America, one nation Under God

Each Memorial Day weekend, we honor our brave and faithful who allow us to enjoy freedom in America. I am grateful for each one who served in the military in any capacity, and in any location. I am grateful for our Founding Fathers who risked a new form of government that provided the most amazing form of liberty for all people, ensuring the rights for life, liberty, and the opportunity to pursue happiness as each one chooses. However, I want to discuss changes to our freedoms and liberty that subtly and even blatantly attack what these brave souls fought for and still fight for today. I want to offer hope and light as I discuss my observations and solutions about these changes that endanger our freedoms today.

Today we are to let tolerance and political correctness determine our actions, values, and beliefs in every stage of life – school, faith, political and sports arenas, and inside our family, social, and business circles. I struggle to find the real standards behind this movement, and how they support the original intent of our constitution. I need to stand for values that make sense for everyone, and don’t push someone’s, or some organization’s agenda.

Standards are the basis for any set of beliefs and values. Yet, today some say, both through actions and voice, there are no set standards by which to live. Tolerance, to them, implies everyone can do their own thing – whatever feels good, seems good, or doesn’t SEEM to impose on other people’s lives should be fine with everyone. But is that true? When you consider the billions of people living across this planet, this means billions of different value systems we all need to accept and live by. Is that possible to do? Is that even realistic?

Let’s take the topic of marriage, for instance. Some people feel traditional marriage, or any marriage is obsolete, but your sister believes gay marriage is best, and your brother feels a bi-sexual family is the ideal living situation.  Your parents say one man, one woman is the only way for a marriage to work. Who is correct? Does someone need to be correct? If so, why? Is there already a “best” answer to this?

The true is no person has the right to interpret marriage as being whatever they want it to be. Why? How chaotic is a world where billions of opinions demand everyone conform to each of their own beliefs? How does that impact the family, children, and society?

If there is no absolute standard for our actions and beliefs or values, how do I know when I crossed your boundaries, or you crossed mine? After all, your opinion does not trump mine, nor is my opinion better than yours. So, is a world with no absolutes desirable, or does it create a dangerous environment to function, to live, or to pursue happiness? A climate of uncertainty and chaos breeds fear and compliance, not freedom and confidence.

Tolerance means to consider other beliefs, avenues for action. It does not mean we accept and embrace other beliefs and actions. Look it up in the dictionary, please. Today we are expected to accept and embrace others’ beliefs and values and actions. That is forced action. In order to be politically correct,  we are told to accept anything anyone does, believes, or values as being correct, even if you, yourself, reject these. How tolerant of you are they? According to countless political polls, most Americans believe our own political system and politicians are corrupt, so how ironic is the term “political correctness”! Who in our political system today do you trust to be correct about our concerns?

Therefore, I believe in an absolute set of standards, that if I abide by those standards, I can live freely in society to pursue life, liberty, and my pursuit for happiness. Standards for acceptable behavior at school, church, social and community meetings, board meetings – these standards set up order and freedom for everyone in which to function. Without order, how can anything be accomplished? Try teaching a middle-school class, or any class – without classroom standards!! For example, as an author, each middle-grade book requires at least 25,000 words. Most publishing companies set that as a standard. I can’t decide that 10,000 is enough and expect it published. Standards are necessary.

At the end of the book of Judges, scripture states “everyone did what was right in their own eyes.” God the Creator of mankind and the universe set standards for behavior to protect every person. He did this out of love, not meanness. When mankind ignores those standards for behavior, it becomes dangerous for people to live around each other. Rape, murder, incest, and sodomy, all result because each person succumbs to his/her own baseness, sinful fleshly desires, and throws out the Creator’s standards. What is the result? What happened after the book of Judges?

God sent prophets to guide people according to His standards, but they wanted a king, and many times rejected the prophets’ messages. God gave them a king despite their decision to ignore His laws. Few kings followed God’s standards for long, and prophets received short-lived attention as spokespersons for God. Man always felt s/he better how life should be lived. Sound familiar? It should. Today, the world’s motto is: “It’s all about me!” Yet, as it was true then, it’s true today. Each person was loved by Him, and He saw the pain and destruction people inflicted on themselves and others to get their own way!

In Noah’s day, the flood came next, yet in His grace and love for man, he offered to save His creations if they repented and trusted Him for salvation. Anyone was invited into the ark! Only eight people accepted. He saved the animals and would have saved all the people, but no, they had their own beliefs! We never learn from our mistakes! There is no human who knows best about how life should be lived. Only God, the Creator of the universe and life itself knows how to make life what He intended it to be.

Our founding Fathers recognized this and based the Rule of Law on this Republic in which we live. To ensure life, liberty, and the pursuit for the opportunity for happiness, these godly men based the Constitution and our government on God’s Laws. It’s time to stand up and say we want to follow what made America great before, and will make it great again. I’m not standing down. That’s cowardly. I’m not standing against. That makes it about me through conflict.  I’m not standing aside, for that’s apathy. I’m standing up for what God so graciously provided for us. It’s not about you, or me. It’s about God, the only One intelligent enough to know what is best for His creation to live this life with purpose and joy.

Are we really so different today from those who lived before us? How closely do you follow God’s standards today? They are for our protection, not restriction. Faith in Christ’s sacrifice for individual sin is offered freely today as it was in the days of Noah. Yet, as in the days of Noah, man thinks he knows more than the Creator. Man snubs his nose at God, rejects His Son as being the Savior, the Messiah Who was promised in Genesis 3, and in Noah’s day, and is offered even now. Are you snubbing your nose at Him? Do you insist that you know better than Him, so you decide your standards are better and wiser than His?

Man’s standards and mores come and go, but the Word of God stands forever. “Forever, God, Your Word is settled in Heaven. It endures forever.” The Lord God set His standards for everyone to be fair for all, and for each one’s good and safety. He did not set more standards for some and not others. Everyone has human rights, but no one group has more rights than another group! That is how fair our God is.

Hope is very much alive in America, and the world over. May you search your heart and ask for the Lord’s leading in your life, to show you how to be joyful yourself, and help others to be also. Will you stand up for God’s standards, or follow along mindlessly with the “ME” voices of today? Your feedback is welcome.