These Are Dangerous Times

The senselessness of the wanton taking of innocent human lives by ISIS continues.  The slaughter of 129 innocent people in Paris last Friday was another reminder that the world is at war with a group of people who have placed no value upon human life - except for their own.  In their estimation, they are right and everyone else is wrong; they are the only ones worthy of life, everyone else is worthy of death.  One can only imagine what this world would be like if their ideology prevailed. 


But the actions and attitudes that ISIS displays toward the rest of the world also reminds us of how self-centered many are today.  My way is the right way.  Your way is the wrong way.  We are no longer tolerant of others with differing beliefs, but feel threatened whenever someone takes issue with our ideas.  In today's world, if you do not fully agree and accept my views and beliefs, then I am left with no other recourse than to seek your destruction.  And we see this played out over and over again.


I read an article, written by Douglas Ernst and posted on the WND website, that literally made my heart stop.  You can find the article at: www.wnd.com/2015/11/black-student-group-vows-bloodshed-over-constitution.  "Berkeley College students attend a Nov 6, 2015, protest in response to racial message, allegedly written by a KKK supporter, on a library computer.  A well-established black student coalition is calling for violence if the U.S. Constitution is not replaced with a version that serves 'the interests of black people.'  Afrikan Black Coalition was created in 2003 to connect activists across the University of California system.  It has gone from concentrating on the low admittance and retention rates of black students in California to developing leadership and communication skills for members."


I want to share with you some of what that group posted in an op-ed article titled, "A New Constitution or the Bullet" on November 4.  Read it carefully.  "I have come to realize that the Constitution is the root of virtually all our problems in America.  In order to understand the injustices against Black folks in United States, we must look back to its foundation.  The U.S. is a country that was founded on slavery, genocide, rape, and white-male patriarchy.  A body cannot be separated from its head and remain living.  The Constitution and all the evil that it allows to be perpetuated are the head of White America, or more so corrupt America.  Racist America. ...A Constitution written by only white men will never serve the interests of black people.  The Constitution was written for the ruling class of white men which constructed whiteness to be more valuable than any other race.  Do we not have the right to abolish the laws that oppress us?  It is time to claim the Declaration of Independence and apply it to our struggle as colonized black people in America.  The United States has us; it is time we demand a new constitution or tell America that she will get the bullet.  White supremacy's bullets are killing black people every day.  If America does not protect us, then it is our human right to defend ourselves by any means necessary.  It is our human right to overthrow a government that has been destructive to our people.  This is why we must rise up and let all people come together and write new constitution to serve ALL people. ...We must pick up where the Black Panthers left off and declare a new constitution or it will be the bullet." 


Friends, that op-ed may seem almost too radical to be believed, but there are those who actually believe it to be true.  This is another example of either "accept my beliefs or I will destroy you" mentality.  Here is my question to this group: What will you replace the Constitution with?  Are you capable of having a constructive dialogue as those men did back in Philadelphia in 1787 that would lead to a document that literally changed the course of the world?  Will you, in your Constitutional Convention, even allow room for a constructive dialogue?  What really are your complaints with the Constitution as it presently is - it is a pretty incredible document?  I would like to tell this Afrikan Black Coalition that the only reason they could publish their op-ed piece in the first place was because of the safeguards given within the Constitution and its First Amendment.  They certainly could not express those views if they were living in Saudi Arabia or Yemen or even in Russia. 


I also want to refer you to another powerful article written by Jesse Lee Peterson and posted on November 15.  You can find this article at: www.wnd.com/2015/11/dear-white-people-your-days-are-numbered.  I want to share just a few lines from the closing of this article: "If you stand up against the bullies - whether they're radical black bullies on campuses, or Islamic bullies, they will go sit down.  But if you act with fear, they will run over you and your children.  You can't prove anything to angry people.  You just have to speak up, be honest and live your life.  Telling the truth and setting a living example is the only way to change anything for the better.  The greatest civilizations in the world are being destroyed by the godless.  The godless have not been raised by decent parents.  They're looking for love in all the wrong places, and in the wrong way.  And now they're destroying the free world.  It's time for whites in America, and in Europe, to stop the madness.  if it isn't stopped, your way of life - and possibly your life itself - will be stopped." 


As I have read these articles and others like them, and as I have listened to newscasts of the almost unrelenting violence that is impacting nearly every society around the world, I was reminded of those words of Jesus as He shared with His disciples what the world would be like at the close of the age.  Jesus spoke these words: "Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold" (Matthew 24:12).  There is a hatred that is growing around the world - a hatred that has turned each against the other.  Can this growing hatred be stopped?  Can this accelerating "my way or the highway" mentality be destroyed before we all are destroyed by it?  The answer is found in the return of the Lord Jesus.  Only then will the world know peace.  Only then will the world truly love one another.  But, until that day comes, our assignment, as believers in Jesus Christ, is to be salt and light in this increasingly evil world (see Matthew 5:13-16).  May we model Christ's love well before others.  And, yes, come quickly, Lord Jesus continues to be our prayer.