Tattoos and God

I am amazed at the number of people who have tattoos these days. People I would never have suspected have one on their ankle or foot or on their shoulder, or other places. And with youth, it’s a big thing now, even Christian youth. Getting a tattoo has never been high on my bucket list. And I wonder how those who get a tattoo when they’re young will feel about it when they’re in their fifties, sixties, or seventies.

Regardless of personal taste, is getting a tattoo a sin?

Some would say that the Bible is pretty clear on the subject. Leviticus 19:28 says, “Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD.” This seems pretty straightforward. God says don’t do it. Therefore, if we do something God says not to do then we’ve committed a sin. But this raises several questions for me.

Let’s first take the angle that getting a tattoo at all, for any reason, is a sin. I go to the tattoo parlor and allow the artist to burn into my skin a picture. I’ve committed a sin. If I come to my senses and confess and repent of that sin, is that it? The tattoo still exists. Do I sin every time I display the tattoo? Or is the sin done and over with since I did it, confessed and repented? Do I have to remove the tattoo in order to atone for the sin? Ah, but we can no longer atone for sin, since Jesus was the ultimate atonement. Or is the consequence just a constant reminder of my momentary rebellion toward God? Will the guilt I’ll feel at violating God’s command be my penalty? Sin has consequences so I guess if getting a tattoo is a sin, the consequence (besides the exorbitant price I paid for someone to mutilate my body) is that reminder of my sin.

Others would argue that the list of rules found in Leviticus 19 is part of the sacrificial law and that Christ came and fulfilled the sacrificial law. Since we now live under grace and not under law, those rules do not apply to us. Maybe. We certainly do not live under the sacrificial law. We don’t have to take a lamb to the priest and have its throat cut to atone for our sin. Is the list in Leviticus 19 part of the sacrificial law? I don’t know. As the title of my blog says, I’m not a theologian. That’s just too heavy of a subject to dive into.

I’d like to look at tattoos in a different light. The same light I look at a lot of things that I could or could not do.

First, how about a couple other scriptures from the New Testament. Oh, but before that, one more from Leviticus 19. In verses 1 and 2, “The LORD said to Moses, ‘Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: “Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.”’”

I bring in this scripture because in Matthew 5:48, Jesus says, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

No matter what you think about the list in Leviticus 19, one thing is clear, verse 2 is still a valid command. However, that’s actually not why I bring that verse in. Here are a couple more verses to get our mind in the right place before I give my take on the whole tattoo thing.

1Corinthians 10:23-24 says, “’Everything is permissible’—but not everything is beneficial. ‘Everything is permissible’—but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.”

And, later in that same chapter, Paul says, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God—even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.” (1Corinthians 10:31-33).

Take a look again at the three sets of scriptures above. Be holy or perfect. Everything is allowed, but not everything is beneficial. Whatever you do, do for the glory of God. And for kickers, don’t do something that could be a stumbling block for someone else to come to Christ.

Let’s put this all together and relate tattoos to it. Here’s my question to you if you’re contemplating a tattoo. Why do you want this tattoo? God said, everything is permissible. Therefore, according to the New Testament, you can get that tattoo if you want to. But why are you getting it? Is it to bring glory to God? Or is it to show off yourself? Is it to honor God? Or is it to be cool? If it’s to honor yourself or to be cool, then it’s not getting the tattoo that’s the possible sin. It’s your attitude, your pride, your arrogance. That is the sin. This violates a direct command from God – a New Testament command - whatever you do, do for the glory of God. Willfully doing something that you know is not for the glory of God is a sin.

Can you get a tattoo for the glory of God? Steven Curtis Chapman and his family - both sons and his wife - all got tattoos to memorialize his five year old daughter who was killed in an accident. Is this honoring God? I really can’t answer that. God knows the hearts of the Chapman family, I don’t. On the surface, it certainly appears to be an honorable reason. Another example. Could you get a tattoo of, say, a cross, as a way to open doors to witness?

How about another set of scriptures from 1Corinthians, this time verses 9:19-9:23: “Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.”

I could envision a situation where a Christian, who hangs out with a certain type of crowd where tattoos are the norm, getting a tattoo himself or herself in order to fit in enough to make an impact on that crowd for Christ.

