Believe It! I Agree With Glenn Beck and Rick Perry... sort of...

This may come as a shock to most of the six people who actually read my blog, but I agree with Rick Perry and Glenn Beck. As a people, we do need to return to God and fix our gaze on the author and perfecter of our faith. I just interpret that a little differently from the Perry’s and Beck’s of the world. Here’s what I mean. Many of our political leaders want to focus on the God of the Old Testament. The avenging God of Israel if you will. They posit a theology that says if we do not follow the will of God, as they interpret it, then like so many Old Testament people, we will be wiped off the face of the earth. Thus we see statements that equate earthquakes, hurricanes, and even wars, as punishment for our misdeeds and failure to live up to God’s Law. Rarely do we see, or hear from people like Glenn Beck and Rick Perry, the need to live the radical life of Jesus as seen in the New Testament. The life of unconditional love of others and denial of self. It is as if, in their attempts to claim the title of the Godliest person out there, they have cast aside the teachings of God’s own son. Why is it we seldom hear the clarion call to return to God’s teaching when that teaching tells us to “love our enemies and pray for those that persecute us?” How come we have yet to hear someone on the campaign trail bring up Paul’s admonition to “in humility consider others better than ourselves… and look to the interests of others?” What about serving others, as Christ served us that day on Calvary? When was the last time you heard a speech that said "give up everything for your brother?" Where is the cross of sacrifice, pain, and self denial in what many proclaim publicly to be the “Heart of God?” You see, the God I want us to return to is the one that calls us to have a drink of cold water with the person we most despise. Wasn’t that Jesus example when he sat alongside the Samaritan woman at the well and quenched His thirst? Do you think the Good Samaritan was thinking about what the poor man had done to deserve being robbed and beaten, or was his primary concern helping him? The God I want us to return to is the one that says when your fellow man needs your coat, you give him whatever you have, because it is not yours anyway. It belongs to God! What about the church community in Jerusalem? When was the last time you heard any of our political leaders speak of following her example and selling everything to give to the poor? Yes, I am 100% behind the efforts to see our country and society put a bigger focus on God. I am just not sure I recognize the God to whom many in the public arena are calling us to follow anew. What about you?