STAND AND BE COUNTED

COURAGE IS WHAT IT TAKES TO

STAND UP AND SPEAK; COURAGE

IS ALSO WHAT IT TAKES TO

SIT DOWN AND LISTEN.

                                            Winston Churchill

     I much prefer to look at things with a light heart and have the humor of a situation come out.  However as I watch the happenings in this country and the world my opinions have taken a serious turn more times than I like.

     I am disappointed at so many church congregations, where there is only the regular order of readings connected to the church calendars.  And no relevance as to how the teachings are applied in the world we live in. 

      Being a lover of history I, and others, seem to look at all the violence and evil in the world as something that has gone behind.  That somehow we are modern and have risen above it all.  Yet we have hundreds of thousands of modern day martyrs being killed and tortured in the most inhuman ways all over the world right now.

     We have an 8th century religion that has at it's heart the forced conversion, or death, of any that is different or believe anything contrary to their tenant's.  And we are told by those who wish to think that in the 21st Century that a modernization of this religion must have happened and that tolerance is actually possible if we just negotiate or be "tolerant".

     We also think that something as 'inconvenient' for a woman can be torn apart and ripped out of her body, and then sold for research.  And when confronted with the reality of the act, angry accusations come forth and hatred.  People turn their eyes from the remains of torn apart babies and ignore the words of the people who make light of the actions.  As one practitioner warns "when shipping a head make sure the eyes are closed".

     The highest court of the land has declared that there is a right of two of the same sex to marry.  A concept that did not even come into the discussion until the late 20th Century.  And those who stand by the context of scripture and common decency are scorned, and can be attacked financially and socially for holding to their beliefs.  Even speaking against the practice in their own church can cause the loss of their job.

     A government that has been supplanted by unelected bureaucrats that can make rulings, and subvert the intent of congress, can cause the destruction of the land.  Can cause the violation of private property rights, jail any who oppose, send swat teams against anyone who stands in defiance.  And yet can give 'room' for protesters in inner cities the chance to create destruction for wrongs that are the popular vernacular for the day.

     We have come to the time when you cannot ride the fence.  You have to choose.  Stand with God and what is right or stand with Satan and evil.  In your pulpits, in your governing bodies, in your home, and in your communities.  You have to decide which side of the line you will be counted and judged. 

     When the time comes I hope that I will have been on the side of right and good.  As scripture says "I knew you before you were even born and could count the hairs on your head".