But what if another person hangs out with a crowd who thinks tattoos are evil? If this person gets a tattoo, they are possibly causing their friends to stumble and may be preventing them from coming to Christ or may be preventing them from growing in their Christian walk.

Are tattoos forbidden by the Bible? I’m not sure I’ve answered that question. I’m not sure I can answer that question. I hope the scriptures I’ve provided, along with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, will allow you to answer that question for yourself. As for me, I’ll keep my skin free of tattoos and try to live my life for the glory of God. And, really, that’s the bottom line. Whenever we set out to do something, we should ask ourselves why we’re doing it. Is it to honor God or ourselves? If the former, go for it. That’s between you and God. If it’s the latter, beware. God doesn’t take kindly to idolatry. I’ll leave as a homework assignment for the reader to review Acts chapter 5 and the story of Ananias and Sapphira. They did something good, at least what most of us would think is good. They gave money to the common cause, but with the wrong motive. And what happened to them? Read the chapter and find out.

Until next time, do all for the glory of God.

Biblical Baptism

This year our church did a push for baptism. We had at least forty-four people come forward and be baptized that day. Praise the Lord. Some of these had even been baptized before, as babies. But they had not been Biblically baptized. So what is Biblical Baptism? Isn’t all baptism the same?

There are many traditions surrounding baptism and there are many beliefs about baptism that are not based on the Bible. For example, some denominations baptize babies in the belief that this washes away their original sin. Other denominations sprinkle. Some will sprinkle babies, some will sprinkle anyone. Some denominations don’t baptize at all nor encourage baptism in any way.

To start, let’s lay out the principles of Biblical baptism and then I’ll give the scriptural basis for each of these principles.

Baptism does not give a person salvation. Baptism does not wash away our sins. Baptism is to be done by full immersion in water. Baptism is only to be done after a person has accepted Christ. Baptism is one of two ordinances that Christ has commanded us to do, the other being the Lord’s Supper. Baptism is an outward symbol of the inward transformation we go through when we have been born again.

Ephesians 4:4-6 says, “There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called—one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

There is only one baptism and that is the way the Bible describes it.

Why baptize? For starters, we are commanded to do so by Christ. In Matthew 28:19, Jesus said, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” All throughout the book of Acts, we see stories of people being baptized.

And, Jesus himself was baptized. Matthew 3:13-17 says:

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

This passage shows us that baptism is important. So important that Jesus himself asked to be baptized in order to “fulfill all righteousness”. This passage also shows that the act of baptism certainly does not give one salvation. Jesus was the son of God and God Himself. He hardly needed to be given salvation. Next, this passage shows that baptism is by immersion not sprinkling. For, Jesus “went up out of the water”. He was in a river to be baptized, not having some water dribbled over Him. Finally, this passage shows us the purpose of baptism. When Christ came up out of the water, “the Spirit of God descending like a dove” was seen, showing all that were watching that baptism is a symbol of our receiving the Holy Spirit.

Romans 6:3-4 confirms the symbolism and public profession of baptism. “Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” Picture the act of baptism. We are buried with Christ – submerged under water, then raised from the dead – raised out of the water, so that we may live a new life with Christ. Baptism is the outward representation of the inward transformation we go through when we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior. It is our public confession that we have accepted Christ.

Let’s turn more detailed attention to the order of things. There are several denominations that baptize babies. What is the purpose of this? Unfortunately, many believe that this secures the soul of the child to go to heaven. Others believe that this washes away original sin. Neither of these beliefs is Biblical. Throughout scripture we see that the order of things is believe in Christ first, then be baptized. Mark 16:16 says, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” Don’t be confused. This is not saying that you must believe and be baptized to be saved. It’s saying, you believe and then you’re baptized. This is confirmed in that the verse does not include not being baptized as a condition for being condemned. Only not believing in Christ and not submitting to His lordship can condemn you to hell. Also, we see many other passages where baptism follows salvation. As homework, check out the following verses: Acts 2:37-38, Acts 8:12-13, 34-39 (this one also shows full immersion – again, they came up out of the water), Acts 9:17-18 (here, the apostle Paul, several days after his conversion, is baptized).

I can understand some people’s confusion. Acts 22:16 says, “And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.” But, if you examine this passage carefully you’ll see that these are words that Ananias said to Paul AFTER Paul had already been saved. Again, Paul’s sin was taken away by the blood of Jesus Christ. Baptism followed that.

