Christmas in America - or has the Grinch stolen it?

"The ordaining of laws in favor of one part of the nation, to the prejudice and oppression of another, is certainly the most erroneous and mistaken policy. An equal dispensation of protection, rights, privileges, and advantages, is what every part is entitled to, and ought to enjoy."
                            --Benjamin Franklin, Emblematical Representations, circa 1774
 

It is the tendency for men in power to be too fond of it and to abuse it. This wisdom was first uttered by Alexander Hamilton, one of our founding fathers. We the people must ever guard against it, especially when we have a mainline news media that has refused to do so. I would remind you all, that there is no freedom of the press, if the press is in bondage to a tyrannical political ideology. We elect men and women to represent us and remain true to their stated beliefs. But, what happens when the elected can be sold to the highest bidder, such as Senator Nelson who assured us he was for Life for the unborn and then when offered enough kickback changed his vote for the exemption of his state from Medicare cost increases. Likewise when Senator Chris Dodd and Representative Barney Frank sold their fiscal responsibility for the sake of votes, they were pandering to their voter base at the cost of the rest of the country! The corruption in Washington DC is so common that most have stopped being surprised by it; payoff money hidden in the freezer, arm twisting by the administration using Chicago style threats to get its way, such as Ram Emanuel, Chief of Staff for the President, sending a dead fish to an opponent as a not-so-subtle warning, illicit sex of every kind, and no one is kicked out of office for it! The Democrat administration, that promised transparency and bi-partisan compromise, is the most hidden, under-the-table administration we have ever seen. Senators and Congressmen are even asked to vote on bills they haven't even been able to read, and some times haven't even been written yet! They do not agree with Benjamin Franklin's statement that laws in favor of one part of the nation to the prejudice and oppression of another is a mistaken policy, as they frequently pit the poor against the wealthy, black against white, and women against men to gain their policies. In fact one of their own has said that "a crisis is a terrible thing to waste" as they can spin it for their own benefit! The problem exists on both the Republican and Democrat sides of the isle.

We are now finding out what the age-old phrase, "the chickens have come home to roost" means. America has been denying God and choosing their own way for several decades and now we are suffering the results. We thought that somehow our prosperity was because we were so much greater than other countries. But now, we are learning the truth of the Biblical saying, "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord" and "Sin is a reproach to any nation." Barring a return to the God of the Bible, we are seeing just the tip of the iceberg of trouble.

We live in a generation in which most people expect the government to be the answer to all their problems, but a government that can give you everything can also take everything from you. Government produces nothing except taxes and it is taxing the producers right out of existence. We are on a downward spiral where more and more people want a hand-out  and fewer and fewer people have to bear the burden of the resulting tax. The inevitable result will be slavery and/or revolt.

I could say that a return to God and His principles could reverse this trend and bring us back to freedom and prosperity, but I do not believe America will do this. We have become like the people of 2 Thessalonians 2:10 : "... who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not receive truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness." Some will say this is pessimistic but I say it is realistic. And realism leads me to ask, "What can I do on this situation?" Paul gives us the answer in 1 Thessalonians 4:4-9; "But you brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night or of darkness. Therefore, let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober (self-controlled)". Even in this darkness we have been given lamps and oil for them to light a way for ourselves and others who will listen to our warning. But, Jesus warned us to be watchful lest we face the night with lamps that have no oil.

As we prepare to celebrate this Christmas the birth of Christ, may we all move beyond the commercialism and paganism the world has made of it, for its own commercial purposes, and once again show that we are grateful for the advent of our salvation. The best way to do this is by living as He commanded us to live. If we don't, then the Grinch really has stolen Christmas.

Pastor Charles Cooley