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Real Talk: Honest and Open Conversation: What’s Really Going On? The Polarization of America; United We Stand, Divided We Fall
It is amazing days that we are currently living in considering the type of things that are taking place. It appears that our current leadership is stirring up division. With the awareness of what is taking place, will this result in chaos coming to America? We have to begin the process of simply talking about these realities.
When President Obama boldly stated that Israel had to go back to the borders of the 1967 lines, America was immediately lurched back into the realities of what took place in the 1960s. We are presently living out that reality. We want to be prepared for the days that are soon approaching. After the many natural disasters that so many have experienced, we are all too familiar with what happens. All of the gas is quickly depleted. Grocery aisles are bare and pallets of water are bone dry. The days ahead are difficult. It will be these best of times and it will be the worst of times.
We have seen America become divided on every topic and subject imaginable. America is in a totally different place than where it was at 7 ½ years ago. Not only is America divided, but we are divided amongst ourselves; against our government, against our law enforcement, against our spouses, children are against their parents, and the list goes on. Now, things are being said that are plainly unimaginable. Because of the increased animosity and division against our law enforcement, protestors have filled the streets shouting statements such as “Pigs in a blanket. Fry ‘em like bacon.” During another protest in New York, people were chanting, “What do we want? DEAD COPS! When do we want it? NOW!” Why are we not saying anything about this?
Truth of the matter is that, not only is America being organized, but the world is being organized. When Marshall Ganz was recruited by Barack Obama to help with his campaign, we have to be aware at the tactics that were put into practice. When Marshall Ganz spoke with Bill Moyer he made some profound statements.
Specifically,
But, you know, it’s like Saul Alinsky says… Organizers have to be well-integrated schizoids, because you have to polarize to mobilize and depolarize to settle. But without polarizing you’re never going to mobilize anything. And yeah, then there’s a time to negotiate. And I think we’re really screwed up on that right now…
So, who exactly is Saul Alinsky? He was an organizer and author of the book, Rules for Radicals. The concerning reality of this book is who the dedication is to. In the beginning pages, it recognizes Lucifer, and on the back cover it recognizes Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. This books teaches specific tactics in order to organize people. One of these particular tactics is “a sustained militant effort”. ISIS is that ‘sustained militant effort’. Why didn’t we remove the existence of the Islamic Statebefore they had the ability to growto the size that they presently are? For some reasonwe never destroyed them?
The dangerous reality is that the same ones that have seemingly stirred up this increasing animosity and division, now appear to be the same voice attempting to bring calm to the chaos. When President Obama spoke at the Interfaith Memorial Service in response to the tragic shooting of the Dallas Police Officers, he shared these remarks, “And when anyone, no matter how good their intentions may be, paints all police as biased, or bigoted, we undermine those officers we depend on for our safety.” He continues to share, “And as for those who use rhetoric suggesting harm to police, even if they don’t act on it themselves, well they not only make the jobs of police officers even more dangerous, but they do a disservice to the very cause of justice that they claim to promote.” These are the words that should have been 7 ½ years ago. Why are they only now being said? Is this the settling that Marhsall Ganz spoke about when speaking to Bill Moyer. The question then arises, what are they about to settle for? How do we operate as Christians and where do we go from here?
Truth of the matter is this. Looking back in history, we can see clearly that when God wants to discipline a nation, that nation turns against Israel. Our leadership’s decisions has devastating consequences upon the nation of Israel. Additionally, our President is speaking against the Church, and seemingly everyone is okay with it. According to George Barna, “81% of Christians don’t read the Bible”. Just because someone quotes a Bible verse, does not mean it’s accurate. In Matthew 7:16, Jesus said, “By their fruit you will recognize them…” We are not who we are by what we say; we are who we are by what we do. Why is this happening? Because we have sinned. Because the Church has sinned.
The reality is that the issue of racism is being used as wedge issue against all the other wedge issues. Healings from this reality will only come through open hearts and open dialogue. We cannot allow the enemy to harden our hearts. Dr. Williams, a surgeon at the Rees-Jones Trauma Center, shared his support of our law enforcement, but there are still some realities that cannot be ignored. “I abhor what has been done to these officers and grieve with their families…I understand the anger and the frustration, and distrust of law enforcement, but they are not the problem. The problem is the lack of open discussions about the impact of race relations in this country.” He continues to emphasize, “I want the Dallas police officers to see me, a black man, and understand that I support you. I will defend you, and I will care for you. That doesn’t mean that I do not fear you.” The Church has got to deal with racism. This will only be resolved when God’s people get it right.
When CBN spoke with Bishop T.D. Jakes, he shared the revealing truth of what is taking place. “The Church needs to be leading the way in this conversation.” When asked where the Church is, he continues. “The Church is totally silent about race. We are ourselves dysfunctional in our ability. We’re family, but we’re a dysfunctional family because we cannot talk about the elephant in the middle of the room.” It is his following words that highlights the reality of where we are today. “…and until we do, then the people in the street are taking up the conversation; and I think that they are God’s judgment on a silent Church.”
We cannot lose love when the enemy is trying to get us divided from our brothers and sisters. People have begun to openly express the desire to kill police officers. When we listen to people, we can understand that they have a legitimate reason to protest what is taking place. One man expresses that he’s afraid of being killed by police, “Not all police. Just one police officer who fears for his life and thinks I have a gun.” He continues to express his fear, “I’m afraid I’ll match the description of someone who called 911, the police will arrive, and before I know it, I’ll be dead.” He doesn’t end with these words. He expresses his same concern by describing and handful of possible reactions of what could happen if an officer is pointing a gun at him shouting instructions. “I’m afraid I’ll move too fast, too slow, not fast enough, I’ll reach for something he asked me to reach for and he’ll think it’s a gun. I’m afraid I won’t be calm and me not being calm could be the end of me.”
He didn’t say all officers are bad. He justified his fear of encountering one bad officer. Or encountering one that is afraid of him. This argument can be carried over to any one particular people group. Because someone witnesses terrorism at the hands of a Muslim, that doesn’t mean that all Muslims are bad. But, there is an evil group called ISIS beheading people. People are asking why we are allowing Muslims over our borders and into our nation. It is a legitimate argument. But, at the end of the day, we don’t have a nation if we don’t trust anymore.
As the Church, we are called to GO and love ALL nations. We have to risk stepping outside of our comfort zones and love the unlovable. Just because someone may have a bad experience involving someone in a blue suit does not necessarily mean that all individuals wearing blue suits are bad. If we don’t trust anymore that means that we don’t love. Love means that we allow ourselves to get hurt again. When we stand up for what we believe in, not everyone will have the same beliefs. We may end up with less friends because of it. We have to treat people well at the risk of being mistreated.
It’s not crazy to be concerned about the realities that we are living in. The greatest move of God that the Church has ever seen is ahead of us. But, it will come at a great cost to the Church. Hear the entire conversation for many details of what else is being talked about, understood, and so much more. Also shared in this segment: Civil Christianity, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Racism, Baton Rouge, Minnesota, Dallas Police Department, Saul Alinksy, eternity, sin, forgiveness, crisis, freedom, Orlando, Radical Islam, al-Qaeda, Dinesh Dsouza, Facebook, discipleship, sacrifice, selflessness, racial profiling, fear, anger, frustration, conversation, division, humility, and prayer. Greg and John shared in this segment.
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