So, if you were baptized as a baby and have never been Biblically baptized, does that mean you are not going to heaven? Actually, if you’ve been paying attention, it has nothing to do with heaven or hell. The determining factor between heaven and hell is your acknowledgement that you are a sinner and that you, on your own, cannot get into heaven because if God were to judge you, He would find you guilty of breaking His commandments. But, if you’ve accepted Christ as Lord and Savior, and repented of your sins, then you are bound for heaven. Baptism, though, is something you should do in order to publicly confess that you are a child of God. Another verse that shows baptism is not necessary for salvation is in Luke 23:39-43:

One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”

This man died on a cross as Jesus did. He had no opportunity to get baptized and yet Jesus told him that the man would be in paradise with Jesus. Only belief in Christ and submission to Him as Lord is necessary for salvation.

What you do with this is up to you. If you consider yourself a follower of Christ and have never been Biblically baptized what does that mean? It means only that you are disobeying your Lord and Savior. Baptism is often the first act of obedience. My advice, find a church that baptizes Biblically and follow our Lord’s command.

Just an aside and strictly my opinion, but if a church is not following the Bible in an ordinance as important as baptism, I wonder if they are preaching the Bible and only the Bible and I suspect they are not following the Bible in other ways. Personally, I would not attend a church that did not baptize Biblically.

The Theology of The Little Drummer Boy

When I was little, one of my favorite Christmas shows was “The Little Drummer Boy”. This was long before I became a Christian, but even then, watching this show always brought a tear to my eye. While tiling my bathroom wall, this song came on my iPod and I really listened to the lyrics and thought, you know, those words are pretty good theology.

Now, don’t get me wrong, there is no little drummer boy in the Bible. All we know are that some kings from the East came and visited Jesus (we don’t even really know how many) and brought him some gifts. By the way, Jesus was around 2 years old when these kings came. It was not when he was in the manger.

Anyway, let’s start at the beginning of “The Little Drummer Boy”.

Come they told me, pa rum pum pum pum
A new born King to see, pa rum pum pum pum

In the Bible, Andrew is one of the first to meet Jesus. Immediately after meeting Jesus, he finds his brother Peter. John 1:40-42a says, “Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus.”

This should be our reaction as well. When we meet Jesus, we should be going out and bringing others to Him.

Our finest gifts we bring, pa rum pum pum pum
To lay before the King, pa rum pum pum pum,

This should be our attitude, to lay our finest gifts before Christ. Malachi 3:10 says, “’Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty,‘ and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.”

If we bring God our best, He’ll bless us for that. But, here’s the big question, what is our best?

Little Baby, pa rum pum pum pum
I am a poor boy too, pa rum pum pum pum
I have no gift to bring, pa rum pum pum pum
That's fit to give the King, pa rum pum pum pum,

Like the little drummer boy, we may often feel that we have nothing of any real value to bring to Christ. We may feel that we’re not that talented, so there’s no place in ministry for us. We’re not rich, so we can’t lay gold, Frankincense or Mir at His feet. We have nothing to bring Him, nothing to give Him, nothing to do for Him, so we do nothing and go our own way.

I’d like to explore two answers to the question of what we can bring Christ. The first is given by the prophet Samuel in 1Samuel 15:22. “But Samuel replied: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.”

The one gift that we can all give to Christ is our obedience. Christ said in John 14:21, “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me.” God wants us to love Him and we do that by following His commands. That is one gift that is worthy of The King that any Christian can bring.

I played my drum for Him, pa rum pum pum pum
I played my best for Him, pa rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum,
…
Then He smiled at me, pa rum pum pum pum
Me and my drum.

The little drummer boy, though, provides us with the second answer. One gift we can bring to Christ is to do our best for Him in no matter what it is. Think about it. Does God really need anything from us? No, He has everything. He created everything. Nothing we could give him, in the material sense, means anything to Him. But, God is our heavenly father, and He delights in His children when they do their best for Him. If you have children of your own, just think back to the delight you had when they drew a picture for you. Even if it was a bunch of scribbles, it was the best your child could do at the time and you were delighted. God is the same way. We’re not all called to be “great” as the world defines great. But, we are all called to do our best for the Lord.

Colossians 3:23 says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,”

1Corinthians 9:24 says, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.”

