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By Paul Proctor
July 3, 2003
NewsWithViews.com
Christians and conservatives alike are all talking it up these days about �Taking America Back�. Is that really what we need to do � take America back? I would say that �Taking America Back� is not the solution at all but rather the problem.
I know �Taking America Back� sounds patriotic and we SO love to blame this mess we�re in on the communists, the liberals, the feminists, the pagans, the homosexuals, the abortionists, the media, the Supreme Court, the Congress, the Senate, George Bush, Bill Clinton, F.D.R., the Illuminati, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Bilderbergers, the Rockefellers, the Rothschilds and THE DEVIL HIMSELF but aren�t you and I, the church of Laodicea, ultimately responsible for what has happened to this country? After all, THEY didn�t take this country away from us. We GAVE it to them. My question is: �What were WE doing with it in the first place?�
Do you honestly think that our omnipotent Lord is unable to deliver us from the evil now running roughshod over this country? Is wickedness increasing all around us because HE can�t stop it or because WE can�t? If it is WE that cannot stop it then why should WE take America back? What do you suppose we would do with America if we COULD take it back? In light of our fallen nature and track record, probably just what we did before � lose it.
What�s a child going to do with a broken toy when he snatches it from the hand of the little friend who broke it? Not much, is he? Probably just sit there, cry for a while and play with the broken pieces until he gets bored and frustrated and it ends up back in the hands of the mischievous friend he took it from or is abandoned altogether.
It seems to me that in all our pride and permissiveness we�re trying to pump each other up into little guts and glory gods here in the big sandbox. When Israel�s enemies reeked havoc over them, (because of their own sin) was their battle cry: �We�re Taking Israel Back?" Were they, going to somehow conquer the Assyrians and the Philistines FOR GOD while giving lip service to Him? Is that really the way we think the relationship between a man and his maker works? Apparently so�
�Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.� - Jeremiah 17:5
My point is this: WE CAN�T FIX AMERICA anymore than we can fix ourselves. We can�t deliver America from sin anymore than we can deliver ourselves. �Taking America Back� may sound high-minded, moral and sell a lot of books and banners on the Fourth of July but for a Christian it�s as tragic and treacherous an idea as standing up in church to declare: �I�m taking my life back!�
It�s the typical pseudo/psycho/self-help/self-empowerment/self-indulgent/self-assured/self-esteem philosophy we hear every day on television and radio that the world just loves and God hates. �Take control of your life!� �You deserve it!� How can the Lord deliver anyone who refuses to yield and obey Him? He can�t � anymore than He can deliver a nation where millions of proud and sin-plagued Americans are hell bent on taking control.
We ought to be on our knees before God in fear and trembling, surrendering ourselves into His gracious, merciful and all-powerful hands, one soul, one family and one church at a time, in humble obedience, trusting Him for the victory � not bragging to ourselves like a bunch of drooling drunks around the bar at last call announcing to the world that we�re �Taking America Back!�
�If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.� - 2nd Chronicles 7:14
� 2003 Paul Proctor - All Rights Reserved
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Paul Proctor, a rural resident of the Volunteer state and seasoned veteran of the country music industry, retired from showbiz in the late 1990's to dedicate himself to addressing important social issues from a distinctly biblical perspective. As a freelance writer and regular columnist for NewsWithViews.com, he extols the wisdom and truths of scripture through commentary and insight on cultural trends and current events. His articles appear regularly on a variety of news and opinion sites across the internet and in print. Paul may be reached at watchman@usa.com�
"My point is this: WE CAN�T FIX AMERICA anymore than we can fix ourselves."
After all, THEY didn�t take this country away from us. We GAVE it to them."
Editors Note:
How can people take America back, when they can't even clean up corruption in their own city and county?
Taking America back must start at home!