In the course of human events, there comes a time when we must choose between total allegiance to God or human government.  You may disagree depending on your religious or worldview.  I am unashamedly a follower of Jesus Christ, a Vietnam veteran, a patriot, a gospel minister, a father, a grandfather, and an American citizen by birth.  I state that only to lay the foundation for everything I say.  My views are rooted in my biblical understanding and my faith in God. 

In America, we have traversed down the long winding road of destruction for well over one hundred years.  It began with the Fabian Socialists.  No, the attempted destruction of the world and mankind began before the Garden of Eden and the fall of Adam and Eve.  It started in the eons past when Lucifer, a created angel, rebelled against God and tried to overthrow the Living God.  He is a master deceiver, evidenced by his ability to persuade one-third of the angels to rebel against God.  That is incredible!

The deception in the Garden is rooted in the appeal of “self-exaltation” and has been prevalent in the hearts of humans since that time.  That is one of the reasons we see the continual quest for power and control.  That is one of the reasons we witness the devolution and declension of politics, business, interpersonal relationships, and spiritual acumen.  Mankind continually seeks to elevate the “self” to the pinnacle and make him or herself lord and master. 

From time to time, we catch a fresh breeze of reality and truth being manifested in politics and politicians. Our response to that is often unimaginably inane and nonsensical.  I believe that the condition of depravity in the heart causes people to miss the essential and focus on the superficial.  By that, I mean we focus on personalities, skin pigmentation, economic status, or some other extraneous thing rather than on the platform. 

In politics, the platform is always more important than personality.  That is not to dismiss the desire and need for character but an attempt to recalibrate our pursuit to focus on the issue, not the trappings.  There are politicians whose personalities and character are grating to my sensibilities.  Yet, their desire to pursue what is needed and right is what prompted them to enter the political arena.  If I lose sight of that, I become entrapped in identity politics and side issues and open the door for the planned destruction.  That is not an easy road to navigate, but we have the promise of guidance if we put God first.

One of our problems in America is that we choose sides and fight rather than engage in honest and open conversation or debate.  We choose sides by all manner of identifiers, including ethnicity, political persuasion, sexual preference, and religious beliefs.  We tend to stereotype and categorize others based on how they are identified rather than finding out what they actually believe.  If our Founding Fathers had practiced that, we would not be a Republic today!  The Constitution would never have been drafted, adopted, or ratified. 

An example of honestly asking was brought to my attention by Janet Walters Levite in her article, “Thank You For Asking, Mr. President.”  She wrote about the funeral service for Lynette “Diamond” Hardaway, of Diamond and Silk fame.  The funeral expenses were paid for entirely by Donald J. Trump.  Trump also attended the funeral and sat with the Hardaway family. 

Trump was the closing speaker at the memorial service.  He spoke about getting to know the family and the Silk, whom he stated he did not truly know.  In his remarks, he asked a question and made an admission that is largely absent in the political world and most of society.  We assume rather than genuinely seek to know.  What was his question?  He acknowledged that he had always felt ignorant about how to address the Black community.  He said, “I always used to ask – what do you like better – African American or Black?”  He said many terms were being used, and he was unenlightened as to how most Blacks preferred to be addressed.  He said, “They said, ‘We like Black.’”  He had been accustomed to saying African American.

What is significant about that?  He asked what those of that ethnicity preferred and admitted that he did not know.  Wow!  A person involved in politics who acknowledges that they do not know something and genuinely seeks to know is rare!  If we did that on all the other aspects of the political, societal, economic, and spiritual, we might find that God would help us navigate the troubled waters of our day and find some viable solutions.  That would mean we move from allowing human government to dictate what and how we think, speak, or act and follow the biblical guidelines for life.  What a concept!

We do not need automatons. We need people who can and will think for themselves and allow everyone else to do the same.  We need those in politics to be voices, not echoes of the rhetoric and ideology of those desiring our demise.  We can restore the Republic, but only and I mean ONLY, if we abandon our dependence on the government to legislate our problems into nonexistence.  No law will ever change the heart; only God can do that. 

A Bible passage is apropos here, Matthew 7:12 – the Golden Rule.  If we were to practice treating others as we desire to be treated, we would open the door of hope.  Would everyone reciprocate?  No!  But a soft answer and an honest heart can disarm even the most volatile and hate-filled heart. 

America is in trouble with a capital “T” today.  We have been duped into believing that nothing of God or the Bible could be a part of public life and thereby have been lulled into inactivity politically.  Politics affects everyday life and, therefore, must be addressed by everyone.  It may not seem to directly affect us or not affect us sufficiently to warrant our involvement, but it is affecting our Republic and will affect our posterity far more than it does us.  We owe it to our children and grandchildren to right this ship of state and return to moral, political, economic, social, and spiritual sanity. 

If we made 2 Chronicles 7:14 a cornerstone in our lives, we would see change that we will never see legislatively.  Legislation tends to divide rather than unite.  Political wrangling divides, isolates, and defeats our objectives of being the Free Constitutional Republic where everyone is recognized as creations of God and having certain inalienable rights.  I urge everyone to earnestly pray, think, investigate, and become involved at whatever level you can manage.  America and Freedom are prizes worth fighting for.  I ask that you join those of us committed to fighting for Faith, Family, Freedom, and Fidelity. 

God bless you, and God bless America!