“...since they did
not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a
depraved mind, to do that what ought not to be done...” (Romans 1:28-32) I’ll
admit right up front, I’m about as politically correct as a train wreck. In less
than four weeks, voters of this country are going to tell God to hit the road,
or, help us to heal our country. Which candidate will discipline, and which
will let the country run wild? Every citizen ought to think about this very
seriously; pray about it, and vote their conscience.
[Matthew 22:36-40]
“’Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?’ Jesus replied, ‘Love
the Lord your God with all your heart and all your mind. This is the first and
greatest commandment. And the second s like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.
All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.’” Rick Reilly
wrote an article for Sports Illustrated in 2003 titled, “Let Us Play.” He
described in his article how many families in America are opting to engage in
recreational activities on Sunday instead of attending worship services. He
quoted many religious leaders who have decried the loss of spirituality in our
society. Reilly attributed this to parents placing too much importance on the
success of their children in sports. He wrote, “For some reason
over-caffeinated parents feel they have to ‘keep up’ with the Joneses. They
used to do it with their cars and houses. Now they do it with their kids.”
Reilly also commented on parents inundating their children with recreation.
Again, he wrote, “…I just feel sorry for these kids who get nothing but
organized sports crammed down their gullets 24/7.” The Bible tells us what is
truly important in this life. We are told to love God more than anything else.
We are told to put the Lord first in everything we do. Paul says, “...I urge
you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living
sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship”
(Romans 12:1). The writer of Hebrews makes it plain where our energy should be
directed when he says, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the
habit of doing, but let us encourage one another - and all the more as you see
the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25). Rick Reilly may not be a person we would
normally turn to for spiritual advice, but his article helps to remind us that
the Lord expects us to put him first. When we choose other activities over him
we are not putting him first, and we simultaneously send the very same message to
our children. Reilly made a tremendous point when he wrote, “Just remember,
when little Shaniqua has two free throws to win or lose a game on some Sunday
morning, good luck finding somebody who’ll answer your prayers.” Let us all
remember what is truly important in this life and strive to always put God
first. Those children are now in their twenties and so deeply engrained in
me-ism they have no respect for their God, their neighbor or the law of the
land. Living in a land given and blessed by God we have a generation that
complained they were oppressed by the will of God and walked away from Him.
Today’s young people say they are oppressed by the laws of the land and are
allowing our leaders to rewrite the fundamentals of law to conform to their
lifestyle, separate from God, and nation-wide chaos is spreading like cancer -
a cancer that will destroy and kill the free republic we’ve enjoyed for more
than two hundred years, and so many have defended, even unto death. One morning
this country is going to awake to the realization we no longer have the right
to worship our loving God, because He’ll be gone!
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