September 4, 2020
Let your light shine bright so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. |
I must admit, I never expected the COVID 19 – Corona - China virus to last this long… since it was made in China. But it is still infecting us and is producing catastrophic consequences. But COVID 19 is not the only virus that has infected our country. Our society is subject to what was once subterranean socialism that has recently risen up to ground level, seeking to destroy our country. It is interesting that it is easy to be a socialist in a free country, but impossible to be free in a socialist country. That is why people come to America in search of freedom and liberty. Notice, they do not come essentially seeking equality. (Equality is what socialism promises but never delivers--- ask the average Cuban or a citizen of Venezuela.) They give up all and come to America for liberty and freedom. That is because equality usually is part of the package of freedom. We all know that America is not perfect, as any look at our past will reveal. And yes, we are living with issues of the past concerning slavery. As William Faulkner of Mississippi said regarding slavery, “The past is not dead. It’s not even past.” But America has suffered and sacrificed many lives and invested trillions of dollars to seek for liberty and freedom for all. The fact of an African American President for 8 years and many cabinet members and other high-ranking officials is proof of our progress. The charge of systemic racism or institutional racism is simply racism masquerading as anti-racism. We are captivated by violent scenes of riots, not protests, emanating from Portland, Seattle, Minneapolis, Oakland, Washington DC, Baltimore, New York, Chicago, and even Kenosha, Wisconsin. But we are also watching, even if we do not perceive it, a continent-straddling, generation-spanning, seismic transition taking place around the “civilized” world. Secularization has been going on for decades in America, but we are witnessing the wholesale dismantling and destruction of the Judeo-Christian value system. Most of us have known this for a long time. We are now seeing it in front of our own eyes. The irony is that those who wish to destroy the foundation of the Christian culture do not seem to realize that all they desire; equality, dignity, social justice, and free speech is predicated upon the Christian world view. These radical progressives are like rioters running around destroying all the bakeries as they demand bread be baked. They are destroying the fundamental foundation from which their perceived values emanate. The Apostle Paul reminded the first century church of the Philippians and it is ever true today in our 21st century cultural context. “Prove yourself to be blameless, innocent children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation among whom you shine and appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain or toil in vain.” 2:15-16 Paul observed that the world we live in is “crooked” from the term scoliosis - twisted. It is also “perverse” or turned inside out. This is the dark and decadent world we live in and this is the world in which we are commanded to be blameless and innocent, and live as a light to the nations. Shine bright. Serving Him with you Until He comes for us, Fred Chay |