Wednesday, June 7, 2023

Perceived Danger

Modern-day electronics and warning systems can be a great asset in avoiding problems with your car.  But when the “Check Engine” light turns on and the warning signal sounds, what is your reaction?  Sometimes there really is an emergency, such as a broken fan belt— when all systems shut down to save the engine from destroying itself. However, the same “Check Engine” light might simply mean the gas cap is loose or may need to be replaced— hardly equal emergencies.

This is when a person’s perception of the problem can vary greatly.  A mechanic may not get rattled, but a young teen driver may panic.  This imbalance of what constitutes an emergency may be hard to reckon when only one light/signal coming on can indicate them all.

These same scenarios are found in the political world.  One person proclaims “My body, my choice” without any panic happening.  Another proclaims “Pro-Life,” and all the alarms go off.  Point in fact, recently at the National Archives and Records Administration many visitors were told to remove or hide all imprinted messages about Pro Life.  At the same time other visitors displaying My Body, My Choice messages were allowed to continue displaying their messages.  Yet when analyzed, the Pro Life message seeks to save a life while the My Body, My Choice message seeks to end a life.  Tremendously different results from one to the other.  The National Archives and Records Administration did eventually correct this situation, but the very fact that it could have happened in the same building as the original Bill of Rights clearly illustrates the problem.

The problem has to do with one’s perception.  Without God’s perspective, and only relying on the wisdom of man, the security personnel considered it too “dangerous” to choose life and okay to allow a pro-abortion message.  Another example is the many public schools banning the Bible from their libraries while condoning obscene publications that include extremely graphic messages and storylines for seven-year-olds.

History shows us what happens when the foundational beliefs and commitments to God are not passed on to the next generation.  We see that vividly displayed in the lives of David (a man after God’s own heart, 1 Samuel 13:14), then Solomon (whose wives turned him after other gods, 1 Kings 11:4), and then Rehoboam (who rejected wise counsel in 1 Kings 12).  This describes our culture today.  One generation is committed to God, the next generation becomes lukewarm and puts themselves and their desires first, and then a third generation walks away completely.

Remember the history following Joshua in Judges 2, “…The people served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua…who had seen all the great things the Lord had done for Israel…another generation grew up, who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel.  Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord…they forsook the Lord, the God of their fathers…”

Pray for revival in yourself, in we the people of God, and in our nation.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.
Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army
Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

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