It’s not what we can do that concerns God. It’s not how well we can do it. Rather, it’s the state of our heart when we do something. Are we working for God and are we doing our best? Psalms 51:17 says, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” Like the little drummer boy, we may not feel that what we do is worthy of the God who created the universe, but if we humble ourselves and do our best and do what we do for God and not ourselves, then we too one day will stand before Christ and he will say to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ (Matthew 25:21).

Our Fascination with the Supernatural

I admit that since I was a child, I’ve had a fascination with the supernatural. Vampires, werewolves, warlocks, dragons, wizards and the such. And America’s fascination with the supernatural seems to be at a peak. When I was a kid, it was “Bewitched” that was a favorite of many. This show portrayed witches as generally good people. Interestingly, the use of magic usually landed Samantha in trouble, though it was also magic that got her back out of trouble.

Today, such shows as “Wizards of Waverly Place” and “Charmed” are popular. The Harry Potter series of books and movies are hugely successful, as is the “Twilight” series. I’ve seen previews of an upcoming remake of “The Wolfman” as well. And of course, Dracula has been remade many times.

Even Christian stories such as “Lord of the Rings” and the Narnia series are rooted in the supernatural. Though, the Narnia series is a Christian allegory. However, if parents don’t explain the allegory to their kids, the kids probably won’t understand that Aslan, the lion, is a representation of Christ. One interesting fact to note, whenever a human performs magic in “The Lord of the Rings” bad things happen. Gandalf is not a human, he is a Mithra, or a race of angels. Anyway, I digress.

I’m not one of those who thinks we should ban or even protest movies such as Harry Potter or “Twlight”. I believe it is up to the parents to educate their children about the supernatural and to both know and decide what is appropriate for their children to watch. However, I do believe there are two major consequences that result from our glorification of things from the occult. And yes, magic, witches, warlocks, etc. are of the occult. They are not sanctioned by God. The Bible is pretty clear on God’s stance regarding the practice of witchcraft:

“Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD, and because of these detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you. You must be blameless before the LORD your God. (Deuteronomy 18:10-13).

Therefore, when Hollywood or an author glorifies witchcraft, or makes witchcraft appear good, they are going contrary to the Bible. This, in of itself, is a problem, and thus parents should educate their children about what the Bible has to say about witchcraft.

Isaiah 5:20 says, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.” Movies do this all the time – glorify evil. Our children need to be educated on what is good and what is truly evil.

It is this portrayal of evil as good that is the first danger of our fascination of the supernatural. We are raising generations of children who may believe that witchcraft is good, that divination is good, and that even traditional icons of evil such as vampires can be good. People are attracted to evil. I believe this is the sinful nature inside of us, but I also believe the media shares some of the blame. And by the media I include fiction authors, movie producers, and television producers. “Wizards of Waverly Place” may be a cute, entertaining show, but one consequence of this show is to demonstrate to children that witchcraft is okay, fun, and even useful.

The second consequence of our current portrayal of the supernatural is actually somewhat of an opposite effect. It’s the trivialization of the supernatural. Remember, God is supernatural. The Bible has many many occurrences of supernatural healings, miracles, and other events. And not just through Jesus, but also through his disciples. And witchcraft as well as conversing with the dead is real, as seen in 1Samuel 28 when Saul asks the witches of Endor to consult with the dead spirit of Samuel. There is a natural world and there is a supernatural world. But, we are so bombarded with fictional portrayals of the supernatural that many people may have a tendency to shake off the entire concept as fiction. This, unfortunately, includes God.

I believe the saturation of the supernatural in fiction has a numbing effect on people, leading them to disregard the actual existence of evil supernatural entities (demons) and the actual existence of good supernatural entities (God and His angels). Ignoring either the evil supernatural or the good supernatural can have devastating consequences.

So, what’s the answer? Total censorship! No, that’s not the answer. The answer, as usual lies in the Bible: “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” (Proverbs 22:6). Parents, train your children in the ways of the Bible so that they know fiction from reality and so that they know what is truly evil and what is truly good. Of course, if one way you want to train them is by not allowing them to watch shows that glorify evil, then good for you, that is your prerogative. Another way is to watch these shows and movies with your children and explain to them what the Bible says and why what they are seeing is both fiction and dishonoring to God.

