It never seems to fail that the headlines cover one of three topics: homosexuality/marriage, gun control, and abortion. Our society and government is grappling with how to deal with all three based on their own rationale and humanistic reasoning. Those who write the articles would have you think that two of these issues (homosexuality and abortion) should be from all restrictions and that the other issue (gun control) should have every restriction. What really strikes me, in the case of homosexuality and marriage, is the amount of energy, effort, time, and attention being dedicated to it. Less than four percent of people in the United States consider themselves homosexual/bisexual/transgender. That’s less than the amount of people who are unemployed, which I rarely hear or read about (unless it’s election time). I was actually shocked that so few Americans were homosexual, etc. Based on the amount of media and political attention dedicated to their perceived rights, I expected the percentage to be much higher. But it’s not. And it makes me wonder: why are we catering to so few? What if we did that to every single faction of society? They have the same Constitutional rights as every other American citizen, so why are they getting such special treatment (and they are getting specialized treatment)? I’m not totally sure what the answer to these questions are, but it definitely has something to do with lobbyists in the capitol and the secularization of our country.
The word that keeps reoccurring in these articles is rights. It seems like that is the big talk: rights of women, rights of homosexuals/bisexuals/transgender/gender-confused people, rights of animals, rights of nudists, and the right not to be told what to do. So, basically, the right to do whatever one thinks is right in his/her own eyes (Judges 21:25). But, of course, the word rights does not apply to gun owners or evangelical Christians or unborn babies or people who know what it means to male or female. The truth is, though, that none of us really have a right to anything. Jesus Christ has all rights and authority, and as God He makes the rules. He determines what marriage is and what life is and how we should treat one another. The only way to know what are “rights” are are to key off of Him because He earned our rights for us (Ephesians 2:8-10; Galatians 5). He is our Creator and He gives us the rights we think we deserve.
It’s amazing how much our culture has changed just in the last ten years, and it’s becoming more and more ridiculous. Consider two of the current hot topics in our society: gender identity and gun control. The liberal arguments for both are extreme and illogical (though they don’t see that). The idea that there is no distinction between male and female goes not only against God’s creation and design (Genesis 1:27), but against science, biology, sociology, and psychology (all of which are pretty naturalistic in their views). The studies of each of these fields have proven over and over again that men and women are different. This is not to mention experiential observations. Can’t you just tell by interacting with the opposite sex that they are different? Even if you refuse to admit it, it’s obvious that God created men and women differently, and we glorify Him uniquely by embracing the gender He gave us. He could have made humans beings asexual like amoebas, but He didn’t. He created humans male and female, and it’s a beautiful thing.
Then there is gun control. I can remember growing up playing violent video games (namely, Tomb Raider) and shooting water guns and BB guns. My sister and I even had a fake, plastic knife that’s blade retracted when we stabbed it into each other. We even used fake blood for dramatic effect. We thought it was awesome, but I am sure nowadays that that kind of play would have sent us straight to the psychiatrist because that's what's been happening recently. Consider these two articles:
"Not Always Fun and Games" by Jesse McKinley and Matt Richtel from The New York Times [“What am I going to do when he asks for one [a Nerf rifle]?” a mother asked. Um, say no. And that seems to be the problem. We don’t know how to say no to anything.]
"The Pop-Tart Terrorist" by George F. Will from The Washington Post [Pop-tarts – really? Does this mean I should stop giving my kids Pop-tarts in Sunday School? I don’t want to encourage terrorism…]
All this is just another reminder that this world is not my home. I belong to another kingdom whose King executes justice perfectly and always rules in complete sovereignty, wisdom, and benevolence (Isaiah 9:6-7). This King, my King, IS Truth, Peace, Freedom, Joy, Right and Righteous. He is good and does good always (Psalm 119:68). This is not true of our government or any other government in our world, and any good we see in any political entity is only a shadow of the True Kingdom which is to come. I close with these final words from George F. Will’s article, cited above:
Government is failing spectacularly at its core functions, such as budgeting and educating. Yet it continues to multiply its peripheral and esoteric responsibilities, tasks that require it to do things for which it has no aptitude, such as thinking and making common-sense judgments. Government nowadays is not just embarrassing, it is — let us not mince words — inappropriate.
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