Thursday, January 20, 2022

Something Of Value

"If a man does away with his traditional way of living and throws away his good customs, he had better first make certain that he has something of value to replace them. "
~ Basuto proverb

This is a different kind of post, but maybe not.

We've been losing our history, by choice.

Everything now seems to come down to feelings and outrage, seen through a lens of current academic thinking, without context or grace. Washington and Jefferson are reviled, the Lincoln and FDR monuments are vandalized, Martin Luther King is dismissed as an Uncle Tom.

There's a movement, with support in the government, to dynamite Mount Rushmore.

Terrible for society, but worse when done to ourselves.

Here at a twilight that will not see another dawn in this world, I look back on the day.

I made mistakes
Lots of mistakes, some of which tempt me to brand that person I was as selfish, egotistical, and sometimes downright cruel.

Worthy of being cast into the outer dark, unloved, unwanted.

And yet... that person is a part of what I am now. The judge I am almost longing to become is a wounded hyena, snapping at his own entrails.

I can't afford that kind of self-destruction, not with my audience in the Throne Room so very near.

I have to offer grace, forgiveness for wrongs, and recognition for what was done right, or at least done to the best of my ability.

True for me.

True for America.


We live at end of history,
and little now remains
of Manifested Destiny
and The Plow That Broke The Plains.
Washington was racist,
and Lincoln, criminal,
San Juan Teddy fascist,
and JFK just dull
for his failure to admit
that the past's not real
and can blithely be rewrit
on lines of how we feel,
and MLK and Colonel Custer
stand side by side at final muster.

The Five Minute Friday prompt this week is POSSIBILITY.

Is there yet possibility
this land won't find its grave,
we'll turn back to civility,
and America be saved
from those who would tear, destroy
from their place within
with any tool they can employ;
but where do we begin?
There are no brazen charioteers
on rescue-ride down yonder hill;
no, if aid may still betide
if has to come from will
and from what we choose to do;
it's up to us, friend, me and you.

Well, five minutes minus a couple seconds, and on the same topic.

Like a pat of butter, I'm on a roll.

Music from Jesus Jones, with Right Here, Right Now. A song from a better time.

Sylvia values ice cream.



 

16 comments:

  1. Great post! The truth you spoke about our country makes me sad & angry & sick to my stomach. America is truly going to Hell in a hand-basket.

    Come Lord Jesus Come!

    FMF#2

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    Replies
    1. Barb, thank you so much for this affirmation, even though it's a sad subject.

      And, yeah, me too. I can hardly wait till He gets here.

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  2. Andrew, we are in a sad state but may we not lose hope. May we remember our history, remember the mistakes made, so that we do not repeat them once again. We can be the ones to tell the next generation of our history, and of our God, so that perhaps, they will turn and cling to Him. My hope is in the One who holds the past, the present and the future in His hands.

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    1. Joanne, I love the way you said this, and the path you lay out to maintain hope!

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  3. Replies
    1. Linda, I'm in agreement, for this country, and personally.

      I'm tired.

      Come quickly, Jesus.

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  4. "Is there a possibility that we will turn back to civility?" Yes, if we (like you) repent and seek His face, He turns, heals, and embraces once again - for He never wanted the distance or destruction that we brought on ourselves. And when He heals, the scars are a testimony of His power to love and forgive. And in the joy of His embrace, the past fades. I'm so thankful that He is Faithful and covers us in our unfaithfulness to Him when we return to Him. He is always Faithful.

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    1. Lisa, you're so right, He came to embrace, not push away.

      And still He stands, arms outstretched.

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  5. It felt like reading my own heart. Your words are so true, and it hurts to the core for those who are blinded by lies, family included.

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    1. Rhonda, thank you for this affirmation, though I wish it... and this blog post... were not necessary.

      There's an old saying that a lie can't run far, because it has short legs.

      For this country, I hope that's true.

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  6. (((((Andrew)))))

    What a sad world we live in today. It makes me appreciate more than ever the fact that it is not the only world.

    Annie in Texas

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    1. ((((((((ANNIE!!!!!!!!))))))))

      You're so right... knowing that there is a world beyond this one does make all the difference.

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  7. Great post today! It grieves me that so many people (or perhaps a very vocal few?) have so little regard for history and would rather erase it than learn from it.

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    1. Kym, you nailed it, that so many, thinking history is 'hard', would just rather erase the past and replace it with something easy to hate.

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