A few weeks ago a dear friend sent me a simple little email which stated, " This Man Needs Your Prayers." I had no idea who "this man" might be, but wanted to be faithful in praying for someone in need. The post had a link so I went to it and it took me to the photo of President Bush to the left with an admonition to pray for him. Some of you may remember how I urged those who read this blog and that I send emails to pray for the President and the election 2 years ago. Now 2 years later, however, that fervor seems to have dwindled, even in me. What happened?
Has your mind changed with regard to social issues, the war in Iraq, toward the President, or the world in general? If so, ask yourself why. My theory and I think it is a very plausible one is that a constant barrage of media propaganda and attacks upon righteousness is beginning to have an affect. I say this because I see the polls, but also because I listen to the conversations of those around me. How is this happening? Why is public opinion changing so dramatically? It is called mind shaping and goes on all the time. Here is an example. Today I read the same AP wire article on different internet servers. Both AOL and Yahoo ran the same story of a father who went to Iraq to avenge his son's death but who now believes it was a mistake and wants to come home. There is not thing wrong with that, but you have to ask yourself, why would AOL & Yahoo, who are competitors, run the exact same article, by the same anti-war, radical environmentalist writer, and on the same day? There is a clue found in one short paragraph from the article.
"Today it's Joe who mans the M-240 atop a Humvee, warily watching the sides of the road, an unlikely Army corporal at 48, a father who came here for revenge, a Christian missionary on a crusade against Islam, and a man who, after six months at war, is ready to go home."
Did you catch that reference to a "Christian missionary on a crusade against Islam?" Later the man even states that he does not like the people of Iraq or Muslims. I do not know about you, but as a former missionary, the reference to his being a missionary offends me. I of course sent a note to the writer, Yahoo & AOL asking what missions organization the man represents. I know of none that send their people on missions of vengeance and who do not like the people they are sent to minister to. I explained that this is what I call a 2fer. In one article both the U.S. Iraq policy and Christianity are combined and attacked. This writer already has a problem with both, and has written numerous articles attacking each seaparately. To those who already have a problem with either, the message is that this war is a Christian Crusade and supports the notion that those evil Christians led my that arch Christian George W. Bush are behind sending men like this on a mission of vengeance. You see, every time we let this stuff go unchallenged, it allows them to feel they have gotten away with it and sadly, to some extent they have, becase each time there will be more and more people who allow these caricatures to form their opinions of Christianity and of our national policy.
My point in all of this is that we need to circle the wagons. The information we receive and how we receive it does determine our beliefs and values. We must stay in prayer, in the Word, and in fellowship in order to maintain a godly perspective on things. We also need to share that perspective.
I agree with my friend's admonition, and ask you to join me, more now than ever, in praying for that man, George W. Bush, as well as the rest of the leaders of our nation and others. I also ask you not to remian silent on things we know to be true and right.
