In light of the tragedy at Sandy Hook elementary school last week, I can't help but become pensive and stuck in wondering why these types of horrific shootings keep occurring in the United States these days. Not only are the shootings inhumane and incredibly saddening, but the culture of death which is providing the fertile soil on which these tragedies take place is also saddening. I see the general state of the American culture, which is rich in sin and poor in love, reflected in everything we are faced with on a daily basis in our media and social networks. We are experiencing a poverty of love in our country, a loss of innocence and purity in all aspects of the word.
I truly believe that it is not my duty to judge others, to judge is not my purpose in life. God does not call us to judge our neighbor, he calls us to love our enemies and pray for them. Thus, when I speak out against the sinfulness in America, I am not judging those who are committing the sins - I do not know their personal plight, I do not know what it is they are searching for in their lives. But, I do feel I have a right to speak out against the actions themselves, which CAN be judged as either moral or immoral. Yet, the voice of morality has been silenced in the face of "tolerance", and "acceptance". I do not feel that God is calling me to silence on these issues.
Thus, I denounce all forms of homosexual love as impure, I refuse to believe that man and woman were made for anyone else but each other and that is a simple natural law. I believe man and woman were created as balanced complements to one another and particularly complement each other in the raising of children. I denounce the killing of any human, for thou shalt not kill is a pretty easy commandment to understand. I denounce all forms of killing, from abortion to death penalty to random acts of violence to "protecting oneself". I do not understand why anyone, other than people who hunt, would need to carry guns. Personally, I would prefer to die than to take another person's life. I denounce theft, in all forms...theft of one's trust in the form of lying, of one's self-respect in the form of degradation and humiliation, of one's money or wife or one's possessions or one's identity... I denounce the secularization of our schools, of our workplaces, of our daily life - because without God, our nation cannot stand. Without God, we are a divided house. We are a lost people. And we try to convince ourselves otherwise, that we can do this on our own because we value independence and being self-sufficient and individualism....but we were created for each other, to live in communion with each other and with God. We cannot go it alone. We cannot survive without each other. We need to value community and solidarity and trust in our neighbor.
I believe that there is more good in the world than we are aware of, because 24 hour news coverage only emphasizes the bad, the violent, the negative, the horrific, the jaw-dropping, the heart wrenching. I believe that there are people out there who don't succumb to the lies of what makes a person successful in this life. I believe that there are people who love wholeheartedly, who have strong marriages, who love their children selflessly, that are doing their best for friends, family, community. But I believe these things are hard to believe in, when we are only told about the people who lie, murder, steal, betray, who ruin lives.
How did we get to the place we are in now? By not serving God, but by serving ourselves, our selfishness, our sinfulness, our indulgence. By betraying God and taking Him out of our lives. We have dishonored Him so greatly. We must work, as a people, as a community, for our very own humanity and redemption, to honor Him and beg Him mercy and forgiveness. To work for His kingdom, on earth as it is in heaven.
I truly believe that it is not my duty to judge others, to judge is not my purpose in life. God does not call us to judge our neighbor, he calls us to love our enemies and pray for them. Thus, when I speak out against the sinfulness in America, I am not judging those who are committing the sins - I do not know their personal plight, I do not know what it is they are searching for in their lives. But, I do feel I have a right to speak out against the actions themselves, which CAN be judged as either moral or immoral. Yet, the voice of morality has been silenced in the face of "tolerance", and "acceptance". I do not feel that God is calling me to silence on these issues.
Thus, I denounce all forms of homosexual love as impure, I refuse to believe that man and woman were made for anyone else but each other and that is a simple natural law. I believe man and woman were created as balanced complements to one another and particularly complement each other in the raising of children. I denounce the killing of any human, for thou shalt not kill is a pretty easy commandment to understand. I denounce all forms of killing, from abortion to death penalty to random acts of violence to "protecting oneself". I do not understand why anyone, other than people who hunt, would need to carry guns. Personally, I would prefer to die than to take another person's life. I denounce theft, in all forms...theft of one's trust in the form of lying, of one's self-respect in the form of degradation and humiliation, of one's money or wife or one's possessions or one's identity... I denounce the secularization of our schools, of our workplaces, of our daily life - because without God, our nation cannot stand. Without God, we are a divided house. We are a lost people. And we try to convince ourselves otherwise, that we can do this on our own because we value independence and being self-sufficient and individualism....but we were created for each other, to live in communion with each other and with God. We cannot go it alone. We cannot survive without each other. We need to value community and solidarity and trust in our neighbor.
I believe that there is more good in the world than we are aware of, because 24 hour news coverage only emphasizes the bad, the violent, the negative, the horrific, the jaw-dropping, the heart wrenching. I believe that there are people out there who don't succumb to the lies of what makes a person successful in this life. I believe that there are people who love wholeheartedly, who have strong marriages, who love their children selflessly, that are doing their best for friends, family, community. But I believe these things are hard to believe in, when we are only told about the people who lie, murder, steal, betray, who ruin lives.
How did we get to the place we are in now? By not serving God, but by serving ourselves, our selfishness, our sinfulness, our indulgence. By betraying God and taking Him out of our lives. We have dishonored Him so greatly. We must work, as a people, as a community, for our very own humanity and redemption, to honor Him and beg Him mercy and forgiveness. To work for His kingdom, on earth as it is in heaven.
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