I know what you're thinking, some of you, "What kind of a question is this?
Why does this have to be an issue? Everybody's "religion" is a matter of person preference. What does that have to do with politics? Doesn't this guy have better things to do or to write about?"
Pegged you, didn't I?
Actually, this subject has been plaguing my mind for a couple of months now, before even getting into it with some special people. Soooo, I've tossed it around in my head (and my heart), trying to put the words together that I believe God wants me to write, in hopes of at least getting you to think about the matter at hand. Be patient, I trust that if you read me all the way through, that you'll understand my message (and God's?) and it will help you to act in a conscientious manner that will soothe your conscience, especially in this tumultuous political climate we're currently experiencing.
DISCLAIMER: I am not a Democrat, a Republican, or a Libertarian. I am not a Socialist, Marxist, Communist, or any other "ist". I AM AN AMERICAN, AND I LOVE MY COUNTRY DEARLY - TIL DEATH, WHENEVER AND HOWEVER THAT OCCURS, EVEN IF IT MEANS "FIGHTING" FOR MY BELOVED U.S.A., ORALLY OR PHYSICALLY!! I am a "natural-born" U.S. citizen, registered to vote, and I DO VOTE! I CARE, and that's why I'm composing this, hopefully with God's direction and assistance.
Now to the business at hand. First, I think we need to have a definition of "What is a Christian?".
Christians were first so-called in the Book of Acts of the New Testament, the Holy Bible, because they not only spoke the name of Jesus Christ regularly, but they lived out His teachings consistently and daily. All that Jesus was, they tried to emulate.
Is that you? How much like Jesus are you? Do you "know" Him? I mean, is He your Saviour and Lord? Have you accepted Him as such?
MY POINT is that it's not enough to just be a WASP, or to be born into a Catholic family, or an Orthodox family, or anything of the sort, BUT THAT YOU MUST INDIVIDUALLY, PERSONALLY EXPERIENCE AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE TRUTH AND REALITY OF THE PERSONHOOD AND GODHOOD THAT IS JESUS CHRIST!
Baptism doesn't cut it. Confirmation isn't enough. First holy communion will not qualify you for Heaven. Church membership will not get you through the "pearly gates". Having a "church wedding" won't seal your eternal destiny, either. As well and good as all of these things may be, YOU MUST BE "BORN AGAIN", AS JESUS TOLD NICODEMUS!!! Whatever that means to you, you have got to have a personal encounter with the Son of God in order to start your life and journey as a Christian!
I KNOW I SOUND PREACHY, AND THAT'S NOT MY INTENT, but for our purposes, we must specify what "a Christian" is, so as not to blur the distinctions that we need to arrive at.
Supposing, then, (and hopefully) that you are a "Christian", how should you conduct yourself in the normal course of living this life?
A Christian is unselfish. A Christian is compassionate. A Christian is tolerant of others. A Christian despises sin and evil. A Christian is generous. A Christian loves life, in all its stages. A Christian is prayerful.
A Christian is loving. A Christian guards his/her speech. A Christian is positive, hopeful, faith-filled. A Christian is loyal. A Christian is a good citizen of his/her country. A Christian is obedient to Holy Scripture. A Christian supports his/her church with offerings. A Christian attends services as often as possible. A Christian is a "good neighbor". A Christian is generally "mild-mannered". A Christian, through the embodiment of the Holy Spirit is "discerning". A Christian is respectful. A Christian is a good parent. A Christian is law-abiding. A Christian respects his/her mind and body and is careful what is put into it. A Christian supports God's "chosen people", the Jews, whether in Israel, or New York, or wherever. A Christian works to improve his family, local government, and national political environment, for the good of all.
I COULD GO ON, AND ON, AND ON, BUT HOPEFULLY YOU'RE STARTING TO GET THE PICTURE.
Hopefully, it's not just Christians that feel, believe, and act these ways, but those of other faiths, as well, though we know it's not always the case.
