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NASB | Matthew 5:13 ¶ "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 5:13 ¶ "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has lost its taste (purpose), how can it be made salty? It is no longer good for anything, but to be thrown out and walked on by people [when the walkways are wet and slippery]. |
Bible Question: The chairman and board members of the FCC have recently reversed their decision to allow the 'f' word to be used on the nation's airways. Massive protests by Christian men and women are in no small measure responsible for this 180 degree turnaround by the FCC. My question is, do you think it is Christians' responsibility to be activists and to do whatever they can to oppose sin publicly and vigorously by all legal and non-violent means available? [Where I stand: I enthusiastically applaud the action that put pressure on the FCC which effected a recission of their former ruling. I played a small role in it through the American Family Association (AFA)] --Hank |
Bible Answer: Greetings Hank! Great question. Should we "do whatever we can" or might this be better expressed as whatever God calls us to do? I think that recognizing the difference is important - without the sanction of God on out efforts, we are working on our own authority. What kind of effect should we expect from that? Many times, I see well meaning "Christians" grandstanding over issues that do nothing but garner negative media attention and result in a smearing of Christianity, in general. Am I afraid of the media, no of course not, but it does concern me when I see folks "take matters into their own hands" like James Kopp, who killed the husband of a woman I know. (Believe me, this has been a challenge for me. A wife has lost her husband and children have lost their father. I don't agree with abortion, but killing someone because he is exercizing his legal right to preform abortions is a heinous misappropriation of "justice.") God has allowed laws to be written and He may also allow for them to be repealed, but we must work THROUGH the system in submission to the authory that God has placed over us. Thankfully, our freedom of speech and our freedom to protest have not been taken away! As for me, I have not joined any picket-lines, but I do express my opposition to these, et al, when given an opportunity. (Eph 5:1-16.) I think that many believers are ignorant of their power source - greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4) - and as a result, they remain silent in the face of sin. (And silence is often interpresed as agreement. Sad.) A young man we knew was killed by a drunk driver. As a result, his parents have ACTIVELY campaigned for a change in the laws of NY to impose stiffer penalties for such offenses. God used a tragedy to get His people "in gear." Is this what it will continue to take to "wake us up?" I suspect that the syndrome of complacency has lulled many believers into such a deep slumber that they fail to hear the alarm ringing! BTW, the AFA did a great job in mobilizing God-fearing folks to ACT. Any other ideas that we might use to encourage one another to live as children of Light in this dark world? Blessings to you! mommapbs |