At the turn of the 20th century, President Theodore Roosevelt said, “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
What more inspiring words do we need? As a Christian, even during the earlier times of President Roosevelt, Jesus allows us to be who we are, where we are. Even though Christians have taken much criticism and chastisement during these New Testament times, Christ stands with us and protects us if we firmly believe in Him.
Why is it that we have taken the way of the world when Jesus has paid the ultimate price for our eternal glory? Could it be that we, as a nation, have allowed Satan to creep in and get a stronghold on some of our influential leaders and members of Congress? Could it be that we, as a nation, contain the same desires of the unchurched and non-Christian nations that seem to have the upper hand today?
For many of our people today, fear has become a problem. Even though we say we are awed by God’s love and presence, we have allowed mankind to slip in and take away our God-given rights and freedoms that our forefathers fought so dearly for. The foundation of our nation is quickly sinking because we, as Christians, have not stood up to the test and have allowed these things to happen.
My heart breaks when I turn on the national news and they are so supportive of the worldly values that many of our leaders put trust in. In the earlier years, our countrymen put their trust in God and country and built a great and powerful nation. It seems lately that our leaders are putting their trust and faith in non-Christian actions and worldly values that will one day be gone and done away with.
As a child of God, it is our responsibility to step and stand up to what we know is right. We need to realize that the seeds we are sowing today are the future of this great country. We need to realize that God will take us from where we are to where he wants us to be if we will study His Word and talk to Him daily.
We need to quit fretting about reputation as individuals and as a country. The great preacher that graced the pulpit of Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis for many years, Adrian Rogers, once said, “Reputation is what others think about you; character is what God knows about you.”
Isn’t it about time that we worry about our character instead of what the world thinks of us?
