May 28, 2016 - "Let's Walk Our Talk"

Chaplain’s Corner

May 28, 2016

Let's Walk Our Talk

Good Morning Patriots!

I have had something nagging at me for a while now, and finally wanted to address it here. I hope that all of you reading this will take it in the spirit in which it is offered, and not see it as a condemnation to any one person or specific set of circumstances. This is honestly just a purging of my heart on a subject that I think needs to be addressed.

As a Christian, and as a Chaplain, I have a responsibility to try to "walk the talk" daily. Though I am not perfect in this flesh, and will never be perfect in this lifetime, I am still called upon to allow God's Holy Spirit to work on my heart and mind, to make changes in me, and bend my will to the will of the Father. I have asked Him to be the great Potter, and mold me and make me into a useful piece of pottery. To do this, He has to break me apart, as I am already a defective piece of pottery in my given state. He has to break me to pieces, grind the fragments into a fine powder, and then remove the impurities, and then add the water of truth and life to the mix and start mixing it all together. He makes me into a workable clay mixture, and then, as a Master Potter does, He begins to work the clay, molding it, and manipulating it as it spins on the wheel. If you have ever seen a potter work, you see that many times the clay will still have little bits of impurities and hard spots in the mix that may prevent it from forming just as the potter intends, and at some point, you may actually see the potter stop, smash the piece down, and start the process over again.

I find that in my life, I sometimes am guilty of actually fighting against God, even when I am not aware. I sometimes look back on my actions and attitudes over a given period of time, and see, with shame, that I have been going off on a tangent of my own, seeking my own agenda, and leaving God behind. It usually manifests itself in my life as frustration, emptiness, sadness, depression, and a longing for something more, on a spiritual and emotional level. That longing and hunger, or thirst, in our souls can be God's way of drawing us back to Him. His Spirit works on us, and many times we are convicted by that Spirit and see the need to be that "Prodigal Son" and come back to our Father. The sad fact is that many of us have to go through that process many times in a lifetime, as time and life seem to draw us constantly away from our relationship with our loving Father.

I am here to tell you friends, that any of you who know me, know that I am far from perfection. However, for those of you who have known me for many, many years, you also know that I have chased after God many times, and walked away from Him, too. I am 60 years old now, and with age, usually, comes wisdom, and a fresh look at life as it really is, and the ability to see more clearly what I must do to be happy in this life. With all of the things I have experienced in my life, I can honestly say that the happiest I have ever been was when I was chasing after God. One of my big problems has always been that I am impatient, and I have a bad habit of burning the candle at both ends, and burning out in a blaze of glory, just to have my flame extinguished at some point and losing my joy and passion. It is a frustrating cycle that I don't want to go through any more. So I am trying to slow down a bit, and take this a step at a time, and allow God to show me the way. To do that, I have to step aside and let Him be the Lord of my life, and giving up control over my life is a very difficult thing to do, but He is lovingly teaching me, changing me, and molding me into a useful vessel. For that, I am eternally grateful.

When I write articles about faith or our relationship with God, I hope to encourage others, and inspire them to move closer to God. I am not judging anyone. I am simply trying to be true to my walk and speak my conscience. Some may consider me judgmental because I draw a line in the sand when it comes to sin and our attitude toward it. I speak out on the issues of the day, such as this whole LGBT movement and the persecution of those who simply want to exercise their Christian consciences and moral standard. Let me be clear: I love the sinner, and hate the sin. There is a real and distinct difference. The fact is that we all need to realize that sin is sin, and we should not be celebrating sin in any form or fashion. Sexual sin is rampant today, and considered "normal" by the masses. Celibacy is considered weird, and young ones who want to save themselves for marriage are laughed at. And to be honest, no one even bats an eye anymore about couples who live together and raise a family without benefit of marriage.

I guess the basic difference is that if we are sinning, we should be ashamed of it, instead of publicly celebrating it and encouraging others in similar sin, and endorsing our sinful behavior as being "good" when God calls it "bad." Sex is not bad. God created sex between a man and a woman as a way to populate the earth. However, notice that, unlike the animal kingdom, a woman does not go into "heat" and a man just indiscriminately impregnate her, and then the species continues. As humans, we have been given a beautiful gift, in that the sex act can be beautiful and enjoyed by a husband and his wife whenever the mood and circumstances are right. It can be a way to build a family, express love and intimacy, and build emotional bonds that should last a lifetime, far beyond the sexually active years.

Did you notice that I said "a husband and his wife" in that last paragraph? Not man and woman, but husband and wife. I made that comment specifically because the Bible shows that God's purpose for a sexual relationship was to be within the confines of marriage, between a man and a woman. The Bible is explicit about the sin of fornication and/or adultery. The sad fact is that no matter how much you love our God, and try to live your life in a Godly manner, if you are living with someone you are not married to, and having sex without benefit of marriage, then you are sinning, no matter how much you love that person or are committed to a lasting relationship as a family. So, if you openly promote your sinful lifestyle and call what is bad "good" and act like you are holy while purposefully practicing sin, then you are no better than the LGBT movement on a moral level. Sin is sin. Be ashamed of it and work diligently to overcome it. It may be difficult, and take time, but as long as our attitude is that we are ashamed of the sin, and want to leave it behind, then with God's help, we can and will do so, with God's blessings in our lives.

My wife and I lived together before we were married. We knew we loved each other, and we knew we would be married eventually, but having both been married before we were both a little reserved about jumping into a marriage again. However, I can say that it plagued my heart, and even though we went to Church together, it just felt wrong. I believe that it was the Holy Spirit tugging at my heart to move me to make it right with God. We went to the Courthouse and made it legal, and it was just in time, too. Between Marlene's breast cancer and my surgeries and other ailments in the next couple of years, we were able to have God to lean on, the benefit of a close married relationship to grow with, and the blessings of a God that was happy that we were making positive moves toward Him, and away from sin.

I ask any of you reading this to examine yourselves, and your relationship with God, or the lack of, and ask yourself what you want to do about it. I am here to help, if I can. But know this: any advice I give will be Scriptural, and based on God's standard. I will not judge you, but I will also not applaud outright sin. If any of you want to talk, let me know. If any of you are living together and want to make that right, I would be honored to perform a marriage ceremony. Let's get right with God. It's the right thing to do, and He will bless us all for our efforts...

God Bless you, every one, and:
God Bless America!
Stephen King
Chaplain@3upi.com