"The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the LORD's favor has come."
( Luke 4:18-19 NLT)
Many of us enjoy hearing songs like "Joy to the World" during this holiday season. However, true joy will fall upon you, me, America, and the world when more of us take up the mantle of joining God in His plan to spread the good news and make it clearly manifest. He is concerned about the welfare of the poor. Anyone who is held captive by anyone or any situation can expect to find release if she looks to Him. But the best news is that the scales covering our eyes will fall away.
We will no longer be blind to the disturbing state of our families, our nation, and/or our world. This is how the oppressed will be set free. We open our hearts to working together and stay committed to improving every neighbor's quality of living. The promise is that our eyes will see the time of the Lord's favor. A time when Americans experience a multitude of moments filled with peace and joy because we are willing to share our blessings with the world.
“Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them.”
― Dalai Lama XIV
For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.
~Nelson Mandela
My path is to be an active part of creating a nation, then a world, where every child is lavished with a love that embraces diversity and rejoices in what makes each and every one of them wonderfully unique. No American is free until every American is free just to be.
The United States of America is not the leader of the free world until this nation can show others how to walk in three simple truths. Every person has inherent value. Any life is worth protecting. All we need is love.
We Americans can start "small" by influencing our families, our co-workers, and our communities until multiplying acts of love change the world.
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
~Margaret Mead
Then God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground." (Genesis 1:28 NLT)
Chaos is the new normal in America and around the world. Mass media has a tendency to focus on the random acts of violence, the class wars, the race wars, terrorism and the sadness arising out of humanity's general state of discontent. The need to have some sense of control is understandable but many of us have fallen into the trap of becoming too power hungry. There is a growing desire to control and subdue certain groups of people seen as problematic and dangerous to our well-being.
All the bad news drowns out the Good News. God has blessed us with the power to overcome any adverse situation and rule over everything on the earth. Americans are empowered to have dominion over poverty, hunger, hate, injustice, war, and even catastrophic natural disasters, to name a few things. But we were never meant to lord over fellow human beings.
Let me clarify my point by holding up a mirror to myself. I firmly believe in the command to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. So, I am a strong advocate of always thinking about how one's action or inaction will affect the person, be it a loved one or stranger, up the street or across the nation. This self-righteous state of mind allows me to judge others as being problematic i.e. heartless.
My hunger for power births my vision of forcing my views upon every American by having only people with similar leanings in government positions. Wrong! The answer lies in creating a desire within each of us to dominate his or her own natural human tendency to be self-centered and/or selfish. This type of self-domination/self-control will fill this nation and earth with the needed acts of kindness. There is no place for trying to rule anyone with an iron rod.
It is a grand dream to think that every human, let alone every American, could change her focus and redefine what is meant by world domination. Yet, I must hope for a time when humans use their God-given dominion to attack bastions of bigotry so that no one is enticed into joining any type of terrorist group. We could be fruitful and multiply acts of love by freely combining our resources to defeat the social and environmental forces that lead to famine, hunger, and chronic poverty instead of benefiting financially from these misfortunes.
May we all focus on condemning the natural human drive to dominate others; just imagine our children's children being given a world with less wars.
Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. (Matthew 6: 19-20 NLT)
No matter what one believes about what happens after death everyone acknowledges that there is not one possession any person can take with her or him. All power or influence acquired while wheeling and dealing dies along with our bodies. There will be no more looking for the next pleasurable thing to do. Life is an empty thing if this is all we store up during our time on the earth. You do not leave behind a good inheritance if only your family, friends, and others like you benefit from the wealth (money, influence, safe spaces) you have amassed.
Love is the greatest treasure to be found in heaven and on earth. It is an unstoppable force, flowing freely out of the heart and washing over ANYONE in its beautiful wake. It cannot be destroyed by hate or cruelty. Love feeds upon itself and grows stronger in the face of opposition. It is timeless and its fruits do not die, even if the selfless giver has turned to dust a long time ago. This is the type of power every patriotic American should want to store up and leave for the generations to come.
Every American must decide what is to be treasured. Life, liberty, and justice for all versus survival of the fittest, the wealthiest, the most influential, the majority... You get my point.
When the Nazis came for the communists,
I did not speak out;
As I was not a communist.
When they locked up the social democrats,
I did not speak out;
I was not a social democrat.
When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
As I was not a trade unionist.
When they came for the Jews,
I did not speak out;
As I was not a Jew.
When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.
Martin Niemöller
May the "silent majority" heed this cautionary tale.
God is full of mercy and grace. He encourages every human to spread love, peace, and kindness to every neighbor so that we all may receive beautiful and free gifts. The resulting bounty will fill a life, a nation, and a world with prosperity and joy.
But God also demands justice. If the "silent majority" plans to regain their voice by standing on the backs of any fellow Americans, vengeance shall be His. May the people who are feeling ill at ease because they do not have the resources to protect themselves from attack remember this is not an empty promise.
He replied, "What is impossible for people is possible with God." (Luke 18:27 NLT)
Grandchildren are the crowning glory of the aged; parents are the pride of their children. (Proverbs 17:6)
The preamble of the Constitution of the United States of America confidently declares:
"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish
Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the
general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."
The founders of this nation considered liberty to be a blessing that needed to be secured for themselves and their posterity. All Americans can take great pride in the fact that our founding "fathers" set this nation along the right path.
But today we can become their crowning glory by making sure the vision is completely inclusive so that this “blessing” applies equally to every American and our country's guests. We can make this land a place where justice truly is blind. Domestic tranquility will come if the big, the small, the powerful, and the weak all have a voice in the way our government is run.
Having a shared and common goal of promoting the general welfare of every citizen, and this union by extension, is the best defense against any enemy who desires to steal our freedoms. It is time to start brainstorming to come up with practical ways of ensuring such a lofty dream comes true. Fellow Americans, we want our children to be proud of us and the U.S.
This is my fervent and effectual prayer:
But in that coming day no weapon turned against you will succeed... (Isaiah 54:17)
God, may this cover every single person residing in America so that no enemy, from within or without, may have effect. You are a shield and a battle axe. Our cries to heal this land will not go unanswered. America is the land of the free because you have the final say. Lord, our hearts are filled with hope and love as we await the demonstration of your awesome power.
Amen
