REACTION AND RESPONSIBILITY

How we as individuals react to situations in life often is labeled as proactive, passive or indifferent.  What is interesting is that there is really no such thing as indifference.  Indifference is a vacuum and nature abhors a vacuum.  Plants cannot be indifferent to sunlight or they die.  Of course in the end it will eventually die and this inevitably makes life look hopeless where we just throw up our hands and say what is the use?  But most of us will never give up completely.  So we have two choices, to act or not to act—both are reaction.  The way we react reveals certain knowledge about who we are.  We do not live or die unto ourselves.  Our reactions come from how we deal with the challenges of life and those whom we follow.

The leaders we have chosen to follow are often responsible for the reaction to the problems in our lives.  How we react or fail to react is based on the leadership we are following.

There will come a time in our lives when our own personal experiences of fear, unbelief, and rebellion are a reaction to the leadership we are following. Our first reaction is fear, can I trust them? Then when the lies are told—unbelief sets in.  Then we realize that if things don’t change soon we will have lost everything—then we rebel.  This comes about when we do not accept the Truth nor follow the right leadership.

There was a time in history when the Hebrews followed the right leader—Moses, but their reaction to his leadership was to reject him and they desired to return to the bondage of Egypt.  They were willing to choose a leader who would give them what they wanted even if it was the wrong choice.

The choice made by the Hebrews resulted in them wandering in the wilderness until an entire generation died.  Their reaction to the leadership of Moses revealed a people who were self-centered, without a vision of the future, lacked faith in the promises given to them and were quick to forget the freedom and liberty they had been given.  God was ready to destroy them but their rightful leader (Moses) wept for them and was willing to sacrifice his life for them.  This is the character of a true leader.  He was willing to give-up all for his people.  Unlike leaders today who take all from their people and leave them begging for help.

Hundreds of year later we see another leader who was weeping for his nation that was wasted and desolate—Nehemiah.  He was moved to weep, because of the spiritual condition of his nation that brought about their destruction. 

Today, people choose the wrong leaders and fail to see the destruction that is coming, because they are self-centered, without a vision for the future, lack faith in the promises made to them and are quick to forget the freedoms and liberty we have been given.  The prophet was right when he said when they say peace and safety then sudden destruction comes.

Our reaction to the leadership of this country is leading us down the road of destruction.  We cannot hear the cry of the poor, we have turned our heads away from justice, our faith is gone and we are following those who would lead us back into the bondage.

We cannot afford to spend our life in the wrong endeavor, walking down a false path or following leaders who instill confusion and spiritual frustration.  Our lives are short and should not be wasted on a pretense of peace and safety, no matter who the leaders are.  We must follow Jesus Christ.  He stood on the hill side outside of Jerusalem and wept for the spiritual condition of the people.  He said how many time have I tried to protect you as a hen protects her chick but you would not seek that protection or come to the security that is in Jesus Christ.

  It is our responsibility to choose the right leaders.  So how do we know what makes a good leader?  If we use the wrong criteria in choosing a leader is will be tragic.  As I get older I have less confidence in the people who say they are concerned about what happens to me.  We have all heard, “don’t fear, the government is here to solve all your problems”.  What should scare every American is that there are individuals in both political parties that are corrupt and cannot be trusted. Lying has become an art form among American politicians.

For the past several elections we have based the choice of our leaders on their looks, their speaking ability and their promises.  All may be good to have but these qualities do not make a good leader. Our choice of leaders should be based on the person’s character rather than their looks, their speaking ability and their promises.  The person’s character is who they are at their core being.  After all the mistakes of choosing leaders we should have learned one thing, bad character leads to bad leaders who make bad decisions.

What is amazing about the American public is their total ignorance in wanting to know who they are electing.  We must explore the background and qualifications of the person before allowing them to even become a candidate.  The person should have good character and virtue and be respectable.

As Americans we feel that all politicians lie to us and that there is no honesty or integrity to be found among them.   The reason we allow the politicians to lie to us is because we will not hold them accountable for their actions.  As the people of this nation we have chosen the leaders we want to follow--those who will give to us what we want, even if they must take it away from others.

The leadership of America fails to meet the qualifications of “being above reproach”.  Our leaders we elect to follow are intemperate, love money, and cannot manage their own affairs; do not have a good reputation with the people they represent.  It is important how a leader relates and conducts himself with his family.  If he has family issues then he is not capable of leading this country.  He needs to have his own house in order.

The leaders of this country have no regard for the truth and those who serve under them are no more than the minions of their evil masters.  We have massive cover-ups, lies, scandals, invasion of privacy, disregard of the Constitution and a war on Christian principles and beliefs.  Our elected officials act as if they are above the law.  As American citizens we have mortgaged our nation to foreign countries to the tune of $17 trillion dollars.  We finance terrorist organizations, we bomb the innocent with our drones, we oppress the poor, and we rob from the working man and woman and think this is the greatest country in the world.  

Our freedoms have been taken away from us, our liberty is fast fading and our nation is divided, not down racial line as some would have us believe but by those who which to follow the Constitutional and those who are a law unto themselves—our elected leaders. 

We act as if a few “God Bless America’s” will save us from the destruction that is coming our way. It is time to make the right choices for the leaders that we will follow.  The leaders we have chosen to follow are often responsible for the reaction to the problems in our lives.  

Who will you follow?