(An Essay...An Opinion)
I am faced with a dilemma. Like millions of Americans, I was born a citizen in a country that boasts of its many rights and numerous freedoms: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, the right for equality, the right to privacy, the right to be free of unreasonable searches and seizures, the right against double jeopardy (the right not to be tried twice for the same crime), the right to fair procedures during trial, and the right against self-incrimination (the right not to have to testify against yourself at a criminal trial), the right to a speedy trial, the right to bear arms, freedom of assembly, freedom of association, freedom of belief, the right not to associate, the right to petition the government, the rights to marry, to have children, and to raise them in accordance with parental beliefs.
A country that is free, yet, a country in which its� people are held captive within their own inalienable rights. We were born in a country that taught its okay to fight for what we believe in and to believe in God because the government had once given total authority and recognition to God for these freedoms and for the lives that were sacrificed in order to bring us that freedom. It was God whose name was printed on the money we so freely
spend and waste. It was under God whose name we pledged our allegiance to for liberty and justice for all. It was the Holy Bible with God as our witness that we testified truthfully in a court of law. It was God that our forefathers sought wisdom and direction from when they set out across an ocean into a vast unknown world in search of a land where they could be free to worship Him. Yes, we were born into freedom. But, we are slowly dying in captivity.
I have been inched into this conclusion while being faced with my own mortality. In my quest for answers, there have been many searchable and plausible paths. The dilemma that I face is my faith in God. It is not that my faith has been shaken, but that it has been stirred. This nation was blessed by God with economic wealth that enabled it to care for its own citizens, as well as caring for other countries in jeopardy. This country was abundantly blessed with natural resources because this country was founded by God.
Now, an entire country that was once ruled by God now faces moral abnormality and economic meltdown. We are deeper in debt and our people are beginning to starve.
Faith is now being reserved for the church officials. They are the ones being asked to pray for our country and its needs, when it should be everyone�s responsibility to pray for this country as it was in the beginning. Prayer has been taken out of the schools and replaced by handguns. It is not the children�s responsibility to pray. But it is their inalienable right to bear arms and shoot their fellow classmates. When God was taken
out of our schools, a veil of safety and security was lifted from our children. America was once a modern day Garden of Eden. God gave it to man and saw that it was good. Then, He rested.
I read a statement about our �freedom� of speech issue from a friend recently. She stated: �Men have a right to speak their minds, but only if it doesn�t criticize the government.� Is that freedom? Or is that censorship?
A current issue being debated in our state is the Ten Commandments. There is a statue in a local park that bears the verses of the Ten Commandments. A perfectly harmless statement of belief? The uprising outcry over the issue was tremendous. It was yet another attempt to silence God�s ever diminishing presence on this earth.
With this furor, Hollywood and the movie makers entered the fight. A new movie was made that sparked the issue of truth in the death of the Savior, Jesus. His death and the hours leading up to His death were brutal and the events depicted were explicitly accurate. If we had lived during that era, we would have personally felt the pain that He suffered as He was beaten beyond recognition. Living in this era, we could only see the replays of His life and imagine how He felt. But, we needed to be reminded of what He did go through and what He did feel and how He suffered and what He sacrificed. Why? Because He did it for us�for our freedom, so that we wouldn�t have to go through what He did, or feel what He felt, or suffer as He suffered. How can we belittle His sacrifice by taking Him out of all we do?
In the days of our forefathers, Sundays were declared the day of rest�Sabbath�a day of worship given only unto the Creator of all living things. This was the Lord�s Day. It was strictly forbidden, and in many places, illegal to operate a business or exchange in any kind of business adventures on Sunday. Sunday was holy and sacred. In today�s society, a majority of business is conducted on Sunday. Now it is just another day of the week.
What is becoming of a dream we once craved called, �Freedom�? Men and women once walked upon this earth in the true bonds of brotherhood. Men spent time at home with their own families caring for the needs in the home, of his wife and children. He once loved this woman with honesty and faithfulness. And the woman loved her husband with purity and chastity, not wanting or desiring satisfaction outside of the bosom of her family. Today, they want the biggest screen TV they can find, let alone afford. They want the fastest computer and first-hand knowledge of booming technology. They want to be surgically enhanced to display inner beauty or pride. They desire bigger cars and shinier diamonds. Men live for themselves, to outshine his neighbor, instead of doing unto his neighbor. He wants to take everything for himself despite the consequences. He wants to kill innocent lives just because they are different. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth��do unto others� has become a symbol of hatred and vengeance rather than a symbol of peace and equality. It stems from the hearts that have been torn by the loss of
real freedom. In a heart that has found true freedom, there is peace and contentment.
We have taken America out of the hands of God and given it to immorality. We are plagued with injustice and death. We are ruled and governed by vengeance and hatred. We dine with whoremongers and murderers. We persecute the righteous and the innocent. Can we truly say that we are free? Without the sanctity and blessing of Him, who sees and hears and knows all things, we will never be free. With faith, we can hope. With trust, we can hear. With forgiveness, we can know that we are truly free. Without
Him, we are merely living in the shadows.
Copyright �2004CynthiaHobson