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Today I posted a cartoon on my facebook page. In light of what recently happened in Newton, CT it was insensitive of me. I have apologized on fb and would take it down if I knew how to.
LET ME SAY IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS; THIS WAS NOT A COMMENT BY ME ON THE CHILDREN WHO DIED OR WHETHER OR NOT GOD SHOULD HAVE, COULD HAVE OR WOULD HAVE STOPPED IT. It is a comment, I believe, on the current hypocrisy in America when it comes to God.
What surprised me was how the cartoon illicited some extremely intense feelings. That was the purpose of the cartoon. It was to raise a question, to make a point. That's what cartoons have always done. Hopefully they always will. As one of the fb comments read, "I just also think that the point of the cartoon is more about hypocrisy than theology" I do too. Here is the cartoon.
Okay, please keep in mind that this is NOT my statement about Newton. But why did it connect in my mind as making a statement I liked. (Usually I try to stay away from things like this on fb, but without thinking I clicked "share") Well, if you've been following this blog at all you'll see that one of the things I hate most in myself and others is the "H" word. That's right. HYPOCRISY. I hate it. I really, really do. I am not free of hypocrisy, but it doesn't keep me from hating it.
hy·poc·ri·sy
Noun: The practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform; pretense.
Folks, can I be honest with you. Christians are probably the number one offenders in this area. We who claim to honor God and to follow His precepts are the first to rip, tear and destroy each other. Apologies are almost unheard of. Reconciliation, the very thing Jesus came for, seldom pursued. Materialism, self-centeredness, all there. Shame on us!
It doesn't stop with us, the conservative right though. The liberal left is equally hypocritical. (I speak on both counts in general terms) You profess to be environmentalist and you can't stop driving your cars, turn off your power, a/c and heat and halt consumption of products which you KNOW are harmful to the environment and yet you castigate without mercy corporations and third world countries who for opposing reasons misuse, to some extent, the environment. Michael Crichton in his novel State of Fear got it right. Read it, if you dare.
But there is a growing hypocrisy in America that is becoming unbearable. It is this, we claim to be a "nation under God and in whom we trust in" but the reality is that we don't want God anywhere near us most of the time. We have taken God out of public schools. We have taken Christ out of Christmas. Now there's an hypocrisy of gargantuan proportions. You who don't want symbols of Christmas displayed on public grounds or others to use the words "Merry Christmas" and yet continue to celebrate a holiday that has God at it's origin. Huh? You want tolerance for yourselves, but won't extend it to others. For those of us who believe in Jesus, no matter how offensive you may find him, leave us alone and allow us to celebrate a holiday that is meaningful to us. It was ours first.
But I digress. I challenge you, before you get offended at the cartoon above to take some time and study history. I believe that you will find that as every great civilisation of the past has risen and fallen, it's demise has been accompanied by a deterioration of the moral standards of it's society AMONG OTHER THINGS. I do not know which comes first. I do know this, as the morals of society decline, so crime rates (including murder) rise, devaluation of life and family, of honesty and ethics decline as well. This decline becomes evident in; corrupt politicians and officers of the law, corporate greed, divorce rates, pregnancy of unwed mothers resulting in single parent homes, legalized abortion and euthanasia, etc. Does this sound familiar?
So here are two questions. Is our society in decline as evidenced by a decline in social morals? Is there hypocrisy in America when it comes to "claiming" God when we need Him, but doing away with him when we want to live our lives different than His laws teach?
I want you to know something about me. My heart breaks when I see the pictures of those little children who died. But my heart also breaks when I see children who have lost parents due to divorce, when I see children without enough food to eat or clothes to wear. When I see children who have been abused by sexual predators. Or bullied.
We can get all up in arms about arms (gun control), but why don't we get all worked up about the things I just listed? Do we really care that much? Are we hypocrites?
We can't change what happened last week, but you and I can get radical about changing the lives of a child who is suffering from the things I listed above.
Your comments are welcome.
LET ME SAY IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS; THIS WAS NOT A COMMENT BY ME ON THE CHILDREN WHO DIED OR WHETHER OR NOT GOD SHOULD HAVE, COULD HAVE OR WOULD HAVE STOPPED IT. It is a comment, I believe, on the current hypocrisy in America when it comes to God.
What surprised me was how the cartoon illicited some extremely intense feelings. That was the purpose of the cartoon. It was to raise a question, to make a point. That's what cartoons have always done. Hopefully they always will. As one of the fb comments read, "I just also think that the point of the cartoon is more about hypocrisy than theology" I do too. Here is the cartoon.
Okay, please keep in mind that this is NOT my statement about Newton. But why did it connect in my mind as making a statement I liked. (Usually I try to stay away from things like this on fb, but without thinking I clicked "share") Well, if you've been following this blog at all you'll see that one of the things I hate most in myself and others is the "H" word. That's right. HYPOCRISY. I hate it. I really, really do. I am not free of hypocrisy, but it doesn't keep me from hating it.
hy·poc·ri·sy
Noun: The practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform; pretense.
Folks, can I be honest with you. Christians are probably the number one offenders in this area. We who claim to honor God and to follow His precepts are the first to rip, tear and destroy each other. Apologies are almost unheard of. Reconciliation, the very thing Jesus came for, seldom pursued. Materialism, self-centeredness, all there. Shame on us!
It doesn't stop with us, the conservative right though. The liberal left is equally hypocritical. (I speak on both counts in general terms) You profess to be environmentalist and you can't stop driving your cars, turn off your power, a/c and heat and halt consumption of products which you KNOW are harmful to the environment and yet you castigate without mercy corporations and third world countries who for opposing reasons misuse, to some extent, the environment. Michael Crichton in his novel State of Fear got it right. Read it, if you dare.
But there is a growing hypocrisy in America that is becoming unbearable. It is this, we claim to be a "nation under God and in whom we trust in" but the reality is that we don't want God anywhere near us most of the time. We have taken God out of public schools. We have taken Christ out of Christmas. Now there's an hypocrisy of gargantuan proportions. You who don't want symbols of Christmas displayed on public grounds or others to use the words "Merry Christmas" and yet continue to celebrate a holiday that has God at it's origin. Huh? You want tolerance for yourselves, but won't extend it to others. For those of us who believe in Jesus, no matter how offensive you may find him, leave us alone and allow us to celebrate a holiday that is meaningful to us. It was ours first.
But I digress. I challenge you, before you get offended at the cartoon above to take some time and study history. I believe that you will find that as every great civilisation of the past has risen and fallen, it's demise has been accompanied by a deterioration of the moral standards of it's society AMONG OTHER THINGS. I do not know which comes first. I do know this, as the morals of society decline, so crime rates (including murder) rise, devaluation of life and family, of honesty and ethics decline as well. This decline becomes evident in; corrupt politicians and officers of the law, corporate greed, divorce rates, pregnancy of unwed mothers resulting in single parent homes, legalized abortion and euthanasia, etc. Does this sound familiar?
So here are two questions. Is our society in decline as evidenced by a decline in social morals? Is there hypocrisy in America when it comes to "claiming" God when we need Him, but doing away with him when we want to live our lives different than His laws teach?
I want you to know something about me. My heart breaks when I see the pictures of those little children who died. But my heart also breaks when I see children who have lost parents due to divorce, when I see children without enough food to eat or clothes to wear. When I see children who have been abused by sexual predators. Or bullied.
We can get all up in arms about arms (gun control), but why don't we get all worked up about the things I just listed? Do we really care that much? Are we hypocrites?
We can't change what happened last week, but you and I can get radical about changing the lives of a child who is suffering from the things I listed above.
Your comments are welcome.
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