The Heart of It All

As a nation we must move past the partisan foolishness that has so imprisoned our ability to move forward. The first debate was civil, with Mitt Romney the clear winner. The VP debate was rancorous with obnoxious sidelines from our Vice President that created a muddled victory for both candidates. Last night's debate was a solid draw by most who measure such things. I will ask the obvious question...why? Why are the American people so easily led astray? Why do we listen to deception and lies, and see what we want to see rather than the truth? We are so divided on contentious issues that we can't hear the truth because our opinions (judgments in disguise) get in the way. Abraham Lincoln once quoted Jesus in his "House Divided Speech"... "A house divided cannot stand." He wasn't kidding, and we're in it right now. Abraham Lincoln intended to give a prophetic thought for America in that speech. He believed strongly that we would not remain divided on the issue of slavery. He foresaw that we would eventually ban the evil practice and move on toward unity. But I will ask you now...will we move on from this current rift? As long as attitudes remain self-serving, as long as self-seeking people remain in office, we have little hope of our society taking the strides toward solving America's problems. We need heart changes. The church needs heart changes to be more like Christ with less fear, anger and bitterness. All of us, Christians, Muslims and every other religion, every race (we're all part of the human race as a friend puts it) need to stand as Americans, not as separate little groups. A house divided cannot stand. Hatred, anger, distrust, fear, those words that carry such venom cannot be our heritage. Only God's love, His favor, His purpose for America, can become the legacy that lasts through eternity.