Living by The Book

Last week while some were focused on the election, real heroes were hard at work in the northeast helping to restore power to areas affected by Hurricane Sandy. 

A recent news article about the aftermath of the storm told of the crimes committed as people’s property was left unprotected.  There have been arrests for looting, price gouging, gas siphoned from cars, and cruelest of all criminals posing as relief workers who then steal from those already victimized by the storm.  “Most loathsome, perhaps, were reports of people posing as FEMA and utility workers to gain entry into homes, then sticking up residents.

Connecticut College professor social psychology Jason Nier was quoted as saying, “In a disaster situation, people aren’t sure what the norms are.  People may be looking to what others are doing in determining what their behavior may be.”  If that statement is true, it is a sad comment on how far character or our nation has deteriorated.  People may be looking to what others are doing for their standard of behavior, but there is a standard, a “norm”, and Americans used to be well educated in that standard.

The founders of America believed in a Supreme Being, a Creator God who granted liberty and with it accountability for one’s actions.  The foundation of their moral belief system is still in place today, given to us in the Holy Bible.  The first book of the Bible tells us that people are prone to bad behavior, behavior that goes against God’s desire for us and separates us from Him.  The second book and all those that follow give us a standard for behavior, to help us know how to live in community with one another.  Jesus Christ showed us by example how living by that standard works.

            Keep the Sabbath holy.  Gather regularly together in church.

            Honor your father and mother.

            Do not murder.

            Do not steal.

            Do not covet your neighbor’s house or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

            A thief must make restitution.

            Love God with all your heart, soul and strength.

            Teach your children God’s rules.

            When you eat and are satisfied, thank God.

            Love your neighbor as yourself.

            Take care of the poor, the widow, the fatherless.

            Do not lend with excessive interest.

            Be generous, not greedy.

            Pray always

            Forgive each other.

            Be ready to explain to someone who doesn’t know God why you have hope.

            Be able to discern truth from falsehood.

There isn’t anything unclear about God’s standards, and the beauty of His plan for us is that it works!   God didn’t give us His Word as a club, to beat people over the head with it.  He gave it out of love for each person, so that our life on this earth could be good and we can demonstrate His goodness.  If we would abide by the standard of the One who gave us life, breath, and the ability to have what we have life would be so much better. 

I have a nephew who lives in Texas but who is currently in New Jersey, working with a crew to restore power to the millions who have lost it.  His experience has quite different from the one in the article I referred to.  He tells of people who are patient, grateful that they didn’t lose their lives or homes or possessions, who provide the workers coffee and kind words and hot meals from their cars, and who thank those working to help them.   Those people are living by The Book.

He told us about crews from Texas and New Jersey sleeping in an 18-wheeler temporary bunkhouse.  They work together in harmony, building friendships and meshing similar skills with different accents to accomplish their shared goal.  These men too are living by The Book.   Take a look at these guys – forget about politics, it’s people like these men that have my support, my gratitude and my heartfelt thanks that in the midst of crisis they too are working and living by The Book.

Election Blues

I am glad that Scripture has prayers of lament and seeking God when discouraged or in despair.  Yesterday Psalm 57 was my prayer: “O God, in you my soul takes refuge…refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed.” And from Psalm 25, “Free me from my anguish; you are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long.” 

It’s hard being a red person in a blue world.  It’s not about politics – I’m tired of political speeches, debates, ads and emails.  No, it’s about the changes I see in a country that is very different from the one in which I grew up. 

In public school I learned about history.  Real history, things that actually happened and how they affected our nation.  In 1775 America was red with the blood of patriots who believed in freedom, a God-given right to liberty, and a representative form of government that would not seize individual property or income.  By 1783 the sovereignty of the United States of America was recognized, and the greatest experiment in government began.

In the 1830’s, my native state was red with the blood of Texans fighting for their independence.  In the 1860’s America was red with the blood of its citizens, fighting for the right of all men regardless of skin color to be free.  In the 1900’s America was red with the blood of its people fighting for freedom in other countries – WW I and II, Korea, Vietnam.  In 2001 America was red with the blood of innocent men and women as terrorists brought war to our own soil and our fight in the War on Terror began.

But today America is blue.  I saw the map on election night and began to realize how much we have changed.   Again, it’s not about Democrats or Republicans.  It’s about America, how she was founded, and where we are now headed.

We have become a nation whose majority believes that it is acceptable for our government to confiscate one person’s income without that person’s permission and give it to another in the form of welfare, Social Security to those who haven’t paid in and aren’t citizens, “free” health care services, and excessive taxes on property.  We have a president who has established government czars (“an emperor or absolute monarch”), something never before done in America, and whose use of the executive order to get around the law is historical in its excess.  Our Supreme Court has expanded the power of eminent domain, ruling that personal property can be “transferred” to another private entity for “economic development” and only the government decides what is “just compensation” (Kelo v. City of New London).

To see America heading down a path its Founders fought to avoid breaks my heart.  I have done my best to work for the principles in our Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.  Others have worked to bring about different principles.  I must accept that for now at least, they have prevailed.  That’s the way America works and I support the process.  Some will celebrate victory this week and in the months to come, anticipating benefits that others must provide them.  Others, like my husband and I, will begin assessing our remaining ability to make income, our property, and our stake in an American small business to decide how best to protect and preserve what we have worked so hard for.  We will also freely of our own will decide how best to help others less fortunate.  I don’t need government to make me do that.

And we will turn, as always, to our faith.  Governments come and go, but God is the same yesterday, today and forever.  I don’t understand why He allows certain circumstances, but I’ve learned He is always there for me.

I’ve been praying Psalm 23 in a new way since Tuesday night, taking it very personally.  What a comfort to know that even when my beloved country as I have always known it is walking through the valley of the shadow of death, I don’t have to fear any evil because God is with me.  

God loves all His creation, but those who come to Him through the shed blood of His son Jesus Christ get to be in relationship with Him.  That relationship, and the security of eternity in heaven it brings, gives my life meaning and purpose while I’m here on this earth.  Maybe America is still red.  Red from blood on a cross where Jesus gave up his life for our freedom - freedom to live the way God wants us to, and the liberty to love and treat others rightly no matter what color is on the election map.