Religion in Government...

Good Evening Everyone,

The topic of religion and government is always bound to start a heated discussion. However, the fear of inciting an arguement should not prevent us from examining this topic.

Now, allow me to make my position very clear. Religion should have no major role in the execution of our governmental duties. With that said, religion should and must have a major role in our local communities activities. What does this mean?

Well, there was a time when the church had tremendous influence on public policy development. Our elected officials, gave great credence to the beliefs and mores of the Christian communities. Often times, officials were elected to office based not necessarily on political beliefs but on their positions in accordance to their Christian faith.

Over time however, our society has drifted from the firm moral teachings of the church and have drifted into the realm of 'anything goes'. Our society has forsaken the moral fiber that lends itself to community growth through a common belief system. Instead our social structure has degraded to a belief system that a person is free to do whatever he/she wishes regardless of the consequences that it may have on the society as a whole. As a result, we have allowed an element of destructive behavior to run freely among our communities. What was once considered aborrhent behavior is now embraced as admirable. Sinful and immoral behavior is now the standard. Our communities are falling apart because we have failed to stand firm on our Christian beliefs and we have allowed those who say that the Christian faith is irrelevant to prevail.

How can this be? 7 out of 10 people in America claim to be Christians, yet we are moving away from those very principle that we profess. So, why is this happening?

Well, I believe that we have become afraid to profess our faith. To stand up for what we believe. We accept the sad truth that we are allowed to express our faith in church on Sunday, yet we need to keep our opinions to ourselves during the rest of the week. Frankly, we fail to really live the Christian faith in our public lives.

I am reminded of the deal that the Lord made with Abraham concerning Sodom. He said find me one righteous man in Sodom and I will spare the city. As you know, no one righteous could be found. Now, I am not saying that their is no one righteous in America but what is similar is that the people of Sodom allowed sin to permeate every aspect of their society to the point where even children could not be considered righteous. I believe we are following along the same path as those citizens of Sodom.

So, what to do? Well, the first step to rectifying any problem is to realize that a problem exist in the first place. Christians have to realize that our communities are drifting further and further from the Lord's will. I believe that our churches need outward thinking. Over the last 20 years or so, our churches have been focused inwardly. We have spent a great deal of time and energy on our church buildings and on our own flock that we have failed to look out at the needs of our community. Sure we have benevolence and we donate to charities but we have lost our influence in the local management of our community's governmental bodies.

I think that we need to rethink our approach to the Christian role in government. Christians need to get out and attend city council meetings. We need to run for political office. We need to vote and support candidates that uphold Christian values. We need to re-establish our influence at a local level and then, I believe that the higher levels of government will follow suit.

Now, I know that I said earlier that religion should have no real role in government and I still support that ideology. But what a Christian, a true, uncomprimising, Christian brings to the table are strong moral values and ethics. Our religious faith aside, the idea that families are important and that the values outlined by the ten commandments are essential to the functioning of a healthy society does not need to be religious based but morally based. A society with strong moral values does not have to be guided by Christian faith but by an idealogy that states that ethical and moral behavior is going to be the standard. Fortunately, these values are exactly the principles of Christ. We do not need to insert Christianity into government, but we do need to interject sound ethical mores into our communities.

I truly believe that a society that has no standards of moral behavior is doomed to collapse in on itself. It is simply a matter of time before it self-destructs. What can save us?

I believe we need to take an active role in ensuring that our influence in our community is felt. We need to uphold the standards of strong families; that marriage is between one man and one woman; that pornography and other vile practices are destructive and should be abolished; that honesty and fair business practices are implemented; that people pull their weight and earn their keep; that crime will not go unpunished; that people respect eachothers property; and that kindness and caring for one's neighbor is encouraged. These are solid principles that do nothing but strengthen a community. To allow moral standards to erode, we risk losing any hope of keeping our society intact.

I pray that the Lord doesn't turn us over to our sinful nature. I pray that we can all step up and be proud of our relationship with Christ. I pray that the Lord doesn't give up on us.

Our hope is in Jesus and the stronger our relationship is with Him the stronger our communities will be. Get out and become involved in your community. It is through you that Christ works. If you don't go out into the fields that are ripe for harvest, then who will?

God Bless You All,

Jeff