March Madness is the title given to the annual NCAA basketball tournament. Some people get really involved in this. Some fill out brackets to see if they can guess the winner - or at least who will be in the Final Four. My roommate in college got so in to this he would skip classes, have three t.v.'s set up in our living room and just veg. on college hoops all day long. But today we are not talking about college basketball. March Madness is also a really good title for seeing current events and viewing them through a Biblical worldview lens. There are so many hot buttons to choose from right now. The possibilities are endless! This week and the next we have chosen to focus on the Equality Act that has passed the House of Representatives and is awaiting Congress' approval. If it passes Congress then the president has said he will sign it into law.
Basically, the Equality Act gives the same freedoms to the LGBTQ community that have been given to race and gender previously. Specifically with regards to housing and financial aid. There is, however, one problem with the bill that raises eyebrows in the Christian community. It states that:
“SEC. 1107. CLAIMS.
“The Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 2000bb et seq.) shall not provide a claim concerning, or a defense to a claim under, a covered title, or provide a basis for challenging the application or enforcement of a covered title.”
This Act could possibly give freedoms to one group of people while taking away certain freedoms from another. Most teenagers could care less about legislation, and even if they could, they can't really do much about it. But I guarantee you, most of them have an opinion about equal rights to all people. Just ask them.
The culture of Paul's day was similar in some ways to ours with the Roman empire. However, Christians did not have the same liberties that we as Americans have experienced for 300 years. Not even close. In the first chapter of his letter to the Christians in Rome, Paul wrote:
The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, (vs. 18)
And,
Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts...(vs. 24)
And finally,
he [God] gave them over to a depraved mind, (vs. 28)
It is important that we don't get too caught up in these matters and overreact to them. It is important, however, that we get involved. I have a couple of final thoughts about how. First, this tells me that what is going on in our culture is allowed by God. He is still in control and He can be trusted. Second, we, as American citizens, have the freedom to vote and make our voices heard to our representatives and senators. Third, we pray and petition God to hear our prayers. Lastly, we wait for God to do the rest. Trust in Him that He is carrying out His plan that He has had in the works since the beginning of creation - even when things don't go our way.
As a parent of a teen I think it is important to have an open dialogue of the things going on in our world today. Listen to their thoughts and concerns. When you have an open discussion, then you too should have the opportunity to share your thoughts and concerns. Keep on parenting your teens into their autonomous adulthood.
Comments
Post a Comment