Online Articles
My Venting--
Please excuse me, but I’m tired–
Tired of hearing about robberies, rapes, and murders;
Tired of hearing about drug abuse, meth labs, and pot smoking;
Tired of hearing about drive-by shootings, gang violence, lesbian marches, and gay rights rallies;
Tired of hearing about fraud, embezzlement, bad CEO’s, tax evasion, and other forms of professional cheating;
Tired of hearing about movie stars who think they know it all, but can’t stay married long enough to know how to manage the kids they brought into the world; big name entertainers who are so pre-occupied with themselves that they don’t see how downright foolish they are; who will do about anything to get more attention. Movie starlets who dress like prostitutes and flaunt their bodies with little concern for what it does to themselves or others. Who do dances that are little more than a demonstration of the sex act. Big name personalities who know so much, but don’t know if they’re the father of some new baby or not.
Tired of celebrities who are interviewed about politics when they can’t even manage their own households, much less the government; who disobey laws with impunity and slander the very country that made them a star in the first place.
Tired of football, basketball, baseball, and hockey players–all sorts of professional athletes–who have some sort of mistaken notion that they’re somehow above the law, and who have decided that it’s OK to cheat just so long as you win; who dictate clothing styles, speech patterns, and colloquialisms, and recommend courses of conduct when they themselves can barely make an understandable sentence.
Tired of hearing nothing but bad news, bad reports about people and things; tired of hearing news reports that are not news reports at all, but political commentary. I guess you could say I’m just tired of the news.
Why is it I don’t hear about--
Men with character, regardless of whether they are wealthy or not? Men who put honesty and truth before popularity and wealth. Men who don’t want something for nothing, but want a chance to serve their fellow man with dignity. Christian men–men of faith and honor?
Women with dignity, who guard their most priceless possession, the home, and who, if they do work outside the home, don’t make it a priority? Who are mothers in the Bible sense of the word, not by the world’s definition? Who dress with propriety and modesty and have the courage to be different when the situation calls for it–even if it means they will be criticized.
Young people who are respectful of authority, all kinds–parental, school, and governmental–not because they might be punished if they don’t obey, but because it’s right to do right? Young people who have their own faith and are not afraid, even if it means they are denied the popularity that might otherwise have been possible?
Young parents who are more interested in teaching their children spiritual values, than how to get rich and famous? Who will turn off the television and study the Bible. Who will make time for spiritual conversations, even if they have to demand it sometimes?
People who want to do right, regardless of the consequences, who want to practice love and honor, who want to promote righteousness and piety, who are concerned about where this country is going more than about the price of oil; people who want to see Christ magnified and God glorified; who want to make sure everybody has a chance to hear the gospel. People who want to go to heaven more than anything on the earth?
And why is it I don’t hear anything about sin and what it can do to you? Why doesn’t anybody ever talk about hell and how bad it is? And why don’t people ever mention God in a reverential way instead of some flippant or blasphemous manner?
And why don’t people want to talk about the one thing that can get them out of this world alive–the gospel of Jesus Christ? Why doesn’t anybody want to talk about that? Even if we get a cure for cancer or heart trouble, we’re going to die. Why doesn’t anybody want to talk about the real cure for death, the gospel of Jesus Christ?
Well, thanks for letting me say all that. And I didn’t say just to vent–but to make us all realize where we are in life and how we ought to live our lives–no matter how much of it we still have left. I want to make us aware of how fortunate we are to be a part of a congregation where the Bible is the rule of faith and practice, where the leadership cares what happens to the members, where they’re not afraid to correct if need be, a place where there is love and kindness, gentleness and goodness–where folks are trying their best to go to heaven–and send the light to others as well.
