"The left didn’t take over American mainstream
culture overnight, and taking it back won’t happen overnight. But we have to
begin, now, each of us in our own private lives, in all our small choices. No
one is going to save the republic for us, so let’s get started," writes
What actions can normal Americans take who love their neighbors, their freedom, and their country?
1. Pray
Our current climate is one where the church needs to pray with fervor and steadfastness. This is also a time when we need to be adding fasting to our praying. The Lord said that some problems only experience deliverance through fasting and prayer (Matthew 17:21).
Abraham Lincoln and President Ronald Reagan both said the United States was the last best hope of the earth. No, not in terms of theological salvation, but in our modern era America has been the bastion of freedom and religious liberty for the world.
Today a great battle
rages for the soul of this nation – and it is not only a battle between people.
A spiritual battle rages in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 6:12). When such
wars erupt, God’s people must not only fight in the worldly realm – but fight
with prayer and fasting.
For years, schools taught The Golden Rule – Jesus’ instruction to “love your neighbor as yourself.”
One of the reasons America is basically good is because her people generally treat each other with goodness. Since all of this Anitfa and Black Lives Matter movement have shaken our country, I’ve made a habit of noticing how people in public treat each other. I see people of all races, ages, and both genders showing respect, civility, and kindness to each other.
Our family visited Nashville, Tennessee, recently. A black waiter generously told us at lunch, “You don’t need to fear being outside in our downtown. This city is very safe. We have police on every block, so you don’t need to be afraid.
We experienced that very thing, and I made it a point to stop and talk with policemen several times and say, “Thank you for your presence here. We appreciate you. We feel very safe here.”
This is the time to not hold back in loving your neighbors, serving each other, and showing other people the real substance of America.
3. Resist the cultural narrative
John MacArthur writes, “To be a Christian is to swim against the flow of the world, to go against its grain, because the adversary-Satan, his demons, and the world system-are extremely powerful. Those who enter the kingdom of grace through faith in Christ do so with great effort through the sovereign power of the convicting and converting Holy Spirit.”
For years, the three centers of influence – Hollywood, New York, and Washington, D.C., have been out of touch with the values of average Americans.
The Bible reminds believers, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect” (Romans 12:2 NLT).
The JB Phillips translation adds this emphasis: “Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity.
4. Speak up.
The Left has consistently pushed their ways forward on our culture for years. They have worked to monopolize the airwaves and use fear tactics to make people afraid to disagree with them.
Suddenly, many good, average Americans realize their country is being systematically taken over.
The Black Lives Matter movement, along with their bully force Antifa, use force and fear to topple our democracy.
This is not the time to just be the nice guy. This is the time to speak up and challenge the narrative. But it means several things that most Americans don’t like:
+ You
may offend people.
+ You may lose “friends” or the respect of certain people. An English professor approached a friend of mine years ago at our liberal religious college and said, “Gene, the things you believe are not accepted any more be polite society.” My friend, who is now an evangelical missionary, responded, “Dr. so-and-so, with all due respect, I don’t care what polite society thinks. One day, I will stand before the Lord Jesus Christ and give an account to Him of my life, and He is the One I aim to please.”
+ You
may be attacked by people – especially on social media. But keep this in mind.
Antifa has vowed that after they wreak havoc on our major cities, they plan on
going into the residential neighborhoods. What that means is they plan on going
into your suburb where your children play and ride their bikes, where people
swim at the community pool, and where your family eats, sleeps, and lives, and
they will spray paint or burn down your houses, beat up your older people, and
kill some of your younger ones.
In
Italy, Germany, Cuba, and the U.S.S.R., the Left started by ridiculing people
for their beliefs and values. Eventually, when they had enough power, they
jailed, beat, raped, tortured, and murdered people. And that could happen here.
+ You
will have to learn how to logically challenge the thinking of the Left. You
will have to learn to think through and discuss why you disagree with some of
what your children hear from Hollywood elites, late night talk show hosts,
prime time sitcoms, CNN, and some of their high school teachers or college
professors. You will have to learn how to THINK – perhaps like never before.
Here are a few suggestions for where and how to speak up:
1. Make sure and start in your home and talk with your children about why you believe what you believe. Provide them an intellectual framework to think from your kitchen table.
2. Speak out – with respect and love – but with truth - on social media. Don’t let social media be overtaken by the Left. Remember, sometimes truth divides – and it cuts. When you need immediate open-heart surgery, you don't get offended if the doctor cuts into your skin.
3. Write letters to your local newspaper – or post articles on your favorite blog sites.
4. Contact your centers of influence and let your voice be heard. This includes, but is not limited to, the following: national and state Congressmen and representatives, Governors, mayors, city and town councils, local school boards, state Supreme Courts, etc. Believe me, the Left is and has been making their voices heard to these entities. It’s time for the average American to be “forceful.”
5. Speak up in your centers of influence: your church, your home owner’s association, your local PTA, your sports club, your alumni association, etc.
6. When you see our basic liberties – like the freedom of speech – being taken away, speak up. Speak out. If we do not, we will lose them for good.
7. Consider running for office at the local or state level – or get behind some godly, conservative people who will. Ask your pastor(s) to consider running for these positions. The American Renewal Project is a good resource.
Prager writes, “This is likely the last chance liberals, conservatives and the right have to defeat the American left. But it will not happen until these groups understand that we are fighting for the survival of America no less than the Union troops were in the First Civil War.”
Remembering Jesus' reference of John the Baptizer, instead of just trying to be the nice guy in the room, maybe it's time to be the forceful one.
It's time for Christians and conservatives to come out of hiding and re-engage the public square.
Liberty is
at stake.
See also my article, 7 Lies Americans are Believing.
See part one of this article, The Silent Majority: it's time to speak out.
Pictures used by permission from Pixabay.
No comments:
Post a Comment