By John
Where do I begin? I can remember as a child saying that to myself after I was told by my Mother one Saturday morning to “clean up” my bedroom. It was a warm sunny day and I wanted to go out and play with my friends, but that was not to be the case this day. This particular Saturday it would seem that I had my work cut out for me. As I looked around my room at the mess that was made of it, I thought to myself “how on earth did I ever let it get this bad”! Where do I begin? What am I going to do with all this stuff? And so began the ever so disappointing, long and tough task of cleaning up the mess that was made.
As I sat there I have to admit that I was not overly enthusiastic about the monumental task ahead of me. When you’re 11 years old you would be surprised at all the great ideas you can come up with to speed things along! “If I could only get this done quickly, I could get out of here!” Funny how the brain works harder than the hands. Then the answer comes, if I just put this stuff where it can’t be seen, that’s the answer! So in the closet, and under the bed…!And what do you know, finished! All in about 20 minutes.
As I hurried down the stairs, I yelled out to my Mother that I was done and that I would be outside in the yard. I don’t think I have to tell you that my stay outside only lasted about 5 minutes. That’s right. Mom went up and inspected my work and my “bright idea” of hiding the mess instead of cleaning it up had been discovered. My Mother quickly put me back to work, and I dared not try to take any chances with any more of my “bright ideas”!
I mention this childhood story because I think most of us can relate to it, and even though we are older now, we now find ourselves sitting in our homes looking at the mess that our nation is in – a mess created by our elected officials and national leaders because our people kept sweeping little bits and pieces under the bed and taking the easy way out all the while expecting our problems to be fixed by someone else. Now the problems piled high like a mountain of garbage. Secretly, we hope our mother or someone else will clean up the mess.
It’s not a “mess” of toy’s cluttering the floor, it’s a mess of “illegal immigration.” Its not unfolded clothes, it’s “pornography”. Instead of dirty laundry or dishes, it’s a high divorce rate, corporate greed, abortion, financial exploitation, and eradication of Christian ideals, growing homosexuality, and racial genocide.
Who is going to clean up the mess our nation faces, our elected officials? Doubtful, they are masters at “hiding things in “the closet” or “under the bed.” I’m afraid that task has been left up to you and I. So, Where do we begin? Well, there are some things that we can do.
(1)
A good place to start is prayer! We live in a nation that has seemingly turned it’s back on God and his holy word. These “modern” day churches seem to only be preaching a message that will “tickle the ears” of their congregations and fill their collection baskets! So we must pray for our nation. Prayer should be first and foremost!
(2)
Our people are suffering from a feeling of hopelessness, so if we haven’t already, we need to become as active as possible in reaching out to our people, and the best way to do that is through our Knights literature. There are many different fliers available at the National office with a good Christian message that our people need to hear. So if you haven’t as of yet, contact the National office and order some or download some off the members’ page or the main site and make copies yourself.
(3)
As my mother held me accountable for the mess I had made of my room, we also need to hold accountable those elected officials who have allowed our nation to fall into the mess it’s now in. We as citizens cannot, nor should we be expected to be satisfied with the “hide the mess under the bed” plan. If my mother had not held me accountable for the mess I had made, then ultimately the messy condition of the room becomes her fault, because she did not speak up or attempt to remedy the situation.
We need to tell our representatives to clean it up! Write letters to your local, state, and federal representatives and let your voice be heard, let them know that they will be held accountable for the mess that they have allowed this nation of ours to become, not by our strength, but by the strength of God who raises and tears down leaders at His will.
Yes, we do face the monumental task of cleaning up our nation and reaching our people. We must take the responsibility upon ourselves. Nobody is going to do it for us. It’s not an easy task and will not be achieved overnight, but if we all work together with guidance of The Almighty, the job of cleaning up our nation can and will be done.