March 5

Accountability day!!!

The Small Stuff Matters

Our passage today completely shakes up our “God in the Box” view of an angry and hostile God. The heart of God and his desire for his people to be kind and compassionate is revealed. Look at these incredible laws...
-Take care of the mother birds
-Don’t cut down fruit trees
-Treat the alien with respect and dignity
-Show esteem for the handicapped and elderly
-Have compassion for the poor
-Feed the less fortunate
-Take care of the orphans and widows

When we traveled to Russia in 1994 one of the top conversations we had with people were the steps necessary for them to become like the USA. They all wanted St. Petersburg to become the next New York City. We talked about the differences between capitalism and socialism. What I discovered was they had an inadequate view of the strengths and weaknesses of capitalism. They believed that if you just plugged in a capitalistic form of government you would get instant prosperity. But capitalism only works when you have moral and compassionate people practicing it. Capitalism cannot change the hearts of people to be kind and compassionate, only God can do that. The ugly side of capitalism has the rich taking advantage of the poor and the inevitable class envy that develops. Our founding fathers realized this and spoke to the importance of this moral foundation.

John Adams in a speech to the military in 1798 warned his fellow countrymen stating, "We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion . . . Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."
Benjamin Rush, Signer of the Declaration of Independence said. "The only foundation for a useful education in a republic is to be aid in religion. Without this there can be no virtue, and without virtue there can be no liberty, and liberty is the object and life of all republican governments. Without religion, I believe that learning does real mischief to the morals and principles of mankind."
Noah Webster, author of the first American Speller and the first Dictionary said, "The Christian religion, in its purity, is the basis, or rather the source of all genuine freedom in government. . . . and I am persuaded that no civil government of a republican form can exist and be durable in which the principles of that religion have not a controlling influence."
Right now we are in a period where people are reacting to the abuses of capitalism. The political solution is for the US to become socialistic. The spiritual solution is for the US to experience a revival and for us to become kind and compassionate people. We stand at the crossroads this very day. Choose carefully what pathway you want to go down.

Thought for today.... Take 5 minutes out of your day and show compassion to someone. Maybe it will be buying a cup of coffee for someone, making a phone call, stopping by someone’s house to say “hello.” God has called his people to be compassionate.