Pictures showing the horrors of war are always shocking to our conscience. Like many of you, I have heard war stories from veterans who returned from WW2, Korean War, the Vietnam War, Desert Storm and the Afghan War and now the War in Iraq and the broader War against Terrorism. We are never prepared to see the horror of our own troops committing morally offensive acts and to realize that it is for the entire world to see. The newly released pictures from Iraq shows some of our own young American soldiers allegedly committing outrageous and despicable acts against Iraqi prisoners.
Not only is such behavior against the standards that have been established by international treaties, including the Geneva Convention – more importantly, these heinous acts are against the laws of God Almighty who is the final judge regarding mankind's behavior. The cowardly and ungodly acts of those few soldiers cast a pall of shame on all of us who value God's righteous laws.
Our Creator is the originator of laws. The book of Genesis tells the story of how God created man and woman, and placed them in a beautiful garden of paradise. God gave our first ancestors law: "And the Lord commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat;: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shat not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." (Genesis 2:16,17) We know the rest of the story and you must surely remember the sense of shame that Adam and Eve felt when they realized God knew their sin.
All sin is offensive to God. The Bible describes sin as lawlessness. (1 John 3:4) All mankind will remain in a depraved and lawless condition until the time when a person makes the decision to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord of their lives. A person who truly has Jesus as Lord is under the subjection of higher powers. When we come to Christ Jesus for salvation, we turn away (repent) of all sinful behavior. Christ then helps us to be strong in our commitment to live pure and holy lives.
But – even with the help of Heaven, it is still possible that someone will make a choice and follow the temptations of Satan to commit lewd acts. The apostle Peter describes such a turning away as when a dog returns to its vomit, or a clean prize hog wallowing in the mud.
Shame on us as a country which was founded as a Christian nation, for sinking so low in our regard for God's law that we make a public spectacle of a judge in Alabama's desire to publicly display the Ten Commandments. Shame on us that we have insisted that our schools want to throw out God and become bastions of secularism. Shame on us that we use public money to help women destroy babies in their wombs. Shame on us for calling evil good and good evil by publicly blessing legal unions of same sex couples. Shame on us for disregarding God's laws against the proper treatment of our enemies!
It is never too late to turn things around. Now is the time for a great revival in America and around the world with respect to honoring God's eternal Word. Let us start right here in Cedar Key by insisting upon respect for the Word of God as the last word, and to look to Christ and Christ alone in matters of faith and religious practice. Moreover -- may God help us as we repent and find ways to help our young people become more aware of living Godly lives before this world.
You are invited to attend the services of the Church of Christ at the corner of 3rd and E Streets. Write me with any questions or comments David Binkley, Sr., P.O. Box 186, Cedar Key, FL 32625 or E-mail at dgbinkley@aol.com. You may also request to receive the daily WORD OF THE DAY by e-mail. Check out our web site at www.cedarkeychurchofchrist.com. | 