No Freedom Apart From God

July 19, 2001
It's deja vu. Once again we are confronted with corruption in high places. Once again, we hear "A man's personal life is separate from his public life." I doubt seriously if this statement comforts a man's wife and children. I doubt this statement encourages trust and confidence in the nation's people.

I hear "Well, if we expect fidelity, half of Congress would be eliminated." I ask you, is this the standard for a nation's government? Should immorality be expected, even tolerated in lawmakers? Should we not, at least, strive for integrity and righteousness? If not, expect our culture to decline even more. Expect to wake up one day to a governmental breakdown, a crumbling nation and "everyone doing what is right in their own eyes." (Judges 21:25)

Is our country not worth striving for honesty and holiness? "How long will we defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked?" (Psalm 82:2 NIV).

A student of history realizes the dangerous slippery slope of a declining culture of immorality. No absolutes and no standards of behavior lowers the bar. Life becomes cheap and expendable. It doesn't matter who is hurt or why. There is a price to pay for rebellion. Sooner or later there is a day of reckoning.

Today we have street adolescents, homeless people, dope peddlers and addicts. Somewhere, sometime, those who went before us bought the notion that irresponsible behavior is acceptable. "These are the nineties. Times have changed. Go with the flow. As long as we have a good economy, who cares about character?" These threatening statements make me shudder!

Eventually "what goes around comes around" and consequences of irresponsible behavior remains. "Doing one's own thing, what is right in one's own eyes," (Deuteronomy 12:8) and ignoring absolutes and truth leads to chaos. A fish out of water is free to do his own thing. We are like that fish pursuing freedom apart from God.

In times like these, I must remember my hope is in God. Without that hope I would be a basket case. Times passes and the world doesn't seem to get any better, but God is not limited by time. A thousand years are like a day to the Lord. (2 Peter 3:8). God knows the future. "My times are in His hands" (Psalm 31:15). God has the last word and He will make things right for His own.

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountainsquake with their surging" (Psalm 46:3 NIV).

God has always had a remnant of faithful people. In my little spot in this vast universe, I am thankful to live in a town filled with loving, caring, faithful people who surround me with love and encouragement. Thank you, in this journey of life, for walking with me and for reminding me we are citizens of the Kingdom. You help me keep the world's problems in perspective, knowing that God's promises and truths ultimately prevail.

Together we will lift each other up as we fight the good fight of faith, regardless of what we see around us. Thank you for being there for me. I'm so glad you're you!