NOW, TO MY (GOD'S?) POINT: The descriptions given above, however brief (I could have said a lot more), are not just of what a Christian is or ought to be, BUT OF WHAT AN AMERICAN IS OR OUGHT TO BE!!
SADLY, this is NOT THE CASE with all of our county's citizens. There are TOO MANY who "march to a different drummer", or who "hear another tune", and these are those whose basic moral compasses are "tilting towards the South", or the "other pole", away from correctness and civility.
For too long there has been a movement afoot in our great nation to LEAVE THE INTENTIONS AND HOPES OF OUR FOUNDING FATHERS AND ORIGINAL CITIZENS, toward an environment of "laissez faire", or "devil-may-care" government and lifestyle. There are people who DON'T CARE ABOUT THE CONSEQUENCES OF THEIR ACTIONS, as long as they get their ways, and whatever it is that they want, mainly POSITION, POWER, AND WEALTH, and they are often destructive in their efforts to attain their goals.
DO THESE PEOPLE SOUND LIKE "CHRISTIANS"? DO THEIR ATTITUDES AND ACTIONS SPEAK OF THE SAVIOUR?
I'll leave the answers to these questions for you to decide, but consider, if you will the following:
LIBERALS are selfish, uncaring, have a disregard for others' lives in all of its stages, are intolerant of opposing or differing views, are stingy, are humanistic (thinking their ways are right instead of consulting God), give no mind to being "like Jesus", are hateful, are spiteful, do not usually support "God's chosen people" unless it benefits their agenda, speak with vileness, care little about our country's longevity, are quick to spend monies that are not theirs for causes that are immoral or just wrong, generally do not attend church except for weddings, funerals, or political gain/exposure, are deceitful and cunning, have wrong lifestyles (perverted, alcoholic, loose/immoral, abusers, etc.), and generally have little or no regard or place for holiness or proper living/no use for God or His Son.
I defer the specifics of all of these charges to you, my dear reader. I could very easily have named names and instances, along with policies and sins, but even a cursory reading or hearing of the daily news will tell the story, that is if you really want to know the truth.
TO THE PREMISE OF MY ORIGINAL QUESTION: Who makes the best citizens, Christians or "pseudo-Christians"? Are REAL Christians better citizens because of their unique, personal relationship with God, the Bible, and the Saviour? OR DOES IT MATTER TO YOU? I pray that it does.
WHO ARE YOU ALIGNED WITH?
HAVE YOU GIVEN IT CONSCIOUS THOUGHT?
DOES YOUR PARTY MEMBERSHIP OR POLITICAL VIEWPOINT MATTER TO GOD? TO YOUR COUNTRY? TO AMERICA'S FUTURE?
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that non-Liberals are perfect, or all great people or even great Americans. I'm not saying that the Republican Party is "God's party". Nothing of the sort. I'm not even implying that all Democrats are bad citizens or "wrong" for political office or anti-American or anti-God. I'm not suggesting that Libertarians or "Independents" are of no value to our political discourse or direction. WHAT I AM SAYING IS THAT YOU CANNOT DIVORCE YOUR SPIRITUALITY FROM ANY SEGMENT OF YOUR LIFE, INCLUDING YOUR POLITICAL VIEWS AND ACTIVITIES!! All that we are, all of life, HAS ETERNAL CONSEQUENCES, and we need to carefully and prayerfully choose what we believe, why we believe it, and how we should advance our "soulful" tenets in our daily experiences.
I PRAY THAT WHAT YOU'VE READ ABOVE MAKES SENSE, AT LEAST SOMEWHAT, AND THAT I'VE GOT YOU THINKING ABOUT YOUR SPIRITUALITY AND HOW IT RELATES OR SHOULD RELATE TO YOUR POLITICAL STANCES AND EXPRESSIONS.
God bless you and yours, and GOD BLESS AMERICA!
P.S. - Don't think that I'm condemning any party or all members of a party - that is not my intention at all. I'm simply trying to show the contrast between those who LOVE AMERICA AND AMERICANS and those who love themselves above their country or their countrymen.
