I am aware of several “Christian” families that are breaking apart. Although this fact does not shock me, I am personally disappointed that the men presiding over this destruction had, over time, convincingly presented themselves as men of character and integrity.
My disappointment is not rooted in being fooled—being fooled by people of less than honorable intent is one of the sad realities of having human relationships—but in seeing these men privately embrace philosophies that are destroying American culture and attacking the Christian church to which they claimed to be a part.
In each of the cases of which I am aware, the men in question depended on their wives for the financial wherewithal to meet their needs and attain their material desires, which were significant. They were either unemployed or did not work hard at finding adequate work to help meet the expenses of providing for a family.
They had easily accepted the tenets of feminism and materialism to find for themselves lives of leisure, plenty, and emptiness. In the process their families floundered and fell apart, but their negligent reputations shave stained the value system and congregations they pretended to serve.
Unfortunately, the erosion of integrity is not contained within neighborhood circles. America’s most powerful “Christian” is arguably President Bush, however, his rhetoric is undeniably utopian, his handling of foreign peers is sadly arrogant to the point of disrespect, and his conduct in office not only disregards constitutional limits at every turn, but strangely mimics that of his predecessor’s.
Bill Clinton enlisted the advice of James Carville to advise his administration on the implementation of policy for maximum political affect. President Bush relies on the insight of Karl Rove for the same reasons. Republicans held Bill Clinton in contempt for his continual traveling for the sake of delivering campaign speeches to hand-picked audiences. Mr. Bush’s almost daily speeches to friendly crowds in venues throughout the nation have never caused concern to his GOP brethren.
Conservative talk celebrities excoriated Mr. Clinton daily because his supposedly superior intentions blinded him to the consequences of his policy failures. Mr. Bush, on the other hand, is heralded by the same talkers for having the courage to push through on his War Against International Terror so he can deliver on his desire to redefine the Middle East for the benefit of the very people whose homes are being destroyed by his vision.
Of course Mr. Clinton had that embarrassing episode regarding the college intern and his bold statement that, “I did not have sex with that woman,” but that was a personal embarrassment that aided Republicans in the very next presidential election. The Bush Administration’s claims that Saddam’s Iraq was a threat to the world with weapons of mass destruction and ties to Islamic terrorist have been disproved by Congressional investigations and subsequently refuted by the president himself. Republicans, however, have survived two elections with their Congressional majorities and hold on the White House in tact since those accusations against Saddam were used to drum up national support for the invasion of Iraq—and Republican electoral support has wavered little within a block of voters who rightly considered Clinton’s prevarication to be sinful.
Christian virtue is considered here to be a binding influence on the stability and strength of a culture and society. That virtue, however, is not measured in words or invitations to others to attend a church service. It is a virtue that defines a character and shapes the standards by which an individual’s integrity is measured. In America today, there are too many men, from the very top of the nation’s power structures to the humblest home, who use Christian morals and phrases to deflect serious scrutiny of their lives and decisions that have horrible consequences to those falling under their influence.
Certainly God will exercise the final judgment of the intentions and lack of integrity of those who claim his name, but it comes to us in the here and now to deal with the horrible consequences.
“Published originally at EtherZone.com : republication allowed with this notice and hyperlink intact.”