How to Restore America by James Robison and Jay W. Richards over at Charisma
What every believer needs to know about America’s current war over faith, family and freedom
Almost everyone we talk to is deeply concerned about our country. Spiraling government debt, an attack on the fertile fields of free enterprise and persistent unemployment give us plenty to worry about. But our problems are not limited to economics. It now seems that everything we hold dear is under attack: faith, family and freedom.
The recent Department of Health and Human Services rule is a clear attempt to undermine faith and freedom. If allowed to stand, it will force religious organizations to provide health insurance that covers sterilization, contraception and drugs that induce abortion. The White House even had the gall to tell American Catholic bishops to get with the program and follow those “enlightened” voices allied with the president. If the federal government can dictate doctrine to churches and force citizens to violate their deepest convictions, what can’t the government do?
Alongside the attack on faith and freedom is the attack on the family. In February, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker’s controversial decision to strike down Proposition 8 in California. The referendum, approved by a majority of California voters, had defined marriage as being between one man and one woman. The case is undoubtedly headed to the U.S. Supreme Court, where the future of marriage in our country could be decided by nine justices.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said believers are both salt and light. Salt helps preserve what is precious while enhancing its flavor. Likewise, the Christian witness should have a positive effect on every aspect of life and culture. Jesus said that if salt loses its effect, it is good for nothing but to be trampled underfoot. Sure enough, everything sacred—faith, family and freedom—is being trampled by secularists who have rejected these pillars of civilization.
The multitudes stumble in darkness because many believers, who have been commanded to put the light in a prominent place—on a lamp stand—have hidden, and in doing so diminished their influence on the public by accepting false comfort, compromise and complacency. Light reveals danger and pitfalls while illuminating the path to security and success. Is it any wonder our culture is in such trouble when salt and light have failed to fulfill their divine assignment?
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