Why does this have to be an issue? Everybody's "religion" is a matter of person preference. What does that have to do with politics? Doesn't this guy have better things to do or to write about?"
Pegged you, didn't I?
Actually, this subject has been plaguing my mind for a couple of months now, before even getting into it with some special people. Soooo, I've tossed it around in my head (and my heart), trying to put the words together that I believe God wants me to write, in hopes of at least getting you to think about the matter at hand. Be patient, I trust that if you read me all the way through, that you'll understand my message (and God's?) and it will help you to act in a conscientious manner that will soothe your conscience, especially in this tumultuous political climate we're currently experiencing.
DISCLAIMER: I am not a Democrat, a Republican, or a Libertarian. I am not a Socialist, Marxist, Communist, or any other "ist". I AM AN AMERICAN, AND I LOVE MY COUNTRY DEARLY - TIL DEATH, WHENEVER AND HOWEVER THAT OCCURS, EVEN IF IT MEANS "FIGHTING" FOR MY BELOVED U.S.A., ORALLY OR PHYSICALLY!! I am a "natural-born" U.S. citizen, registered to vote, and I DO VOTE! I CARE, and that's why I'm composing this, hopefully with God's direction and assistance.
Now to the business at hand. First, I think we need to have a definition of "What is a Christian?".
Christians were first so-called in the Book of Acts of the New Testament, the Holy Bible, because they not only spoke the name of Jesus Christ regularly, but they lived out His teachings consistently and daily. All that Jesus was, they tried to emulate.
Is that you? How much like Jesus are you? Do you "know" Him? I mean, is He your Saviour and Lord? Have you accepted Him as such?
MY POINT is that it's not enough to just be a WASP, or to be born into a Catholic family, or an Orthodox family, or anything of the sort, BUT THAT YOU MUST INDIVIDUALLY, PERSONALLY EXPERIENCE AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE TRUTH AND REALITY OF THE PERSONHOOD AND GODHOOD THAT IS JESUS CHRIST!
Baptism doesn't cut it. Confirmation isn't enough. First holy communion will not qualify you for Heaven. Church membership will not get you through the "pearly gates". Having a "church wedding" won't seal your eternal destiny, either. As well and good as all of these things may be, YOU MUST BE "BORN AGAIN", AS JESUS TOLD NICODEMUS!!! Whatever that means to you, you have got to have a personal encounter with the Son of God in order to start your life and journey as a Christian!
I KNOW I SOUND PREACHY, AND THAT'S NOT MY INTENT, but for our purposes, we must specify what "a Christian" is, so as not to blur the distinctions that we need to arrive at.
Supposing, then, (and hopefully) that you are a "Christian", how should you conduct yourself in the normal course of living this life?
A Christian is unselfish. A Christian is compassionate. A Christian is tolerant of others. A Christian despises sin and evil. A Christian is generous. A Christian loves life, in all its stages. A Christian is prayerful.
A Christian is loving. A Christian guards his/her speech. A Christian is positive, hopeful, faith-filled. A Christian is loyal. A Christian is a good citizen of his/her country. A Christian is obedient to Holy Scripture. A Christian supports his/her church with offerings. A Christian attends services as often as possible. A Christian is a "good neighbor". A Christian is generally "mild-mannered". A Christian, through the embodiment of the Holy Spirit is "discerning". A Christian is respectful. A Christian is a good parent. A Christian is law-abiding. A Christian respects his/her mind and body and is careful what is put into it. A Christian supports God's "chosen people", the Jews, whether in Israel, or New York, or wherever. A Christian works to improve his family, local government, and national political environment, for the good of all.
I COULD GO ON, AND ON, AND ON, BUT HOPEFULLY YOU'RE STARTING TO GET THE PICTURE.
Hopefully, it's not just Christians that feel, believe, and act these ways, but those of other faiths, as well, though we know it's not always the case.
