Passion without contempt

I have indulged myself over the past few days by venturing into social and political discussions that I usually skip on by doing my best to keep my eyes fixed on Jesus—the Author and Finisher of my faith, but sometimes you just have to jump into the fray, especially when all dignity has been cast aside.

I don’t know if I have contributed to the productive discourse of our great but sometimes ever so fragile republic, or just entertained myself in a unique way as if I were smoking a Cuban cigar and enjoying a glass of Sangria from south of the border (pre-wall vintage).

I pray that we incline ourselves to more civil discourse.  Passion is wonderful.  Zeal must abound.  Debate is fantastic.  The synergy of diverse ideas produces the best results, but condemnation of our brothers and sisters and contempt for our leaders are forces directly from Satan.  They are the darkest side of our human nature.  Do not be deceived, hate and contempt are not effective communication tools.  The one who tells you that they are has your destruction in mind and is celebrating with your every vile word.

For those who do not claim Jesus as Lord, this likely is a meaningless appeal.  The command not to judge (condemn) others, the command to love each other, and the direction to not only respect those in authority but pray for them are only words in a book.  But for those who do claim to follow Jesus, these are standing orders.  We are not relieved of them because we don’t like who got elected, do or don’t like guns, or think the Constitution to be antiquated or immutable. 

If we can’t post and comment without condemnation of others,  or if we cannot bring ourselves to love each other as Christ loved us in our words and deeds, or if we can’t express our point being respectful of those in authority; then we need to log off, pray, study our Bibles, pray some more, practice loving one another in person, and do some inspection to determine how much lumber we need to extract from our own eyes, before we even think about logging back on to this media that begs us to bring acrimony and vitriol.

Decide this day whom you will serve.  Is it the gods of hate, vitriol, acrimony, ambivalence that abound online?  As for me and my house and our posts, we serve the Lord!

The Christmas Spirit has Left the Building

The Christmas spirit has left the building.  Acrimony has returned to the online world.  People have returned to being divided and divisive.  The love of many has truly grown cold and it seems that we will only listen to what our itching ears want to hear. 

Can we as a nation no longer converse without bitterness?

Our greatest enemy is not ISIS.  It is our own selfishness and cold heartedness and short sightedness.  Where are the men and women who long to preserve the blessings of liberty not only for ourselves but our posterity?

As a pastor and a Christian, I knew this time was coming.  We have it in black and white.  As a Marine officer and an American, it breaks my heart to see us self destruct from our own selfishness. We would rather see this country crumble than give up insisting on our own way.

We must replace politicians with statesmen.

We must replace our vitriolic posts with conversations.

We must be Americans first while cherishing our ethnic roots.

We must respect our authorities while ensuring they are worthy of our respect.

For those of us who profess Christ as Lord and Savior, we must be a light unto the world.

We must be the salt of the earth—a chance for people to have a little taste of God’s goodness in their every encounter with us.

We must be the people who ignore the tactics of the world and choose to love one another over being right every time.

We must be the people ready to spring into action every time and every place where God’s Holy Spirit is being poured out in these last days.

The love of many has grown cold, but we are the few who live by the law of love.

God loved us first and still loves us.  Let us love one another.

Love one another.

Death of an old friend

The time of death was unknown

Sometime in recent years I think.

Her passing was of little note,

And caused not a tear to fall or eye to blink.

Some do not even know she passed.

Life without her is all they have known.

As for bitterness this year has surpassed

Last year’s vitriolic harvest that was sown.

And now with elections drawing near,

And party faithful filled with spite and wrath.

It seems the one we once held dear,

Is covered amidst hate’s aftermath.

Those who never knew her are not to blame,

Though within us all is surely a spark.

That says let’s choose not to spread disdain,

And to live in light and not advance the dark.

But some of us knew her and knew her well,

Enjoying her company with those whom we differed.

Talking and listening and not trying to sell,

A discourse of hate that a few had proffered.

There are truly no clean hands in this matter.

Our self-righteousness has trumped our reason.

We sling hateful words making venomous clatter.

Surely godlessness and hate are in season.

But I remember a time when I could stand my ground,

And my beliefs were mine to uphold.

And I could listen to you without running you down.

And with integrity each point was re-told.

Without twist or spin or sleight of hand tricks,

I understood your position though I might not affix,

My endorsement or vote and would stick to my picks.

But your opinions I valued as I reviewed the mix.

But to defame you because your thoughts were different from mine,

Was not part of who we were, but that’s not true of this time.

For to think for yourself has now become crime.

We must buy into and swallow some party line.

And we condemn without thinking that those we offend,

They also have values they wish to defend.

And in the course of such acrimony one day we will rend,

And turn on our own as if they had sinned.

For vitriol and acrimony take on lives of their own,

Hardened hearts and hatred are not seeds we wish sown.

But these are the days that lie ahead you see,

Since the passing of the Lady we once called Civility.

May she not rest in peace but come back with as a storm,

That lets us think differently but with hearts that are warm.

And value our neighbor so much more than before.

That we value each other though some thoughts we abhore.

For I cannot hear you when you disparage my name.

I’m guessing you don’t like it when your cause I defame.

Are we not people of hope who may one day reclaim,

The art of Civility and may she once again reign.