example.  Rape is wrong, it doesn't matter if you disagree with me, you're wrong.  It should be illegal.  Now, what about abortion?  It's wrong; and it still doesn't matter if you disagree with me. And gay marriage, it's wrong, so it should be illegal.  I know you're thinking, these are religious opinions and that we can't force our views on others. But you see, there is a big difference between forcing someone to do something and keeping someone from doing something.  Laws are meant to keep people from doing wrong.  My beliefs about gay marriage and abortion are no more spiritual than my beliefs on stealing, rape, incest, and the like.  Can you imagine if someone were to say that they thought that rape was wrong but could not justify it being illegal because they found out it was wrong through the Bible?  Would you ever take that person's views seriously?  So, why can we say that about other issues, and who is to say where we draw the line?  Personally, I am not so concerned with what other people are thinking is right and wrong, because I already have a definite line.  To me, the only opinion that matters is God's.  (He is, after all, the one who has the power to build up and tear down nations.  Like it says in Psalms.127:1b"Unless the Lord watches over the city the watchmen stand guard in vein.")  If God says that a certain thing will bring curses on a nation (and definitely shedding innocent blood is one of those things) then we simply cannot tolerate it as a nation and expect that nothing will happen.  In Ps. 2 it talks about the kings of the earth trying to throw off the fetters and restraints of God.  I see this happening in our nation when we make laws, or refuse to make laws, that bring in God's divine restraints.  And truth be told, if we believe what we say we do, then we are doing a great disservice to people by allowing them to sin so easily.  They will have eternal consequences for their sin, and if we care about them we should do all we can to keep them from sinning, even when they want to.

So really, where is the debate?  Do we love those in the world enough to try and stop them from bringing curses on themselves?  Do we love our nation and want to see it blessed?  Do we love God and all of His ways?  Do we see the black and white of His commands?  What He says is true, and I pray our nation can follow Him.



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