Conversation Point

False Prophets

My mail carrier and I had a discussion about the state of our nation a few days ago. We are both fed up and frustrated with the damage done to our economy, our leadership position in the world and our involvement in a foreign civil war in which we should never have had a part. We are not unusual or alone. Both being about the same age, we cannot remember a time so desolate in the United States during our lifetimes. Who would have thought we would ever remember Ronald Reagan's presidency as a kinder, gentler time? My mail carrier thought our current president made Nixon look good. I couldn't disagree. At least Nixon had the courtesy to be paranoid and mean spirited when discovered in his conspiracies and lies. George w. Bush just pays his $187,000 plus in taxes, pretends the world is perfectly in order and tucks himself into a sound sleep every night.

Meanwhile, what we want and need as a nation goes unnoticed. Our voices, raised in unity and purpose last November, are being ignored. Completely and utterly ignored. George W. Bush can talk all he likes about winning in Iraq with a troop surge, the necessity of torture to obtain information from illegally held prisoners in secret locations and the certainty he feels about the strength of the U.S. economy. He is either lying to himself, us or both. This is one of those moments in time at which we cannot give back what we are being given. We cannot ignore the reality of our President's actions and his unwillingness to respond to the demands of those he is supposed to be serving. We must claim our constitutional rights to free speech, to assemble peaceably and make our voices heard in ways that cannot be ignored any longer.

But we must also respond to this national crisis as people of faith who claim salvation through a Speaker of Truth who leads us to live as a resurrected people.

It is a Biblical principle, this understanding that some people in leadership positions have integrity and seemingly many more do not. How do we tell them apart? "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes grafted from thorns, or figs from thistles? So every sound tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears evil fruit (Matthew 7:15-17)."

While hindsight may be 20/20, how many of us got all excited when President Bush handed out a tax rebate in 2001 because we had a surplus in the national coffers that he wanted to share with us? Number one, it's not sharing when it was our money in the first place. Number two, with what did we expect to continue running the country? But this President's idea of a booming economy is, indeed, a continuing legacy of spending other people's money, our money, without our permission. While President Bush may see this as the Biblical principle of redistribution of wealth among the poor and needy it has not proven itself to be so. By their fruits we will know them.

We did not need to invade Iraq to prevent future terrorist attacks, and evidence now indicates that our hand stirring this Iraq War pot has probably given new life to terrorist cells forming in the chaos of this besieged and beleaguered country. Because we have spent hundreds of billions of dollars illegally occupying another country, we can't care for our own wounded soldiers when they return home. We don't have the resources to tend to people who willingly put their lives on the line for us. Why does President Bush have us there? Why does he have a need to keep us there against our will and our very public better judgment? By their fruits we will know them.

What other ways has our country and our world suffered because of this man's approach to leadership that can only be described as acting as a false prophet to his own people? Could our educational systems be bolstered by redirected tax dollars? Could we have a national health care system that would include all of us? Might we be able to extend ourselves to other countries in need out of our own wealth of spirit in order to bear good fruit in as many places as possible? If charity can begin at home, how can we use what we know about bearing good fruit, exemplified by Jesus, to change our country and our country's reputation in the world to one of grace, truth and integrity?

We live in a consumer-based economy here in the United States that is driven by our belief in "bigger, better, more" at all costs. Our President lives a lifestyle of conspicuous consumption and encourages us to do the same, even as we cry out for mercy and are brushed aside. There is absolutely nothing in Jesus' teachings that says that the fruits of a faithful life are disclosed in how much stuff we own. That may come as a shock to our President who claims a Christian faith in a God I do not recognize.

Based on these reflections, my mail carrier has a plan for us. We can act, feel heard and make a difference if we are willing to work together to accomplish it. If we all take our cars and a brown bag lunch to every major highway in the United States and simply park for the day, we could change the world. No one could get to work, the economy would grind to a halt, Congress would have no money for the President to spend and we may have a chance of being heard. We may be able to end the war, put our tax dollars toward projects that will enrich our nation and help end poverty in the world. Stretch that out to a few days or a week and we may be able to get a national health care system in place too. Hmmm. We could also get to know each other a little better hanging out together on the highway and talking. We may not be completely right, but we do have the right to feel heard and we have a responsibility to act.

By our fruits we will be known.

posted by Cory L. Kemp @ 6:40 PM