Does this photo remind anyone else of our government and our country right now? People throwing anger and bitterness at each other while pushing and shoving. Already the rants are appearing everywhere, from "both" sides. All of this bickering back and forth does nothing but give me a headache. It reminds me of a saying one of our guides used to describe the traffic in Rome, "che casino!" which translates into: what a mess!
"You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow be evading it today."
I am not interested in hearing anyone who sits there and wants to blame one person for this mess. We are ALL responsible. It has taken years upon years of being irresponsible to get to this place, period. I refuse to sit here and blame just one person (regardless of whether you blame Obama or Bush), it's just not true that one person caused this.
"Nothing will ever change while you point the finger of blame. Out of responsibility comes possibility."
"Don't find fault, find a remedy; anybody can complain." Henry Ford
"If you don't have a business plan it's like you are going to an unknown destination without a map."
The problem with blame is that it creates inaction. It's looking backwards instead of forwards. Blame keeps us from coming up with a solution. The reality is that we can't undo what's already been done. So, we need to turn our focus from looking backwards to looking forwards and move on.
"Stop whining and find something to do."
"Many things aren't equal but everyone gets the same 24 hours a day, 7 days a week."
So, my challenge to you is to figure out what you, as an individual, can do to help our country move forward. The other thing blame does, is it often makes us feel helpless, like we can't do anything. Not true. You are not powerless in this situation. Or we use blame to cover our inaction. We spend all of our time trying to convince others that we are not to blame that we become stuck and stagnant in the problem, using up our finite energy and time in criticism, bitterness, and self-righteous anger. Jump out of the quicksand pit of blame and onto the solid surface of action. Begin to focus on what you can do.
"Open your heart and invite God into every circumstance because when God enters the scene, miracles happen."
"Our prayers may be awkward. Our attempt may be feeble. But since the power of prayer is in the One who hears it and not in the one who says it, our prayers do make a difference."
"Get on your knees and pray, then get on your feet and work."
1. You can pray. Imagine if all of us joined together and began to cry out to God for help for our country and our government-- just imagine the sound. Instead of blaming and pointing fingers-- which sounds just like fingernails on a chalkboard-- if we instead began to lift our voices collectively in a beautiful song of prayer. Imagine the sound. Don't think that God will hear that? Then you had better go back and read Exodus. Or how about this scripture in Judges:
Judges 3:9 "When the sons of Israel cried to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer....."
And, I'm not saying we all need to gather in one place, at a designated time. I think if we all pray the same prayer at different times, covering the whole 24 hour period of each day, the resulting song of prayer would be just as effective, if not more so.
And I think we need to do more than just pray once. We need to be persistent in our prayers. Just like the woman in Luke 18:1-8-- her persistence until she received her answer is something we should aspire to.
I think what we pray for is important as well. Me? I'm praying for wisdom- for our leaders all the way down to our citizens-- that we be wise in our decisions. I'm praying for the hearts of our nation to turn to God-- I truly believe that some of our personal financial problems stem from a desire to fill a hole deep within us with something other than God. The problem is the only thing big enough, deep enough, wide enough to fill that hole is God. Anything else leaves wide, painful gaps in our soul. And I'm praying for love to fill our country. Love for God. Love for one another. Love for others in the world around us. That's what I'm praying for.
"It's not fair to ask of others what you are unwilling to do yourself." Eleanor Roosevelt
2. You can start to be fiscally responsible in your own life. Part, not all, of our problem is that we are expecting the government to do something that, we, as citizens of the U.S., have been unwilling to do ourselves. We expect them to balance the budget and live within their means when we have not done it ourselves. We also expect the government to take care of those less fortunate when we ourselves often close our eyes to those in need around us. Hmmmmmmm...... anyone else feel like they are a dog who just got hit on the nose with a paper? Ouch! But truthful. Before we can demand fiscal integrity in our leaders, we need to have fiscal integrity ourselves. It needs to become a cultural norm in our country rather than a cultural oddity. Do you know that there are roughly 250 bible verses about money?
Matthew 25-- Parable of the talents
Proverbs is full of scriptures about wisdom and money.
Luke 14:28-30-- I know that this scripture has been interpreted many ways (isn't that the beauty of scripture, that one verse can have multiple meanings and implications?) But in this case I'm going to take it at face value; " For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he may have enough to finish it; lest perhaps, after he has laid the foundation and is not able to finish, all those seeing begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build and was not able to finish."
A few more to read:
Dueteronomy 25:13-15, Leviticus 19:13, Psalm 112:5, Proverbs 10:4, Proverbs 13:11, Jeremiah 22:13, Luke 16:10, Exodus 22:14, Dueteronomy 28:12, Psalm 37:21, Proverbs 22:26-27, Ecclesiastes 5:5, Proverbs 12:11, Proverbs 14:15, Proverbs 21:5, Deuteronomy 16:7, Proverbs 3:9-10, Proverbs 21:26, Malachi 3:10, Matthew 6:3-4, Mark 12:41-44, Luke 6:30, Luke 6:38, 2 Corinthians 9:6-8, Proverbs 24:27, Leviticus 25:35-37, Proverbs 3:27-28 and on and on and on...
" Gratitude is an attitude that hooks us up to our source of supply. And the more grateful you are, the closer you are to your maker, the architect of the universe, to the spiritual core of your being."
"When you walk with gratitude, you do not walk with arrogance and conceit and egotism. You walk with a spirit of thanksgiving that is becoming to you and will bless your lives."
"As we discover and practice the heartfelt language of gratitude, our native tongue of self-focused dissatisfaction begins to fade."
"Some people live in a bitter, angry, hate-filled world. Some people live in a friendly, caring world. Same world...."
3. Be grateful. Yes, our country has big problems. Yes, there are struggles, hardships, failings. But, I live in a great country! I have a BIG, GREAT, POWERFUL, ALMIGHTY, COMPASSIONATE, LOVING, EVER FAITHFUL God! I am blessed! I chose to walk through life with glasses on that are filtered with lenses of gratitude. I cannot loose sight of the blessings in my life, they are all around me. God is ever present. God has been ever faithful to my country, to my family, and to me.
Those are my BIG THREE things that I am going to continue to do. I may do other things, like phone, email, or write letters to my representative in congress. I always exercise my right to vote. But, for me, none of those are as important as the BIG THREE. And I'm going to try to avoid the joining in the blame game. I'd rather find solutions. That's just my 2 cents.
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