by Steve Hale
"Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence" ( 1 Timothy 2:1-2, NKJV).
Put another way, Thomas Jefferson said that "...Christianity is the best friend of government because it deals with the heart."
Why is there murder? Because there is hate by which murder is committed. Jefferson said that Christianity was the only force on the earth that dealt
with the heart of the matter. Jesus said we should not even harbor the hatred and anger that leads to 'murder, much; less the overt act itself ( Matthew 5:21-22).
Why is there adultery artd fornication? Because there is the lust and uncontrolled desire that fosters that sin in our hearts. Our Lord warned iliat any man that looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with herin his heart ( Matthew 5:27-28).
Why is there so much perjury and lying in our society? Because lks are so common, we must make great oaths and declaration to indicate that now (indifference to the past) we are telling truth. Jesus said that should not :be so for the' Christian. A sImple yes or no should be enough from us because we always tell the truth ( Matthew 5:33-37).
Why has divorce exploded in the last 35 years' Why has violent crime skyrocketed over the same period? Why is there so much adultery and sexual immorality in our society? Why do crimes go lightly punished, and sometimes completely unpunished?
We have forgotten the precepts of the Lord! We have forgotten those vital matters that deal with the heart.
John Adams said: "Our constitution was made for a moral. and religious people: it is wholly inadequate for the. government of any other."
Sadly, prayers were removed from the public' school on June 25, 1962. One year later, Bible readinK was banned from public schoo is. In 1965, in "Reid vs. Van Hoven," the Supreme Court even ruled that "...it was unconstitutional for a student to pray aloud."
In. 1967, in DeKalb vs. DeSpain, the court ruled: that a simple 4 line nursery rhyme, used in a Kinderganen class, was unconstitutional because it might cause someone to think about Godl
"At the heart of the matter is the matter of the heart." Without the Lord and His wonderful will, matters of the heart go unchecked. We are reaping the whirlwind of forgetting the best friend of government is Christianity!