From today’s reading...
‘You will be brought before governors and kings for my sake, as evidence to them and to the gentiles.’” Matthew 10:18
When you’re neck-deep in alligators, it’s hard to remember your goal was to drain the swamp. D.C. is a swamp. Sacramento is a swamp. California is a swamp. Until two weeks ago, our local school board was a swamp, so now the alligators are rearing their big mouths. The Vatican is a swamp. The USCCB is a swamp.
They all need draining, but it’s hard, dirty, dangerous work, but it must be done by you and by me.
Acts 6 today tells us how Stephen was stoned to death for trying to drain the swamp, i.e., for preaching the Good News.
Jesus warns us that trials and tribulations await us for simply walking in His footsteps, but don’t expect justice from a government that kills its own president and covers it up for 60 years.
Don’t expect justice from a government that kills its own children for 50 years and wants to make it a Constitutionally protected right.
Don’t expect justice from a government that colludes with social media platforms to silence its critics.
Don’t expect justice from a government that invades and occupies foreign lands for decades, spends trillions of dollars doing so, and lies about why we are doing it.
Don’t expect justice from a government that feeds poison to our children and calls it food, prescribes amphetamines to our children and calls it compassion, and forces vaccines on our children and calls it healthcare.
Don’t expect justice from a government that kills child rapists to protect their own.
Don’t expect justice from a government that allows perverted men to groom your children in libraries, schools, parades, TV shows, movies, books, comics, and social media.
Don’t expect justice from a government that intentionally confuses our children and then induces them to butcher themselves by mutilating their genitalia.
Don’t expect justice from a government that audits you for $600 from your grandma but loses $2.2 trillion in assets.
Don’t expect justice from a government that violates our own Constitution to disarm you but arms foreign nations, even those that were supposedly our enemies.
Don’t expect justice from a government that devalues our currency and provides safety nets for their rich donors while preventing you from providing for your own family.
Don’t expect justice from the government, period.
You may be thinking, “But Wes, I haven’t been persecuted by my government.”
That’s because you are lucky enough to be born in the time and place you have, and/or you haven’t spoken up about anything.
When Cain was shown in his brother, Abel, how to live an upstanding life pleasing to God, that didn’t motivate him to get on the right track.
It drove him to kill his own brother, i.e., the ideal.
It’s what we do if we are not careful. Judges nor politicians nor police nor school administrators nor your next-door neighbor, nor you yourself are immune from this temptation.
You’ve got to stand for something, or you’ll fall for anything.
Speak up, even if your voice shakes. God will give you the courage, the wisdom, and the words when you do, and He will take you into His arms for all eternity, as He has done with Stephen if you encounter the deadly corruption that is more prevalent than you might think because that is what God does for all who...
Stay the course.
Keep the faith.
Endure.
Market like you mean it. Now go sell something.
