2 Corinthians 4:8-12 (NKJV).
We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— 10 always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.
“Donna, please stop squishing the marshmallows!” My Mom was admonishing me-again. She was making rice krispie treats and I liked to take a big marshmallow and put it between my fingers, squishing it until my fingers touched. It left a giant hole in the middle. It did nothing to the marshmallows quality so I did not know why she got so upset. I just couldn’t resist it!
I am kind of feeling like we as conservatives are being squished like that marshmallow right now! Since we are supposed to be kind and peaceable, not argumentative, I believe it is assumed that we will ‘squish’ when we are being pressed upon to give up some of our rights in this ‘new normal’ we are living in.
When the covid restrictions were publicized by our governors, and so many governors restricted our gathering to worship, or eliminated them all together. Did we squish?
When the last President felt it was unifying to color the White House in gay pride colors, disrespecting both the White House and the rainbow of God’s promise. Did we squish?
How about when prayer was removed from schools and classes on sexual orientation were inserted into curriculum? Did we squish?
It has always been in our best interest to be involved in our local council, PTA, and other civic groups that carry an impact on the governance of our locality, but never more than now, in our recent times.
We are being squished! I found out by squishing marshmallows that if I only pressed a little, they would spring back and I could pass it off to Mom unblemished. But, if I continued pressing, it would bulge on the side and would not return to it’s previous shape!
Since the 1960’s we have been pushed on, without much push-back. Now we are being pushed to the point where many of our civil liberties, the ones that our founders wrote as a brilliant testament to the stamina of the people, are unrecognizable!
The reading ‘Primer’ they used to teach our children how to read in the early days of the nation, was the Bible. Now that book, that has the answer to every question, is banned as if it were ‘Mein Kamph.’
We are facing severe repercussions if we do not begin pushing back with more than our complaints to each other. Even our newspapers have become one sided. I sent in an editorial, and editorial mind you. This is supposed an article that expresses YOUR opinion. The editor would not print it saying it was not factual, yet his own admission of fact checking was another biased newspaper!
Yes, it is confusing. Yes it is overwhelming. It is often dividing friends and even family. Yet, Jesus told us we would have division as families would be divided over His truths.
So, how do we know what truth is really the truth? We only have One Truth..One Way. God said it, we need to believe it, that should settle it. How does that transfer to our everyday life? Well, I personally believe we cannot bury our head in the sand, turn off any news, and not pay attention to what’s going on. We do need to fact check everything with the ultimate truth, the Word!
Here are some truths we can stand on;
God is not in favor of murder. Therefore we can conclude that abortion is wrong, and any politician who is for it, should be crossed off our list of possible candidates. It is our responsibility to track down what they stand for. It used to be easier when the Pastor’s were bold enough to preach on the topics of candidates platforms, but, now they are fearful of loosing tax exempt status. That has never been perused in a court of law, by the way. When the nation was young and at war, preachers would preach the Word on Sunday morning, then remove their cleric robe and have their uniform underneath. They would go to war. Committed to the cause for freedom. How committed are we?
God is not in favor of same-sex marriage. Now, this is not saying that God does not love the homosexual. He does, as so should we. We do not need to have that vile and sinful position imposed on us in movies, commercials etc. We can let these businesses know how we feel with a letter, and turning off the program, not buying the product. We used to have a much greater voice in this area, but, again, we have been squished into submitting.
I am proposing that we get our ‘squishing’ power moving again! We can also have the power to ‘squish’ them back! Being squished is uncomfortable and we don’t like to do it, but, it is worse to have it done to you! In 2021, let’s stop being squished for our beliefs. We need the sleeping giant of conservatism to be re-awakened, and Armour on, reporting for battle! Now, just to be clear, every opinion has a space to be heard in the USA, I want to keep it that way. I just want the squishing to stop before it infringes any more on my rights and my comfort level with the morality in the Bible.
Can I get an Amen?
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