Homeland Security

By Dennis Rowan

Our U.S. Congress passed a Homeland Security bill a few days ago thus ending a battle between Democrats and Republicans as to what should be included in that bill. The November elections that gave Republicans a voting majority in the Senate and the House accounted for that long awaited vote. At least some had been waiting. Personally, neither party dealt with the questions I have about why we need one more government sinkhole for your (and my) money.

For those of us who like to see how God's Word speaks to our problems in the 21st Century, I suggest that we study all five verses of Psalm 127 to get the correct perspective about homeland security. The verses here are from the New International Version.

So much in American culture during the past 40-50 years has been done while we thumbed our nose at God. We don't acknowledge him let alone ask for His help, therefore He doesn't build it, and we labor in vain. Our state run (public) schools comes to mind.

If we want real security for New York City or for your small hometown, the law enforcement officials are helpless unless the Lord is there keeping watch. The culture of violence is obviously not of God. I don't know who Allah is but he is not the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We fail when we try to make rules, or new laws to provide a stopgap for a new technique some criminal has devised. New laws designed to take nail clippers from 80-year old women won't prevent terrorists attacks. Wisdom comes from God. Most of the snafus in our CIA, FBI, INS, and other security groups can likely be traced to selfish ambition and a lack of godly wisdom. Evidence has certainly suggested that. The whole political correctness nonsense shows a lack of wisdom evidenced by the fact that America has gone from "The Melting Pot" to "The Boiling Pot". God won't continue to put a hedge around a people who fail to acknowledge Him, receive His son Jesus and then ask for wisdom.

Verse 2. "In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat- for he grants sleep to those he loves"

If there is a nation of people who in vain rise early and stay late, it is the United States of America. I am not belittling ambition and hard work, but I do think we have lost sight of what is important in temporal and eternal life. Another interpretation of "for he grants sleep to those he loves" is that "while they sleep he provides for them." We have two vicious cycles concerning working long hours. The more we work the less time we have for listening to God. We also have less time to listen to our family, and we have less time to see what the evildoers are planning. (Our politicians, particularly at the national level come to mind, because they confiscate about half our earnings.) The other vicious cycle simply relates to our desire to gain material wealth and the multitude of things money can buy. It's work, work, work, so we can buy, buy, buy, and we never become satisfied.

Verse 3-5 "Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth." Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate."

We Americans have really fallen short when we compare our performance to these three verses. We've made children throwaways through divorce, children born out of wedlock, children murdered in the womb, and children taught by MTV, baby sitters and employees of government run bureaucracies. Within church congregations we find training children secondary to whatever the adults want (you know….a good preacher who tells people what they want to hear). My main point for Christians is that parents need to train children and insist that the local church congregation puts it primary emphasis on the young people.

If we have a lot of children and we see them as a heritage from the Lord, then we will be protected when our enemies are at the gate. I didn't make that up, it's what the Bible says. Americans want instant results. If the Twin Towers crash down today, we want to nuke the Taliban within 30 hours.

America's depraved condition didn't happen overnight, it was over a long haul. The question is will you and I be willing to make plans for a long haul; plans that would reach out to two, three, four or more decades? Will we plan for many children and grandchildren who honor God, believe what he says, and live it day by day so our descendants will contend with their enemies at the gate? Will we do that or will we rally around some political action committee to insist that men make more civil laws. Who will build the house, stand guard over the city and at the gate? Will it be godly young men and women, or some will it be someone else?