1 - 2 - 3 - Heads Up!

Not too many posts the last few days.

The reason is that sometimes i'm just overwhelmed with the grand number of things --happening, or being reported by the media, or being advertised on television -- that i should be objecting to. And when i get overwhelmed, as described, it is so much easier to bury my head in the sand. But then i have to remember that when good people bury their heads in the sand in order to comfort themselves, they tend to allow really horrific things to happen. For example, the holocaust, slavery, and the legalization of abortion and removal of prayer from American schools.

The "sand" can be many things. It can be intentional ignorance, "i don't watch the news; it's always bad news." The sand can be self-comforting platitudes to help us believe that "everything's going to be o.k." And in a country where we have faced so little true adversity, it's easy to believe that "what's happening over there doesn't affect me." People like me have to make a decision to get out of the sand and face adversity with hope and courage and action.

I am a hopeless optimist, meaning i seem to be able to find a good side in everything, and i immediately, upon hearing bad news, want to see the good side to everything. I do that because, well because it's my nature, but also because hopelessness is useless and destructive.

And so is intentional ignorance and careless complacency.

I always agree that in every situation Christians should trust God. And trusting God includes asking Him to lead us in how to be prepared for the difficult times that are coming. And if you are a Christian, it includes asking God to use you. It does not mean that if we trust God that all the bad circumstances are going to magically disappear, and we'll be back at the mall on Tuesday.

On March 7, David Wilkerson, a widely respected Christian minister, shared with the readers of his blog, what he called an URGENT MESSAGE from God, warning Christians that hard times are coming and giving some instruction on how to prepare for them. This message spread pretty quickly. In fact, i actually heard a little bit about it on Glenn Beck's t.v. program, which really surprised me. But for many Christians, it incited panic.

David Wilkerson's blog posts following the Urgent Message clearly demonstrated that the message was about getting THROUGH tough times, and not a message to say, "here's how it's all going to go down, and there's nothing you can do about it." It was a message of warning but also of comfort and peace.

What i'm trying to say is, first, realize that our willful ignorance and platitudes have allowed the moral decline of our nation and our government. And second, please take action. I don't mean you need to incite a riot against evil politicians. I mean, sit up, take a look around, and realize that you can influence people. Give people hope. If you are a Christian, pray and ask God to show you where you can be useful to change the world you live in for the better; look around and see that there are opportunities all around you. And if you are not a Christian, well, reconsider.

"All that is necessary for the furtherance of evil is that good men do nothing."
-- Edmund Burke, an 18th Century statesman