ACH Study Groups
Ben & Fran Gilmore – Cofounders
7659 Gingerblossom Drive
Citrus Heights, CA 95621
916-722-2501 histbuff@garlic.com
www.ACHStudyGroups.com
March 11, 2020
This is a letter to our friends –
Politics & Religion
Many of us grew up being told to avoid speaking about politics and religion. Why is that? I believe it is because it leads to discord. Why does it lead to discord? We can talk about the weather, our job, our kids and our hobbies without much problem. Politics and religion are deeply personal. If you and I are not on the same page, human nature kicks in and we want to defend our particular belief. I call it, “My dad can whip your dad” syndrome.
Here is the problem. Politics and religion are the two most important subjects in the world! How is that so? Because Jesus Christ said so! “Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, … ‘Master, which is the great commandment in the law?’ Jesus said unto him, ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.'” [Matthew 22:35-40]
Some readers may not yet accept Christ’s authority. Put another way – The Creator God, described in the Bible, exists. “Intelligent design” settles that issue. Since we (you and I) are created by Him and dependent upon Him for our next breath, we are obliged to look to Him in all we do!
OK then, – If we are to love God and love others, what are the rules? To “love” is to unselfishly want the very best for the loved one. [John 3:16] Common sense says, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” But common sense is based upon human observation and human reason. Both human observation and human reason are imperfect. [Common sense once thought the world was flat.]
The loving creator, God, gave us the Bible. It is inspired (i.e. “dictated”) by God to the writers. Thus it has far more authority than common sense (“natural law”). In the Bible can be found the rules for loving God “with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” The same is true for finding rules for loving others.
We call the rules for loving others, “civil law” (“politics”)! Every time you look at a cross, you see a vertical line (“love God”) and a horizontal line (“love others”). Nobody can “want the very best for someone” in your behalf. We must each learn how to do that individually.
Teachers, parents, cultural traditions, etc. may be an influence (good or bad), but the ultimate relationship between you and the creator God is in your hands alone!
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” [John 14:6]
These columns are archived since 12/10/09
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