Wednesday, April 24, 2024
This last spring we celebrated Easter and Passover. Jews and many Christians around the world partake in the Seder (Passover) meal through reading of the Exodus experience of the Jewish people in Egypt. Christians celebrate Easter with the remembrance of Jesus dying on the cross for our sins and overcoming death so that we can live with Him in eternity. One of the important aspects of these two holidays is to remember the choices we have made in the past and taking responsibility for those actions. Yes, we are forgiven for sin, but we still have to live with the consequences of our actions. That is sadly missing in today’s society. Our culture today, emphasizes blaming others for anything we dislike about our lives. Marxism has taken the front seat over Christianity with secular liberalism. We have been indoctrinated to assume that problems are entirely due to race, gender or class. We consider ourselves disadvantaged and harassed because of our skin color, sex choices, or gender; anything other than our own choices. The hurtful truth is most of our problems are caused by the person looking back at you in the mirror. Yes, yourself. Yes, me. We have hidden from our own faults so deeply that we now have ‘safe spaces’ and blame others for ‘triggering’ us. People are condemned and considered mean for speaking truth. Any suggestion that someone didn’t get a job because they were a poor candidate is pushed aside for believing it is because of skin color, sex, or sexual orientation. Any suggestion that any of our poor choices has put us in the bad position is abhorrent. The United States is the most giving country in the world. We have government and private organizations designed to help us out when we find ourselves in a tough situation, not to make us comfortable in it. Most people mistakenly assume their problems are the cause of someone else just like many of the Jewish people thought the wicked Egyptians enslaved the poor Jewish people. Not so. In the book of Genesis, we can read after the death of Jacob, Joseph’s brothers come to him saying,”…we present ourselves before you as SLAVES” Genesis 50:18. Brother Joseph did not reject their offer, but responded with “…fear not. I will sustain you and your children. Thus he reassured them, speaking kindly to them”. Genesis 50:21. Obviously, Joseph who represented the Egyptian monarchy, accepted their voluntary subjugation. The Jewish people willingly put themselves into bondage. The United States is the first nation in the world to establish a free republic with the belief that only a moral society can remain free. Only a moral society can self-govern through self-control. Only our inability to be accountable for our choices will cause us to lose that freedom and keep us from having a better life and growing closer to God. Character is formed when we face up to our poor choices and turn. As a parent, the worst thing I can do for my child is succumb to their tears when they make a bad choice. As a parent, I am to help my child grow into a mature, responsible adult. If for example, I blame the school because my child forgot their homework and receive a zero is the worst thing I can do. Learning these lessons when there are less harmful consequences prepares my child for when tougher situations arise and teaches him how to navigate through those situations. Proverbs 24:8 says,” Though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again”. Winners didn’t always win. They fell multiple times before winning. It is only by facing our failures and starting again that we are we able to succeed. Be a winner.
