These past few months, I’ve been deeply disturbed by the actions of many in government who have taken a symbolic knee for a reactionary movement that I find distressing, As if in lockstep, many have gone along with their gestures, which may or may not be sincere, but sadly inappropriate to our culture here in America.
As a follower of Christ, I know that I must only kneel to God Almighty! I do have deep compassion for the unprecedented killing of George Floyd. I also find it sadly alarming that some dissenters will use such unfortunate events to their ideological advantage.
We are truly blessed to live in The Land of the Free, The Home of the Brave, yet a small group of insurrectionists are creating havoc in major cities for the sole purpose of taking a swipe at democracy to promote their Marxist ideologies. Their strategies are nothing new and their motives are apparently for their selfish personal gains.
Yes, we do have the right to peaceably assemble and the right to free speech here in America. Such insurrection in many countries of the world would be met with a heavy hand with much loss of lives. Let’s go back just 31 years to Mainland China.
In June 1989, the world witnessed the Tiananmen Square Massacre, which makes our social unrest pale in comparison. That notorious event was a terrible travesty ending in the Communist Party of China declaring martial law and annihilating hundreds and imprisoning thousands for their peaceful request for a more democratic form of government.
Those protests were justified and will always be memorialized in the minds of the masses in China. Although not publicized, I suspect many Chinese Christians were in the midst of this peaceful movement throughout China.
Unfortunately, we are not experiencing uniformly peaceful demonstrations. We are faced with terrorists who are taking advantage of unfortunate circumstances. Yes, many may be peaceably demonstrating, but many are also using these tactics for their ideological agenda. They want to tear down what our forefathers established nearly 250 years ago.
What the colonists were all about was a better way of life, no taxation without representation and the ability to experience life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Our Constitution was built on Judeo-Christian principles that formed this nation into the melting pot of the world.
We are blessed to be here with the opportunity to thrive no matter what our race, color, sex, creed or other persuasions.
We are all part of the problem and the solution. We need to stand up for all this great country represents.
Have we forgotten these words found in the Preamble of the Constitution? “We the people of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
You may want to read the complete document and take a hard look at the unrest and discord caused by those who would tear down what God has put together for the good of mankind.
It seems appropriate to share some very special words from what’s known as Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer. In John 17:1-3 we read, “After Jesus said this, He looked toward heaven and prayed: ‘Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted Him authority over all people that He might give eternal life to all those you have given Him. Now this is eternal life; that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.’”
These words of Jesus are quite significant to all who follow Christ.
Let me continue with the final two verses in John 17:24-25: “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”
You see, this world does not know the Father. Unfortunately, it follows the Deceiver.
Those who follow Satan and his motives want to tear apart all that’s good and pure. We cannot let that happen. In Psalm 145:18 we read, “The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth.”
Please pray to the Lord of the Harvest!
Passages to Ponder
— Jim Langley has been writing for more than 30 years while working as a life and health insurance agent in Santa Barbara. In recent years, his passion has turned to writing about his personal relationship with God, and his goal is to encourage others to draw near to Him as well. As a longtime member of CBMC of Santa Barbara (Christian Business Men’s Connection), he started writing Fourth Quarter Strategies columns in 2014, and he now reaches an international audience through the CBMC International devotional Monday Manna. He can be contacted at jim@fourthquarterstrategies.com for more information. Click here for previous columns. The opinions expressed are his own.