America's God Problem

A Story by deejonamoo

This is mostly just a collection of my thoughts on life. It is not intended to be political, or even religious, just something to think about.

I am a Christian, and as far as I can trace it back, so was my family. I was raised in the faith from birth, although I did not truly come to it until I was about 19. I am writing this on behalf of my fellow Christians, and anyone else who believes in God (Jews, Muslims, etc.). We are sick and tired of being pushed around for what we believe in, sick and tired of being called politically incorrect for expressing and sharing our faith, and sick of the mentality that America is an explicitly atheist nation.

I do not see why it should be offensive to wish someone a Merry Christmas, or why people freak out if someone puts up a nativity scene in their storefront. It does not bother me to see or hear these things anymore than it bothers me to see the menorah a few hundred feet away. And why should we not call those spectacular, lit up, bejeweled trees Christmas trees. That’s what they are and always have been.

Or let me put it another way. As an evangelist, I often am asked the question, “Where is God in all this?” in the wake of natural disasters such as hurricane Katrina or the earthquakes in Haiti, Chile, etc. My answer is that I think God is deeply saddened by this, as are we all. But for years we have been telling Him to get out of our schools, get out of our homes, and get out of our lives. And being the gentleman he is, I believe God has calmly backed out. I do not think it is reasonable to expect God to protect us from the horrors and injustices of life if we keep demanding that he leave us alone.

It’s funny how this works, isn’t it? Funny how easy it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the whole world is going to hell in a hand basket. Funny how easy it is to kick Him out of every area of our lives and then wonder where He is when we need Him. And funny how church attendance seems to spike when things get bad, but as soon as things are good again, everybody forgets about God and goes right back to doing things the way we have always done them. By definition, this is called insanity. We keep doing the same things the same way, but expect different results.

Basically, it comes down to the simple fact that we get what we put in. So the next time you want to raise some hell about the Nativity scene in your favorite store, or get angry at someone for wishing you a Merry Christmas instead of a Happy Holiday, keep in mind that God will leave us alone if we ask Him to, but the consequences may well be dire.