And for all of us, we need to read the Bible so that we’re familiar both with what God says about things such as witchcraft and speaking to the dead, and to learn about both the good supernatural and the evil supernatural. We need to educate ourselves and that education should come from the Bible, not from Hollywood. 2Timothy 3:16-17 says, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” The way to fight the world and its portrayal of evil as good is to be equipped with God’s Word.

Our fascination with the supernatural is not a bad thing. God is supernatural. We should pursue the supernatural. It’s just that we need to pursue the right path to the supernatural and we need to learn to call evil evil and good good.

Idol Worship

Well, here I am out of a job again, so I have some time to keep my blog updated. Prayerfully, the out of jobness will be short-lived. And prayerfully as well, I’ll try to keep the blog updated even when I go back to work.

There has been a lot of things going on lately, fodder for my theological ravings. The one I’d like to focus on today is the Tiger Woods incident. Yeah, I know, you’re all probably sick of hearing about it. But allow me to say just one more thing about this incident.

America is guilty of a great many sins. For starters, all of us as individuals are sinners. We do stuff wrong all the time. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” But there seems to be one great sin that so many Americans participate in, Christians and non-Christians alike, and that is the sin of idol worship. We even have a television program called “American Idol”. The Bible is very clear on idol worship – we’re not to do it. The first two commandments of the Ten Commandments are: “You shall have no other gods before Me” and “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.” (Deuteronomy 5:7-10).

Throughout the Old Testament, God continually chastises the Hebrews for idol worship. And yet, in America, a country where over 90% of the people profess to believe in God, we worship many idols. Rock stars, television stars, movie stars, and yes, professional athletes.

Tiger Woods is one of those idols worshipped on the throne of the American Dream. He’s one of those men held up to children as an example that we can accomplish anything if we just work hard at it. That anyone in America can succeed.

Looking up to others that have succeeded is not all bad. But here’s the problem. Tiger Woods is a great golfer. No doubt about that. Maybe the greatest ever. But Americans don’t want to stop there. We want to form an image of Tiger in our heads that places him on a pedestal and makes him a paragon of human virtue. We can’t simply accept him as a great golfer and admire his golf skills, but we must also assume that he’s a great person. Maybe he is and maybe he isn’t. Obviously, he’s made some dumb decisions in his personal life. But haven’t we all? Now, I’m in no way condoning anything he did. But, what I’m trying to say is that just because Tiger Woods is a great golfer does not mean he’s a man to be emulated in all facets of life. He’s not perfect. As we’ve seen. But what really floors me is the vitriol that comes out of people because he messed up. And it’s all because of idol worship.

I don’t know Tiger Woods’ spiritual state. I don’t know if he’s a follower of Jesus or not. If not, then his behavior is to be expected. Lost people act like lost people. There should be no reason to expect him to live a virtuous life without the only One who can empower us to do so. And if he is a Christian, then he has God to answer to, not us.

Movie stars, rock stars, and athletes can be admired for the talents they possess. However, we should not expect them to live lives of perfection. I think our rage at a star who falls is really a reflection of our own guilt. We know that we cannot live perfect lives and thus project onto our “heroes” the ability to do so. Therefore, when that hero fails, as they all do, we’re let down, we’re angry, we’re confused, and most of all, we’re faced with the fact that man, us included, is fallen and that makes us uncomfortable. Americans are prideful and we don’t want to accept that we need a Savior and that we’re incapable of living like we want on our own. Paul said in Romans 2:1, “You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.” We expect our heroes NOT to do the same things that we do. And when they prove themselves to be human, we get angry.

There is only one hero who lived a perfect life and that was Jesus Christ. If we worship Him, we will not be let down. He will never mess up. He will never sin. He never did sin. He lived a perfect life and gave Himself up for us so that we, if we believe in Him, and submit ourselves to Him, can have assurance of eternal life. And in Heaven, there will be no sin, therefore, no one will let us down.

Worship Jesus, not the latest star of Twilight or your favorite NFL quarterback or even the next American Idol, for Jesus will never let you down.

Oh, and one more thing that I find strange with us Americans. We expect our athletes, rock stars, and movie stars to be such virtuous people and we’re angry when they let us down. But when a politician messes up, that’s just par for the course. Our priorities are completely out of whack. And I believe there’s coming a day of reckoning. God will tolerate our idol worship only so long. Go back to the beginning of this and read Deuteronomy 5:7-10 again.