Jump Start # 2219

Acts 5:29 “But Peter and the apostles answered and said, “We must obey God rather than men.”

It’s election day in our land. I thought it would be appropriate to remind us of some simple truths.

First, we are Christians above being Americans. This means, if it’s legal, it doesn’t mean it’s good, right nor pleasing to God. With the obsession with politics and whether one leans right or left, we must never forget that there is an up and a down. Before there was this country, there was God. If this country ever folds, there will still be God. The turning of this country will never come about from the courthouse, state house, or white house. You can’t force people to be moral, decent and godly. It must come from within our hearts as we are taught the Gospel message.

Second, as we read our Bibles, we must remember the culture that the word of God was presented in. It’s easy to read passages with American eyes, but in so doing, we may often miss the true meaning of a passage. Likewise, when we evangelize foreign lands, our mission is to make them Christians, not Americans first, and then Christians. Every land and every culture has it’s own unique ways and cultures change, but the meaning of God’s word never does. God’s word transcends every culture and every generation.

Third, our privilege of voting is something unknown to the first century world and in many places today. Those early Christians didn’t get a choice about who their ruler was going to be. This is a freedom, right and honor that we have. We need to pray, consider what the candidates stand for and vote for people that support the values that we believe in. That’s not always clear nor easy to do. Sometimes it’s a matter of neither one is very good, but which one would be worse.

Fourth, there is a thin line that separates church and state. Our government allows us to worship as we believe. State run religions is what fed the Roman persecutions and sparked the reformation movement. We appreciate not having to follow what outsiders tell us to do. But the other side of the coin is also a thin line. We must keep politics out of the pulpit. It’s one thing to remind folks of values and principles, as this Jump Start is doing, but to tell you who to vote for is dangerously close if not crossing that thin line that separates church and state. If we have no problem telling the church who to vote for, then we realize that the state can tell us as a church what to preach and what to practice.

Fifth, the current nature of politics is mean and nasty. Wicked things are said. People are accused of all kinds of things from racism, to hatred simply because they vote one way or the other. My mail box has been stuffed with political flyers and the commercials on TV are one candidate after another trashing each other. All of this leaves a sour tastes in our mouths. It drives wedges between those who disagree. There has been violent outbursts throughout the country. Tomorrow the election will be over. Some will rejoice and others will be in a bad mood. Can we make up as a country and get along, or are we destined to further hate each other? As Christians, we must not get caught up in name calling, false accusations, and ugliness. Ballgames, elections and other occasions do not give us a pass upon how we are to treat others. The golden rule remains even during election season. Kindness, gentleness, tender-hearted, doing good to all people, are the core components of who we are. So, be careful what you post on Facebook and Twitter. Be careful what you “like.” Some things are best left unsaid. Do not forget who you are and your light must shine, even during elections.

Sixth, some seem to get more excited about politics than they do their faith. That seems backwards. Politics come and go. The history of politics, both American and worldwide, has found corruption sprinkled all through it. If my candidate wins, great. Most of us will go on with our lives and little thought is given to this until the next election cycle. But our faith and the spread of the Gospel is something that ought to be at the forefront of our conversations. More importantly than how the country is doing, how are the congregations doing? Is the Word of God spreading throughout the land? That’s where our prayers ought to be focused and that is where our real interests should be. We must remember, God does not have a pickup in Heaven and there is no American Flag on that pickup. There may be an American Flag on the moon, but not in Heaven. God is not an American. God is the Almighty. If there is any flag in Heaven, it would be the banner of Christ. Revelation 7 reminds us of that great crowd around the throne. There were people from every nation and every language, not just Americans.

Seventh, as hard as it is to believe this, the strongest congregations may not be in this country. In fact, the time may come, when preachers from other countries come here to evangelize. American pride can stand in the way of true faith and honest assessment of what needs to be done in this land. We have many congregations in this land, but we also have many that do not have elders and many that seem to be more interested in a beautiful building than in building hearts for Christ. Things are a mess in this country spiritually. More and more citizens are secular and have zero interest in the Gospel. We are seeing a whole generation grow up without any religious background. People simply do not know God and the spirit of tolerance and happiness is what drives them to continue to make poor decisions about their souls.

Eighth, when we read the N.T. obligations to the government, being subject to the government, praying for your governor, rendering to Caesar the things that belong to Caesar, we must remember that this was the system that crucified Christ, and tried to crush the early church. Wicked as that government was, the Christians still had moral obligations to obey and pray. The only exception was when faith and the government clashed. Faith always comes first. This is why in our verse, Peter declares, we must obey God rather than men. This wasn’t an outright call for rebellion. This wasn’t a mutiny. This was not a formation of a new government. This same Peter would later tell us to be subject to the government. We obey. We obey not just the laws that we like, but all laws, unless they conflict with Scriptures. Paying taxes doesn’t do that. Speed limits do not do that. Remembering to pray for our leaders does not do that. If the government states that we cannot read the Bible as it is written because it might offend some, then we part with obedience and follow Scriptures. And, yes, the Bible will offend. It offends sinners. It offends atheists. It offends evolutionists. It offends the free spirits that do not want any one to tell them what to do. It offends homosexuals, fornicators, liars, and cheats. It will offend those who want a divorce for any reason. It will offend those who want to run the church like a democracy. It will offend those who want to change the Bible. It will offend you and me eventually, until we repent of our ways and follow Christ. To say something is wrong because it offends, is not true, Biblical nor healthy. When our mamas made us go to bed at a certain hour and refused to let us eat candy bars for breakfast, that offended us. Our moms were right. Sometimes a person just needs to be offended to do what is right.

