You Won't See This One Coming

Have you ever seen the punch line coming when someone was telling a joke? It isn't necessarily that the joke teller did a poor job, but rather that the outcome was obvious to you. Or perhaps someone was telling you a story, but the moral was apparent to you long before the person reached it? In courtesy you managed to squeeze out a chuckle or nod your head in approval, but there really was no surprise or humor for you.

Well here is a true story with an ending that should catch you completely by surprise. Two Congressmen were disciplined for immoral behavior by the House of Representatives. One was a conservative who took a public stand against abortion and pornography. The other was a liberal homosexual who took exactly the opposite stand in public. The former confessed his wrongdoing and voted with the House for his own censure. The latter admitted to his immorality, but defiantly claimed that it was not wrong and refused to agree to any type of discipline.

Despite the conservative's admission of guilt and repentant spirit, the liberal news media relentlessly criticized the man and labeled him a hypocrite rather than focusing on his turnaround. They were far more lenient with the liberal despite his refusal to accept responsibility for his immorality. It seems the media was more comfortable with progressive secularism than they were with moral responsibility and sorrow for sin.

Things like this happen every day in our country. The news is no longer non-partisan as it has historically been. Today the majority of news services are liberal and bias has become the norm. We have come to expect a secular or humanistic slant from the mainstream media. What most of us wouldn't give to turn the clock back a couple of decades to when reporting was fair and balanced.

Are you ready for the shocker to this story? Unfortunately, these events took place in 1984! That's right, over 20 years ago. While it may be true that back then far left liberalism was in its infancy and not as potent as it is today, liberalism has always been alive and well and the bedfellow of progressive humanism.

The point is that few efforts by Christian organizations or movements have really made much dent in the liberal machine. In fact, it has continued to grow and impact society in an unholy way despite all challenges from the Christian right over the last several decades. And that is not even the bad news. The bad news is that fighting this futile cause has taken a lot of Christians off of the front line where the real battle rages, namely, the winning of souls.

Christians are entirely too preoccupied with politics and what is going on in the world around us; this write being no exception. I am not saying that we should not be concerned or involved, only that our involvement should not divert us from the charge that our Lord gave us. This world is not our home. The kingdoms of this world are not our kingdoms.

We should be patriotic. We should do our part as citizens. We should vote, join the military, sign righteous petitions and even join in protest if the cause is worthy of our time. We should give back to our communities and be involved in local undertakings that bring benefit to society. These are all good things that are deemed to be appropriate and good in scripture; but as in all things, there is a line that should not be crossed.

Worrying about the slant of the news may be something we cannot avoid as we live in the society it impacts, but the Bible still says "be anxious for nothing". We cannot become preoccupied with fighting the agenda of liberals, because we ought to be preoccupied with the agenda of Christ. Preoccupation by definition means to be focused on something to the exclusion of all other things. Christians cannot exclude the great commission from their lives.

Society has devolved throughout history and it is going to continue to degenerate. Immorality has reached epidemic proportions and it will only get worse. Still, morality can never be legislated. Legislation only forces immorality back into the darkness. It takes regeneration of the corrupt individual to effect moral change.

Christians will see more hearts changed by sharing the gospel than they will by seeking legislative change. There is nothing wrong with good, moral laws, but those laws will never be earnestly followed unless those under the law have been regenerated and cleansed by the blood of Christ. Time spent struggling against liberalism is time spent in futility. Proclaiming the powerful word of the living God is the tide-turner for any society.

Here is a different slant on the conservative vs. liberal issue. Too often we Christians think that politics and legislation is the way to reform. While much can be accomplished with good and moral laws on the books, it takes more to effect social change.

The author is a retired Coast Guard Officer with over 32 years of service. He is also a Baptist Preacher and Bible Teacher. He helps those grieving the loss of a pet to understand the Biblical evidence that proves they live on. His most popular book, "Cold Noses at the Pearly Gates" delivers hope and comfort to the reader in a very gentle, yet convincing way. Visit at http://www.coldnosesbook.com for more information and tips.

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