If My People… (re-post)

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That the Syrian people deserve better than what they have received at the hands of the Assad regime is obvious. Furthermore, the rebel factions (which seem to lack cohesion) currently clashing with the Syrian dictator offer little hope of stability, peace and safety for the masses as some rebel factions are supported by al-Qaeda and other groups hostile to the West. Of course, the question on the minds of many (especially Western nations) is whether a military intervention is appropriate. Of course, at this point, a military strike seems imminent…

In this author’s humble opinion, one thing all Westerners should consider (particularly those with a modicum of understanding concerning the prophecies surrounding the apocalypse) is where this will lead. The handwriting has been on the wall for some time (a few years at least) that a conflict with Western military involvement in Syria was likely. Similarly, the war that we have termed the war on terror (the terrorists simply call it Jihad) is one that seemed destined to snowball into a much larger conflict from its outset. And now the world powers are positioning themselves once again at opposite ends of the global chessboard (or perhaps Chinese checker board) with smaller states as the pieces. At this point, to this author, politics are largely irrelevant (making exception for the occasional rant); what matters is the summation of the information at hand and the implications of that information for God’s people and His plan of salvation for those still lost. That said, what follows is a brief article submitted for your consideration as you contemplate your place in all of this.

While drawing a “line in the sand” where the use of chemical weapons is concerned is appropriate, is not murder by any means heinous? Should not those who perpetrate such crimes (especially on a large scale) be held accountable? Most would argue that both statements are accurate. From a moral standpoint, whether genocide is perpetrated using bullets, bombs, chemicals or social policies is largely irrelevant. Genocide is genocide… The Lord does not look favorably upon these acts.

“These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren” (Proverbs 6:16-19).

Any rational person would read the text above and agree that these things do not contribute to the peaceful coexistence of civilized human beings. Quite contradictorily, some (if not most) of those individuals can hold others (including the Syrian regime) to this standard but not themselves. According to U.S. Census data approximately 24,304,200 abortions were performed in the U.S. from 1990 to 2007.[1] According to CDC data compiled by National Right to Life, the number from 1973 to 2009 is 54,559,615[2]. The Syrian civil war, on the other hand, has claimed more than an estimated 100,000 lives approximately 1300 of those in recent chemical weapons attacks. Most rational people would agree that murder and genocide cannot be tolerated. Why then, do Americans tolerate in excess of 54 million fatalities?

While rationalizing abortion seems to be the pastime of many political pundits, scientists and armchair theologians there is no biblical justification for it. Anyone who reads the Bible with any degree of reverence for God (and honesty in regards to what His word says) will verify that there is no Biblical support for abortion. When one takes that into consideration alongside the passage from Proverbs above, should one decide to tip-toe on to the dangerously thin ice of a pro-abortion/pro-choice argument, he or she should do so with great trepidation.

“Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye” (Matthew 7:1-5, KJV).

Have we as Americans contemplated the ever multiplying litany of “moral obscenities” we have perpetrated against ourselves? One cannot justify the extermination of millions because of how they are classified when that classification is in direct opposition to the classification given those beings by their creator. How shall we seek to render judgment and carry out sentence when we ourselves have committed great evil in the eyes of the Lord? Shall not that judgment become our own and our punishment more severe than that which we would carry out against others? Will those who perpetrated the mass murder in Syria reap the evil that they have sown unto themselves? Of course, their destruction will come. “…Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” (Romans 12:19b). We would be wise to understand that the Lord’s promise to repay the wicked for their deeds is not isolated to others.

In closing, please consider the following and let it lead you to make intercession for others. Better still, let it inspire you to share the Gospel that as many as might come unto Him might be saved.

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).