Election day. What a blessing. What an honor. We hope these thoughts help.

Roger

Jump Start # 1940

Acts 5:29 “But Peter and the apostles answered, ‘We must obey God rather than men.”

Well, yesterday’s NFL football games became widely known as protest day. More than 200 players refused to stand for the national anthem. A couple of teams remained in the locker room during the anthem. This was a unified response to what the President tweeted about disrespecting the country and the flag.

All of this brings us to a much larger subject and that is the Christian and protesting. Protesting is nothing new. Five hundred years ago, Martin Luther nailed his 95 thesis to the door of the Wittenberg church, protesting many of the practices in the Catholic church. His actions fueled a movement that to this day is called the Protestant church—a form of the word “protest.” This country was formed out of protests. The Boston Tea Party and later the revolutionary war, a revolt against Mother England. The 1960’s were filled with marches against the war in Vietnam and for civil rights. Many hit songs, such as “Where have all the flowers gone,” were nothing more than songs against the war. I was part of a protest in my high school my freshman year. Word spread that the entire student body was going to have a sit-in. When we were to be passing from one class to another, word spread that we were all going to sit down in the hallway. Without any students in the classrooms, the administration had to give in to our demands. It had something to do with the food in the cafeteria. As a naïve freshman, I went along. We all sat down. The principal got on the loud speaker and demanded that we get to class. We didn’t budge. The next thing I knew, dozens of police showed up and were arresting students. Everyone got up and ran in fear. We jumped into the nearest classroom to avoid getting in trouble. I went into a Home Eco class, because that was the nearest classroom.

In the past different unions have gone on strike. That is a form of protest. You’d see guys walking around with picket signs and encouraging you to honk your car horn in support of their protest. Years ago, some in Europe went on hunger strikes in prison. They went days without eating. Some died. They were protesting oppression in their country.

Our verse today, Peter’s response to the Jewish authorities who told Peter not to preach Jesus anymore in the city, is nothing more than a protest. Peter wouldn’t go along with their rules. We must obey God rather than man. So they preached. They went to prison for a while, but they “protested” or resisted the law that tried to suppress God.

Out of protest often comes changes. Sometimes it awakens people’s minds to what is wrong and what needs to be changed. Protests can produce positive changes. Protesters often face consequences of being arrested, losing their jobs or even being put to death. History shows this.

Now, here’s my take on kneeing during the national anthem. It’s something that is growing. Even high school teams and younger are caught up in this. It’s become the latest fad. The latest craze of kneeling during the anthem is foggy and confusing. Yesterday, was nothing more than support for one another and resistance to the President. But before yesterday, when an athlete refused to stand for the anthem, what was he protesting?

• Did he not like the anthem? Did he wish we had another song?
• Does he not like our flag? Different colors? Different shape?
• Does he not like America?

What’s the point? What’s the protest about? What changes need to be made? Kneeling during the anthem only draws attention to the person. Look at me. I’m different. I’m not doing what I am supposed to do. The cause, if there is even one, is lost. The kneeling athlete looks selfish. No one understands what this is about. You don’t like sports? You don’t like this country? You don’t like your team? You don’t like music in sports? We are at a loss as to what’s going on. You kneel, but no one knows why? You protest, but all you do is gather attention to yourself. That is not the nature of protests. The cause is always greater than the person. When Martin Luther King, Jr. marched the streets in the Civil Rights parade, he was protesting segregation. Everyone knew that. When Martin Luther, the reformer, nailed his paper to the door, everyone knew what his protest was about.

We are living in the age of selfies. Everyone is in love with themselves. They take pictures of themselves. This is hard for me to understand. When I go places, I want to take pictures of mountains and oceans. I don’t want myself in the pictures. I don’t like pictures of myself, unless there’s a bunch of people around me. That’s my generation. The new generation likes taking pictures of themselves. It’s not wrong, but it feeds into this fad of “protesting nothing but look at me,” times we live in.

Here’s another thing, kneeing is often a sign of respect. People kneeled before the king. Prayers are offered upon the knee. Heads bowed and on the knee, the heart is showing honor to God. I have kneeled in prayer many times. It’s not protest, but respect to my God. I wonder if those who kneel to the anthem realize that in many ways they are doing the opposite of what they intended.

But at the end of the day, here’s where we are at. The professional athlete, movie star, or musician has power, influence and connections to make positive changes in this country. Many are doing that. Many are simply drawing attention to themselves. Their adoring fans follow and do everything that they do. More and more kids will be kneeling during the anthem. They won’t know why or what kneeling is supposed to do, other than the Pros are doing it. Politics and movies and music have always clashed. I suppose it’s now time for politics and sports to clash.

Kneeling during the anthem will be the center of many office discussions this week. Some will be for it and some will be against it. That’s always the case with protests. The Christian must see the bigger picture and remember that he does kneel. It’s to the God above that he kneels. We must let our lights shine, and our voice be true to the Scriptures. All of this will keeling hype in sports will pass in time. There will be something else. Will any good come from it? Will any positive changes be made? Or, is it simply a moment to put the spotlight on self?

I stand with God. I kneel to God. Changes need to be made in this country and in the church. Do it rightly. Do it without trying to make a name for yourself. Do it to the honor of God. Do it, knowing that others look up to you.

Roger