From a Patriot

At church this Memorial Day I choked up while saying the pledge of allegiance. It happens when I sing our National Anthem too. Our flag has never been "just another piece of fabric" to me. (I actually had someone tell me that's how they viewed the flag before 9-11.) Many things happening in our country today anger me. However, as a Christian I cannot forget what Ephesians 4:26 tells me - to be angry and sin not. The Bible also says:

If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal....And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.  -1 Corinthians13:1,3

I am very conservative. But I have to remember that Conservative and Christian are not synonyms. If my conservative commentary is laced with sarcasm and not love, I need to do a check up. Do the issues I am so passionate about have not just a personal, political or patriotic value, but also an eternal one? Sometimes the answer is yes, but not ALL the time. I submit this personalization of the scripture quoted above for your consideration:

If you hold the most conservatives values, but do not have love, you have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If you sacrificially support the most conservative causes, even to the point of endangering or losing your life, but do not have love, it profits you nothing.

 The answer to our problems is not political. God is not limited to that venue. Generally, it seems He just circumvents it on behalf of His people. (Pharoah in Egypt comes to mind.) Don't limit your zeal to politics. Be an ambassador for Christ. Show every person in your path Biblical Christianity. Of course that will require more of you than jumping on a political bandwagon. You'll have to know the Bible and rightly interpret it so you have Biblical perspectives and answers for current events.

Our flesh is always ugly, even when it's right. When I get that "stick-it-to-'em" feeling I know that's my flesh. God doesn't want to stick it to people. He wants to change people. He wants to reach them through us. Keep His lines of communication open by staying full of His Word and saturated in His love.

1 Peter 3:13-15