As a man, I find greater clarity when I can disconnect from all routines, head for the wilderness, and while surrounded by His creation, reconnect with God. During these times, I surrender to His sovereign will and purposes with gut honesty. The questions I asked on this trip, "Why am I failing to be effective? I can see the target's center. Why do I miss every attempt to communicate a straight shot? What is the root cause for the drift? Have I compromised?"
If I am willing to listen to His response, He answers. Like any good Rabbi, He replies to my questions with a question and He usually starts with, "Are you seeking My kingdom and righteousness first, or are you pursuing the things of this world?"
Busted.
Politics is without question a thing of this world: evil, wicked, immoral, corrupted and sinful, and because it is a thing - irredeemable. The compromise I pursued was a vain attempt to work within our fallen system. It has broken faith with our founding principles and Constitutional framework. Trying to appease a culture bent on self-corruption and self-destruction is for me, a believer a waste of my time, talent, and resources. God did not create me to fight a culture war but to elevate His holy kingdom, which is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. I forgot, He is not interested in saving our secular theocracy, but the souls of men and women.
However, does this mean I disengage. No. If anything, I believe He wants me to stand; yet, I must know with certainty for what I stand. When I recite, "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands . . ." do I know the difference between our Republic, other republics (like the USSR), and democracies (touted by the left and why)? If I do not know, I better find out and prepare to articulate the distinctions. I cannot emphasize this enough - comprehending and stating with clarity the dissimilarities is a matter of happiness versus misery, liberty opposed to bondage, life or death. Can I trust for one second the evil doers pursuing Jihad, pushing Sharia Law (in the name of Democracy), and infiltrating our government at all levels will allow me to live under out Constitutional protected liberties? Did I forget our constitutional republic and Islam cannot co-exist? Islam (along with its
adherence to Sharia Law) shall not be dominated. Islam shall dominate (for more information about this conflict, I recommend, "Shariah, The Threat to America," by the Center for Security Policy). I am convinced followers of Islam will not rest until they remove or subjugate all resistance to it and watch the statue of Liberty sink deep under New York Harbor.After pressing these and several other, "Well reasoned," arguments while walking through the woods, the Lord brought me back to His concern with my attitude and behavior. Do I pursue His holiness?
When I need a means of comparison, I do not look to the lifestyles of the rich and famous, but to the responsible and self-reliant founding citizens. With but a few exceptions (always exploited by the liberal-progressive left), these independent souls lived morally blameless lives, pursuing holiness (I recommend, "The Pursuit of Holiness," by Jerry Bridges). From the colonists, I see a consistent thread, regardless of the State they resided in, or region of the country. The people of the original thirteen colonies created and ratified State Constitutions expressing there purpose for existence. They saw the need to provide an environment, which would allow a godly lifestyle to flourish. Not all required their citizens to pursue a life pleasing to God but all wanted this inalienable right protected for themselves and their posterity (which includes us today, and hopefully future generations). As they pursued lives of piety (worshipping the Creator and King of the Universe while serving each other with loving-kindness), they confronted the storms of life with confidence God would guide them through. Recognizing the basis for their strength (Biblical principles), to achieve happiness I must pursue holiness. What liberty I would enjoy if free from the domination of sin and proved morally blameless like so many of our founders. If I pursue holiness, I have reason to believe it will yield happiness, regardless of my station in life, rich or poor, sick or well. I can see why the European elitist, Karl Marx, considered religion the opium of the people (parroted by the left). I prefer exercising my God given right to pursue living under His liberating holiness, which leads to true happiness connected to my Maker.
So long after Mr. Marx began his eternal, hot and spicy confinement, we now see that the real drug, which keeps the populace anesthetized, a true poison, stronger and more addictive than heroin, is government entitlements. When the drug wears off and people cannot get a fresh fix, watch out.
The citizens of the United States have allowed government agencies to spring up like weeds, which propagate unchecked choking out an individual's ability to grow. We accepted the lie that government experts know best. We substituted personal responsibility for government subsidy, we are addicted, and too many Americans love it so. Somehow, we need to all join, "Entitlements Anonymous," and have the courage to stand up and admit, "Hi, I'm Charles and I have received Government handouts." As I see it, the only way out is detoxification. I must reject Government assistance, embrace personal responsibility, and stand up declaring, "In God is my trust."
After receiving clarity of purpose, I walked out of the forest, back into the cesspool of politics, and found another article that makes a good case for supporting the Constitution of the United States and Limited Government. It seems my Christian and Jewish brethren, who acknowledge God as their Creator and granter of liberty, recognize the importance of limiting the necessary evil power of government because fallen, sinful, and corruptible (yet redeemable) people run the administrative agencies harassing our lives. I recognize the need for government but I do not think we need to make lifetime careers out of government short-term, shovel-ready construction projects. For those people who feel government is the answer to all human woes, do you honestly believe the myriad of costly to operate, inefficient Government agencies with their thuggish, non-essential, public-sector unionized bureaucrats who receive pay and benefits at taxpayer expense never make mistakes or squander a single tax dollar? Isn't it time that they grew up, became responsible, productive members of this great experiment in liberty, and resist the temptation to embrace the lie that all our problems can be fixed if we force the rich to pay their fair share, which they already do and more? (Warren Buffet, if you want your elite, country-club friends to pay more taxes, lead by example and right a check) Maybe if they used their creativity to earn wealth instead of finding cleaver ways to condemn capitalism and use Government force to take other peoples' money, they might have a greater appreciation for God's wondrous gift of liberty.
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