Fog or Fear?

There is strong evidence that much of the emotional malaise suffered by individuals is the result of environments that condition us to isolate ourselves and to permeate our minds with negative images and information that is capable of creating mental and physical debilitation.

Constant news images of death, murder, and mayhem create minute to minute anxiety for many whose concern for safety begins to be radically elevated, more by perception than reality. Following the events of 9-11, thousands of Americans reported elevated anxiety, difficulty sleeping, a sense of dread and fear.

Many children and youth today are inundated with the images of violence propagated on media from computer games to cartoons to soap operas and television dramas. The constant exposure to distorted realities is a threat that continues to be relegated to the pages of sociological research journals, but which repeatedly appears linked directly to higher incidence of suicide, teen violence and Columbine styled tragedies and “copy-catting.”

Emotional rage has gained a footing as an expected outcome of heavy traffic patterns and less than polite drivers. Widespread weapons proliferation and excessive drug availability continues to promote climates of hostility and criminal assault. The majority of those in prison today are there because of drug related crime.

Whether we ever get a grip on reality in this generation may be a small part of the larger question of whether we can understand that we live our lives in the midst of multitudes in “an altered state” brought about by substance abuse and ever increasing levels of socially induced emotional trauma.

When will we consider the possibility that life is worth living in delight and pleasure with a focus on the things God points us toward as His blessings for life? Daily bread, daily labors, daily worship, daily play, daily sharing of the love of God --- can go far to bring us around to the joy God intended us to experience.

Elections

The American system of democracy has long received a benevolent, though seldom scrutinized affirmation by those of us who enjoy its capacity to allow for representative government and personal freedoms enabling free enterprise and extending the opportunity for liberty and justice for all. We value democracy for its strengths and we assume its inevitable capacity to stand as a model of government. Likewise, we presume upon the intelligence of people to embrace it and exercise it as a means of governance of the people, by the people, and for the people.

I love the democratic ideals that such a system of government embraces. What I question at present is the willingness of the people to understand the necessity of their participation in the process of governance and likewise the importance of their encouraging and supporting and participating in the processes of public dialogue, political debate, and personal integrity toward a system of government that requires such a participation in order for it to be effective.
Today, our politics are characterized by character assassination whenever political expedience seems to find it helpful. The 30 second name recognition blurb of media “blitzes” may put someone’s name into the picture, but seldom adequately represents their views or principles regarding political decision-making or public issues.

On the other hand, we have some candidates who run their entire campaigns as single issue politicians whose agenda is not to govern, but to “get their way” in regard to some single matter. When representative government falls into that limited sphere of concern, we too often lose the capacity to find balance or justice in our legislative bodies.

In a time when crisis looms daily on the world scene, it seems to me that there is a reasoned argument that we discover once again a “rebirth of freedom.” Where are those men and women who will stand upon principles of truth and justice to represent the critical interests of mankind on a much broader field than that of single issue policy? Where are those who will not be bought or sold on the marketplace of injustice and persuasion by the ill-gotten gains taken to become special interest peddlers? And when we will see the end of the justice of government being sold to the highest bidder?

A new birth of freedom will demand that the American public rejuvenate their demand for better, in the halls of government and in the quality and character of those who gain political office. In does not take genius to recognize that without a willingness of the greater public to regain an interest and willingness to participate in the political process that the health and future of our system of government stands in jeopardy.

It is not too much to ask that the people of our nation respect their privilege to vote, to ask questions, to seek justice, to instigate and participate in public dialogue for the improvement of their lives and for the benefit of the world in which we exercise such influence.
I love America, but as a Christian, with a citizenship also in heaven, I discern the time for more salt and light if we are to see the United States of America continue to be a respected model of freedom for the world. The world is watching what we will do to preserve our freedoms. These battles for liberty begin in the hearts and minds of those who respect their personal responsibility to ask, seek, and find those who will lead with integrity and truthfulness, with respect for their fellow man and with a view to responsible leadership that aims to build for a future generation and a world of greater justice and righteousness before God.

As the words from the prophet Micah remind us: “He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” [Micah 6:8 NRSV]

Foreign Policy

This week has brought a wave of national media attention to the grief of many who suffered the loss of loved ones in the attacks of September 11, 2001. Some marked the occasion with somber words and speeches of sorrow relived and ongoing. Some have marked the occasion with a call for renewed vigor for war efforts against those who practice a strategy of terror across the globe.

I am not an original thinker when I say this, but I believe we must recognize the necessity of confronting our own cultural insulation to the plight of the world in which we live. America is a great country of freedom, but the nations of the world in which we so often inject our influence do not always understand our culture or our aims or our vision for democracy across their lands. Some people do not begin to understand the reasons for our presence in their midst, but they do understand the pain of war, the suffering of continuing conflict and the sense of helplessness that confronts them on a daily basis as they try to exist in the midst of a war zone.

I do believe we have an obligation as citizens of a great land of opportunity and in contrast to the world…extravagance, to remember again what it means to be accountable as a nation of freedom for exercising that freedom with a respect for others who choose other forms of government different from our own. Nomadic peoples rarely organize across large territories with centralized government; it simply does not make sense to them in meeting their needs. Large historic family groups led by their own family leaders seldom extend their hand into other nation’s concerns when they are peacefully and happily ruling their own family bodies.

When America has injected its Big Brother presence into such situations, we rarely bring much beyond a temporary solution. Our long term strategies fail because we assume our cultural context will “sell” in this new place we have gone to bring “our way of life” to others. Americans do have a great blessing in the freedoms we share, but our problem is trying to transport it with force into the lives of others who are not “there” in their own perceptions or desires.

Settling the issues of generations of people groups who have been in conflict is equally baffling. We are not without “resolve” when we choose to exit a situation in which our continuing presence only increases hostilities and conflict. Winning is not the issue at this point. Nation-building is not possible from the position of the presence with the biggest guns -- it must derive from the hearts of the people.

I believe God gives us a responsibility to share with peoples of every nation, but in a way that reflects the love of God. Until we are ready to sacrifice as a nation in order to be stronger in faith and in our witness to the love of Christ, we will neglect to be more intentional in our own understanding of our world, and we will continue to be perceived as intruders and exploiters. Continuing to insist that a military withdrawal is “defeat” may mean suffering the consequences of pride that betrays any real sense of justice or freedom.

Death by Lack of Discipline

“For human ways are under the eyes of the Lord, and he examines all their paths.
The iniquities of the wicked ensnare them, and they are caught in the toils of their sin. They die for lack of discipline, and because of their great folly they are lost.”
Proverbs 5:21-23 (NRSV)


To die for lack of discipline is a tragic epitaph. We might conclude quickly that the instances of such are readily evident in our world, among our acquaintances, and even noted among those we have as family, neighbors, or close associates. The “lack of discipline” refers to the unwillingness of an individual to be taught and then to apply what they were taught to their personal living.

Mothers teach their children not to run into the street into oncoming traffic.
The failure to learn can be deadly. In similar ways, the instruction of God is offered to enable us to live…to have abundant opportunity for life’s joys and blessings. God’s intention toward us is ever to redeem, to save, to offer life for all who are willing to be “disciplined” with the love of the living God. Disciplined living engages a relationship of learning. It comprehends the benefits of relating to God in order to receive instruction and guidance and provision for our days. The nature of life as God extends his mercy and grace toward us is ever intended to show us the way to an everlasting hope through the conscious, willful decision to renounce sin and to embrace the Lord Jesus Christ and His way for living. To be disciplined in Christ is to learn how to love and how to live.