The Great Debate

This is in response (and agreement with) a post made by Tam today… Check it out over at InProgress.

Our President made a speech today.  It was directed to our kids in our public schools, or so I’ve been told.  I had appointments all morning and missed it – I’ll try to catch it later this evening.  We missed out on the point of the whole debate – school doesn’t start here until tomorrow.  Thank goodness, because all of the bickering is getting old.

Oh and before you ask – if school had started already I would have sent them off to school.  WHAT?!?!?!?!?  *GASP*  Yes, I would have allowed my children to be influenced by the “evil regime that has taken over our country.” *rolls eyes*  Why?  Well, because I like to think that we are raising our girls to actually use the brain that God carefully placed within their skulls.  We would have talked about it tonight – most likely even watched it again as a family and discussed it over dinner.  Constantly forcing our kids to blindly follow us without thought isn’t much different than expecting that they will be so easily swayed by everything they hear.  God created us with free will and by squashing it we generally create teenage kids that rebel in the worst ways.

Personally I get so sick of the “Christian Right” getting so up in arms over EVERYTHING, and making those that may not 100% agree with them get blamed for the actions of a few highly vocal people.  I also get so sick of the “Liberal Left” being named as “Christian haters” when in fact there are quite a few Christians that are liberal.

Lest you think I hate Christians, I am also tired of being labeled as a “Right-Wing Extremist” just because I don’t personally agree with the policies that the left thinks I need to support.  (correct – I don’t think that the current “health care reform” is the answer.  I think it’s idiocy and if it passes we will all be very, very sorry.  Well, unless we have been voted into a position within Congress or the office of the Presidency -  they don’t have to be subjected to it)

It makes a person revert to the childhood question “Why can’t we all just get along?” although I realize that it will never happen this side of Heaven.  The Church is messy these days.  The title of “Christian” is becoming a bad name.

The Church is a house divided and desperately trying to influence a country divided (and making a huge mess of things for the most part) but it is playing catch-up rather than being the leader for the world to follow.  Christians are looked at as being 50 years behind the times and irrelevant (which is largely true, unfortunately) and are becoming more & more ignored on a good day and hated of the worse ones.

How can we be a Godly influence on our world if we can’t get our head out of our collective a$$es long enough to put together a coherent sentence?

Yes, I’m saying that if you disagree with what is being touted, then do your research.  THINK for goodness sake and use a little bit of logic!  If the conservatives would make an argument based on logic and fact rather than just pointing fingers and throwing tantrums they might get a few more ears turned their way.  Just a thought.

Moving on.

President Obama is the person that was elected by the people of this country – whether we like it or not – and as such we need to lift him & his administration up in prayer.  When I read my bible I see that God places people in positions of leadership, and that we are called to support them.

Do I agree with all of his policies?  Absolutely not!  Do I think he underestimated the position he applied for?  Most likely.  Holding the title of President of the United States of America is a thankless, crappy thing at times.  It’s a glorious thing at times too, and you have to take the bad with the good.

Basically I’m saying this:

Quit whining about it and do something.  Get yourselves down on your knees and pray.  Talk to your kids about our country and our world.  Teach them about Jesus, read the bible with them and make sure that their faith is just that – THEIR faith.  They can’t get to heaven on your faith, and if you strut around being an idiot, they won’t want your faith anyway.  Live the life that God has called you to and for goodness sake, stop making it worse!  Sharing the love of Jesus and the truth of the gospel is often hard enough without Fundamentalists and “Right-Wing Extremists” spouting off every two seconds and making fools of themselves.

I do, however, find it funny how when the liberals were staging protests they were for freedom, but when the conservatives start doing it they are extremists and nut-jobs.

God Bless America…

In apology to those that I may have offended.  Sometimes we all need to hear a little tough love.  Sometimes we need to be reminded that “they will know we are Christians by our LOVE”.  Not our hate or bickering or finger pointing or tantrums, but by the fact that we love them.  And that we love each other.

And lest you think that I am advocating rolling over and letting the devil have his way, I’m most certainly not!  Yes wo DO need to take a stand for our beliefs.  We do need to influence our world for good, we just need to do it in such a way that shares the love of God with those around us instead of spreading around hate.  Hate the sin – absolutely!  But love the sinner.

Oh, and we are all sinners.  Even me.