We recently celebrated the 4th of July in America – fireworks, parades, flag waving, picnics, B-B-Q’s & ice cold watermelon! What’s not to like here?! We, in America, have some amazing traditions and habits for sure! Someone once wrote these three curious words – “Only in America.”
- Only in America can you get a pizza faster to your house than an ambulance.
- Only in America are there handicap parking spaces in front of a skating rink.
- Only in America do drugstores make the sick walk all the way to the back of the store to get their prescriptions, while health people can buy cigarettes up front.
- Only in America do people order double cheeseburgers, large fries and a diet coke.
- Only in America do we leave cars worth thousands of dollars in the driveway and put our junk in the garage.
On a more sobering side, George Carlin wrote on the “Paradox of Our Time” with some brilliant life observations. Here are just a few:
- The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers – wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints.
- We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine but less wellness.
- We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.
- We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values.
- We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.
The list goes on and on and even though there are lots of troublesome things about America, I still believe this is the greatest country in the world. We are sooo blessed to live here. Someone once remarked, “We keep asking God to bless America. He already has. Now it’s our turn.”
It’s our turn to bless America and give back. It’s our turn to do something good for America. So what to do? There are so many things — we can be involved citizens – vote, be patriotic, show civility to people, obey our laws, pay your taxes, respect the law & our leaders and don’t park in the handicap parking spaces if you’re not handicapped!
The sad truth is most Christ-followers do little or nothing to present a witness for their Creator or build up our society. While the unbelieving world is daily shouting out their dark messages, we go to church but that’s where it ends for most people. I recently read where 95% of all Christ-followers never try to even lead anybody to Christ in their entire lifetime! That means that 5% of all Christians do the majority of the work of evangelism, etc. The Lord doesn’t expect us to do everything but He does expect us to do something. He expects us to be on alert to the opportunities that daily come our way — as citizens of both heaven and of this great land.
There’s a story of a teacher who went into her classroom about fifteen minutes before the class was to begin. She caught a bunch of boys in a huddle on their knees in the corner of the room. She asked what they were doing, and one of them shouted
back, “We’re shooting craps.” She replied, “Oh! That’s all right. I was afraid you were praying.”
America! So blessed but yet so challenged. These times call for people of faith to literally pray with their shoes on. John Piper once remarked: “You don’t have to know a lot of things to make a lasting difference in the world. But you do have to know the few great things that matter – and then be willing to live for them and die for them.”
As another person once noted – Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference has never tried to fall asleep with a mosquito in the room. Buzz…
Bob and Susan Beckett pastor The Dwelling Place City Church at 27100 Girard Street in Hemet, Ca. For more information, you may contact them at DPcitychurch.org
