Yesterday was the first full day of confirmation hearings by the United States Senate Judicial Committee concerning the nomination of Neil Gorsuch to be the new Associate Justice on the Supreme Court. Judge Gorsuch has an almost impeccable record. He has a reputation of adjudicating cases based upon the original intent of the law. He certainly would not be viewed as a judicial activist, or one who made law from the bench. He was pressed hard by the Democratic members of the committee, but held firmly to his beliefs. The questioning will continue today. One could wish that we would as carefully vet those who enter our country as we do those who seek to serve our country.
Over the weekend we learned of the horrific rape and sexual assault upon a young 14-year old girl in Montgomery County, Maryland. She is a freshman in high school. She was accosted by two young men, one 18-years old, the second 17-years old, taken into a boys' bathroom, and brutally raped and assaulted. Both of these boys were also freshmen at the high school even though they were older. And, one of the perpetrators of this terrible crime was here in our country illegally. A young girl's life has been torn apart by two men, one of whom should not have even been in that high school. This is just one more example of crimes that have been committed, almost at will, by some of those in our country illegally. Yet I keep wondering where the outrage is. We experience riots when a black teenager is shot by a police officer, but there is hardly a whimper when a life is destroyed by a person who is in our country illegally. It seems we have a double-standard. Do we only react with anger when it is a police officer who takes a life while in the line of duty? Does not the life of this little 14-year old girl matter as well? Does not the life of the young mother who was recently shot while walking to the store in Chicago matter? These are troubling questions.
Recently, while perusing the shelves at our local Barnes & Noble, I came across a book titled, "Cop Under Fire." It was written by Sheriff David Clarke, Jr. who serves as the sheriff for Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. I had first heard of Sheriff Clarke when he addressed the Republican National Convention last summer in Cleveland. I liked his grit, his firm resolve, his passion for what was right. So I purchased the book and soon was devouring its pages. In the early part of the book, Sheriff Clarke tells his story of being so strongly influenced by his father to always do what was right. It is with those memories of truths taught by his father that Sheriff Clarke serves the Milwaukee community.
In the book, Sheriff Clarke deals with the subjects of illegal immigration, of the fallacies being perpetrated by the Black Lies Matter (that is his term for them) crowd, and of the assault upon traditional, biblical moral values that has escalated since the Supreme Court made same-sex marriage the law of the land. The author does not mince words; he is direct and, often times, very blunt. But I believe he has touched the stirrings within many of our hearts. Something has gone horribly wrong.
One section of Sheriff Clarke's book that I really appreciated was his discussion on the assault upon the American family, especially the family living in today's urban community. He writes, "For the first time in the history of the United States, fewer than 60 percent of first-born US babies were brought into this world with a married mother and father. More than one in five first-born children now have parents who are shacking up. [He quotes from an article written by Cheryl Wetzstein and published in the Washington Post on July 8, 2014]. Some researchers describe these 'fragile families' as only strong enough to create children, but not strong enough to support them. Frequently, these couples break apart after the babies are born." (p. 129).
Sheriff Clarke points out what the Bible declares with absolute resolve: national failures are the consequence of family failures. I have been doing some study in the Book of Judges preparing for that portion of my "Thru the Bible: The Thread of Redemption" series. I have rediscovered that the Book of Judges is not one of those books that you sit back and say, "Wow, I want to be like Samson!" But what I have seen for the very first time is this startling truth: the nation of Israel failed to keep God in the center of their lives because fathers in the homes failed to teach their children the importance of that truth. If fathers fail, sooner or later, the nation will experience the same failure. God was so correct when, through Moses, He proclaimed: "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up" (Deuteronomy 6:4-7). Where does a child go to find that father-figure when there is no dad within the home? In the urban community, that child will find that "dad" within the gangs.
Friends, I know I sound like a broken record, but it is time that the Church of Jesus Christ begins to focus its resources, its time, and its leadership to strengthening the home. God did not call the Church to be a parent-substitute, but to be a parent-supporter, to be a parent-facilitator, to be a parent-equipper. Yes, a strong, dynamic children's ministry can be one of those tools. Yes, a strong, dynamic youth ministry can be one of those tools. Will this be easy? Of course not...this might be one of the most difficult things a Church can experience. It is hard to change directions. But, we cannot let that difficulty be an obstacle that we allow to impede our progress.
I found Sheriff Clarke's book a timely one. I highly recommend it. And, if you read this alongside of Todd Starnes newest book titled, "The Deplorables' Guide to Making America Great Again," you will capture the length and breadth of the problems that have become deeply embedded in American culture. But, you will be encouraged to begin to take small-steps to move away from those problems and thus rediscover the vision that made America great.
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