What’s God got to do with love? Everything, as it turns out. Here’s Peter Heck’s take on the question, in this recent talk to young people:
Every action begins with an idea, and every idea begins with a worldview. Who’s shaping your view of life and what it means? Many TV shows portray casual sex as a way of life, and cynicism as a coping mechanism. Was this God’s design for men and women, or did something go way, way wrong?
The following was originally published on the Howard County Right to Life blog.
On January 22, 2012, community members from across Howard County gathered at the courthouse in Kokomo, Indiana to remember the unborn children claimed by abortion. Mr. Bill Federer, a historian, author, and President of Amerisearch, spoke about the Christian roots of our nation and the God-given mandate to care for all humans.
Mr. Federer began with a look at the changes in America over the last three decades: “I look at the Scriptures: Deuteronomy 28. It says, ‘These are the blessings if a nation hearkens to the voice of the Lord. They will be a lender and not a debtor. And these are the curses if a nation does not hearken to the voice of the Lord: they will be a debtor and a stranger amongst them will rise up and be their ruler.’
“Do you realize in the last thirty years America has gone from the largest creditor nation to the largest debtor nation? We are the most in-debt nation in world history. So, ladies and gentlemen, we’re on the judgement side of the page.
“What has happened in the last thirty years? Well, we have aborted millions of children. And the same thing that God told Cain [applies today]: ‘Your brother Abel’s innocent blood cries out from the ground.’ There’s a cry that’s going up to Heaven and I believe that what’s staying the hand of judgement is us: is you and me, here.”
He then looked back at the U.S. during the days of slavery, when we were also under judgement. Abraham Lincoln in his Second Inaugural Address, said:
“Fondly we hope, fervently do we pray that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsmen’s 250 years of unrequited toil should be sunk and every drop of blood drawn by the lash shall be repaid by a drop of blood drawn by the sword, let it be said: The judgements of the Lord are altogether true and righteous.”
As Mr. Federer pointed out, “Here’s Lincoln. He had the audacity to connect the judgement of the war with the sin of slavery. Is anybody going to connect the dots today?”
History provides more than cautionary tales, however. Mr. Federer relates how President Lincoln lead a national day of fasting and praying, and three days later the course of the Civil War was staggeringly altered.
This course is open to us today: “You are here because you’re stirred in your heart to leave your nice, warm home and come here and stand in the cold because there’s something burning on the inside of you: a flame that’s strong that says I’ve got to do something for our country.”
“I was with Alan Keyes last week. We were talking about the Constitution and he explained that the judge that gave the Roe v. Wade decision said if it could ever be proved that the unborn are considered by our Constitution to be citizens, then this decision is void. And Alan Keyes says, ‘I found it. I found where the unborn are mentioned in our Constitution.’
“I said, ‘Wow! Where?'”
“He says, ‘In the Preamble. It says, “To secure the blessing of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, we establish this Constitution.”‘
“Posterity. What’s posterity? Well, those are your descendants that you’ll never meet. Well, if you’re going to care about these descendants that are generations in the future, you’re going to care about the ones that are just one generation in the future. You’re going to care about the ones that are right there in the womb about to be the next generation in the future. You’re going to care about the unborn.
“Our Founders sacrificed their prosperity for their posterity. They pledged their lives and their fortunes and their sacred honor for a generation yet unborn. Today our government is doing the opposite. We’re sacrificing our posterity for prosperity, saddling the unborn with an unpayable debt–besides killing the unborn.
“George Washington, in 1776, stands before his army and he says, “The fate of unborn millions now depends on the courage of this army. We have to resolve therefore to either conquer or die.”
Though the lives of heroes loom large above our mind’s eye, Mr. Federer reminded the crowd assembled that God has placed them here on earth at this time for a reason, and thought forward to the day when our lives are over and we’re listening to the heroes of the Bible tell their life stories.
“One by one, Gideon, the Apostle Paul, and Deborah–all of them [are going to tell their stories]–and then everybody’s going to look at you and say, ‘You: we haven’t heard from you yet! What did you do when it was your turn to be on earth? Tell us what was going on… all the courage and faith you had to stand against injustice and [stand] up for righteousness.’