NOW, TO MY (GOD'S?) POINT: The descriptions given above, however brief (I could have said a lot more), are not just of what a Christian is or ought to be, BUT OF WHAT AN AMERICAN IS OR OUGHT TO BE!!
SADLY, this is NOT THE CASE with all of our county's citizens. There are TOO MANY who "march to a different drummer", or who "hear another tune", and these are those whose basic moral compasses are "tilting towards the South", or the "other pole", away from correctness and civility.
For too long there has been a movement afoot in our great nation to LEAVE THE INTENTIONS AND HOPES OF OUR FOUNDING FATHERS AND ORIGINAL CITIZENS, toward an environment of "laissez faire", or "devil-may-care" government and lifestyle. There are people who DON'T CARE ABOUT THE CONSEQUENCES OF THEIR ACTIONS, as long as they get their ways, and whatever it is that they want, mainly POSITION, POWER, AND WEALTH, and they are often destructive in their efforts to attain their goals.
DO THESE PEOPLE SOUND LIKE "CHRISTIANS"? DO THEIR ATTITUDES AND ACTIONS SPEAK OF THE SAVIOUR?
I'll leave the answers to these questions for you to decide, but consider, if you will the following:
LIBERALS are selfish, uncaring, have a disregard for others' lives in all of its stages, are intolerant of opposing or differing views, are stingy, are humanistic (thinking their ways are right instead of consulting God), give no mind to being "like Jesus", are hateful, are spiteful, do not usually support "God's chosen people" unless it benefits their agenda, speak with vileness, care little about our country's longevity, are quick to spend monies that are not theirs for causes that are immoral or just wrong, generally do not attend church except for weddings, funerals, or political gain/exposure, are deceitful and cunning, have wrong lifestyles (perverted, alcoholic, loose/immoral, abusers, etc.), and generally have little or no regard or place for holiness or proper living/no use for God or His Son.
I defer the specifics of all of these charges to you, my dear reader. I could very easily have named names and instances, along with policies and sins, but even a cursory reading or hearing of the daily news will tell the story, that is if you really want to know the truth.
TO THE PREMISE OF MY ORIGINAL QUESTION: Who makes the best citizens, Christians or "pseudo-Christians"? Are REAL Christians better citizens because of their unique, personal relationship with God, the Bible, and the Saviour? OR DOES IT MATTER TO YOU? I pray that it does.
WHO ARE YOU ALIGNED WITH?
HAVE YOU GIVEN IT CONSCIOUS THOUGHT?
DOES YOUR PARTY MEMBERSHIP OR POLITICAL VIEWPOINT MATTER TO GOD? TO YOUR COUNTRY? TO AMERICA'S FUTURE?
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that non-Liberals are perfect, or all great people or even great Americans. I'm not saying that the Republican Party is "God's party". Nothing of the sort. I'm not even implying that all Democrats are bad citizens or "wrong" for political office or anti-American or anti-God. I'm not suggesting that Libertarians or "Independents" are of no value to our political discourse or direction. WHAT I AM SAYING IS THAT YOU CANNOT DIVORCE YOUR SPIRITUALITY FROM ANY SEGMENT OF YOUR LIFE, INCLUDING YOUR POLITICAL VIEWS AND ACTIVITIES!! All that we are, all of life, HAS ETERNAL CONSEQUENCES, and we need to carefully and prayerfully choose what we believe, why we believe it, and how we should advance our "soulful" tenets in our daily experiences.
I PRAY THAT WHAT YOU'VE READ ABOVE MAKES SENSE, AT LEAST SOMEWHAT, AND THAT I'VE GOT YOU THINKING ABOUT YOUR SPIRITUALITY AND HOW IT RELATES OR SHOULD RELATE TO YOUR POLITICAL STANCES AND EXPRESSIONS.
God bless you and yours, and GOD BLESS AMERICA!
P.S. - Don't think that I'm condemning any party or all members of a party - that is not my intention at all. I'm simply trying to show the contrast between those who LOVE AMERICA AND AMERICANS and those who love themselves above their country or their countrymen.
