My denomination regularly sends me e-mails asking me to barrage my congressional representatives with requests that they support left-wing causes, continue to spend money we don't have, and to use my influence as a pastor to mobilize people to be good liberals. All in the name of Jesus, of course. Jesus would want us to borrow 40 cents of every dollar spent so we can subsidize aid to China, "art" that makes your skin crawl, cowboy poetry contests, subsidies to multi-millionaire farmers and businessmen, bridges to nowhere in particular, and pensions so people can retire at 55.
But then again, I also get requests such as this from Family Research Council - "Watchmen on the Wall: Championing Pastors to Transform America". And how are we to do this? We are to attend a Washington Pastors' Briefing - Washington, D.C., you see, is where everything important is happening. We'll get messages from lobbyists, a senator, a congressman, a retired general, and a bunch of "pastors" who work for the Family Research Council. We're also supposed to send a letter to our representatives asking for 20 minutes of their time while we're in D.C. Armed with the information we receive, we will "pray for revival, preach on the urgency of critical moral issues, and partner with fellow pastors who, together, will make a positive impact on their communities and our nation."
I appreciate that the FRC at least recognizes that as pastors we pray, preach, and teach, but the intent is to turn us all into political activists - to focus our prayers and preaching on political matters and what is happening on Capitol Hill. Contrast that with with what Charles Murray writes in a recent article from the Wall Street Journal.
The only thing that can make a difference is the recognition among Americans of all classes that a problem of cultural inequality exists and that something has to be done about it. That "something" has nothing to do with new government programs or regulations. Public policy has certainly affected the culture, unfortunately, but unintended consequences have been as grimly inevitable for conservative social engineering as for liberal social engineering.
The "something" that I have in mind has to be defined in terms of individual American families acting in their own interests and the interests of their children...There remains a core of civic virtue and involvement in working-class America that could make headway against its problems if the people who are trying to do the right things get the reinforcement they need—not in the form of government assistance, but in validation of the values and standards they continue to uphold...Married, educated people who work hard and conscientiously raise their kids shouldn't hesitate to voice their disapproval of those who defy these norms.
The problem is not rooted in public policy, but in the human heart. Left or right, the idolization of government and public policy has led us into this morass. To head out of it, we must return government to its proper, more human and humane limits, and put our faith in God. This must be done one heart at a time, one family at a time. No lobbying trip to D.C. will put a dent in it.
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