“Y’know, I don’t want to squirm in my seat and say, ‘Uh, can you call on someone else for a minute and let me think about this?’
“No, I want to say, ‘Let me tell you what they were doing! They were killing babies, they were changing marriage, they were doing everything and I said I’m going to stand up. I don’t know all the stuff they know. I just have my little sling. I’m just going to let the Lord use me.’ Y’know, if anybody’s around when I die, I’ll tell them to put on my gravestone, ‘Not ability, but availability.’ Y’know, you make yourself available and the Lord’ll add the ability. So I look forward to the day that we’re all up there and you get to tell your story and we’ll remember together being here this day.”
For more information about the events at the rally, see this article by Splash!Kokomo. For more of Mr. Federer’s research into the history, see www.americanminute.com.
Life doesn’t lend itself to finding balance. You finish one project, and another one’s waiting in the sidelights. You do something poorly, and you deride yourself for not being more conscientious. You do something well, and you find yourself slated for higher loads of work.
If you’re feeling like a gerbil in a metal wheel, take a breather. Here’s three ways to try and find some balance in life:
1) Build some free-time into your day.
Let’s face it: if you let them, work and school will take over your life. One helpful way to approach your day is to map out what your ideal day would look like. A friend of mine made having evenings at home a priority. She decided to get up around 5AM to get to school early, put in a full day, then have time leftover at night to be a homebody. Realize what’s most important to you, and budget time for it. You know what it is that restores your sense of satisfaction in life: a trip to Coldstone, a quick call to a friend, an hour-long run beneath the stars. Make time for those things: they’re the stuff life is made of. Also, be realistic about the time certain tasks take, so you’re not caught by surprise. This will increase the odds of your plans working out. Also, beyond the end-of-the-day activities, think about ways you can couple dull or demanding tasks with fun rewards during your day. As your writing a lab report, reward yourself as you complete each section. You might be surprised at how this turns an otherwise painful process into something enjoyable.
2) Make love of life, not guilt, your primary motivator.
You are more than what you do. Simple fact. There will always be times when you fall short, either because of a lack of understanding, a lack of effort, or even circumstances beyond your control. Learn from these things, but don’t dwell on them beyond their expiration date. Think about it: you don’t continue chewing a piece of gum beyond a certain point. You also shouldn’t continue chewing a circumstance beyond a certain point! I certainly have a tendency to use words like “should have, could have, and would have.” Lately, though, I’ve been trying to rework the way I look at mistakes. When I think of them as experiments, I’m able to think of them more objectively. OK, so things didn’t work out so well in that instance. Well, what were the factors that contributed to the failure? How can I avoid them in the future? What are better alternatives I can pursue? This approach uses the past constructively, with a steady focus on the present. Ultimately, (as my mom has often reminded me) life is too short to dwell on the past. You’ll be happier and everyone around you will be happier if you concentrate on living your life in the present.
3) Map out a rhythm to your life.
Jazz streaming from a nearby car. Rain beating on a window pane. The sun rising on a bright new day. Life is full of rhythms. Take advantage of that by building some rhythm into your day. Sure, all-nighters happen, but they don’t have to happen every night! If you set aside certain times of the day for certain tasks, you’ll see that over time it gets easier to get things done. It’s not your imagination that adopting a regular sleep cycle makes you feel more rested: there’s such a thing as circadian rhythms! In the same way, if you figure out a regular time for meals, laundry, cleaning and exercise, you’ll find that the other things in life will fit in much more naturally. There will always be life crises lying in wait for you, but the less self-induced crises you have, the better! For those things you want to budget time for, but always find yourself running behind on, do you know someone else you can do them with? Can you find an exercise or laundry buddy you can build a weekly schedule with? The accountability and committed time–not to mention the fun time spent together–can help keep you on task. You can even set up Google Calendar to send you reminders, if you like!
As you take on the challenge of a new semester, learn from your past mistakes, and keep looking forward! Put these three strategies to use, and good luck with all your studies!