Responsibility or Opportunity?

Responsibility or Opportunity?

We recently traveled across the Amish country, Gettysburg, and Washington, D.C. We paused to see the Viet Nam Wall Memorial, the FDR memorial, the Capitol and the buildings that house the Supreme Court. My mind is on history and civil responsibility. On the news we constantly hear of court decisions that do not seem proper and judgments that appear to us to be unfair.

Psalm 82 (TLB) states: "God presides over heaven's court; he pronounces judgment on the judges: 'How long will you judges hand down unjust decisions? How long will you shower special favors on the wicked? Give fair judgment to the poor and the orphan; uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute.'" Those verses certainly seem to hit our judicial system of today, don't they?

But then the focus of the Psalmist seems to change. Verse 4 states: "Rescue the poor and helpless; deliver them from the grasp of evil people." In Jeremiah 22:3, God, speaking to His people, says: "Be fair-minded and just. Do what is right! Help those who have been robbed; rescue them from their oppressors. Quit your evil deeds! Do not mistreat foreigners, orphans, and widows." These commands are things WE can do. We have opportunity to rescue the poor and helpless and be fair-minded and just everyday, right here in our land. And we as Christians have the opportunity to support our service men and women who are doing these things in foreign countries.

Have you asked God to give you opportunities to rescue the poor and helpless and to be fair-minded and just? Have you prayed for our servicemen and our leaders today?With the elections coming up this fall, I have become even more aware of my responsibility to be faithful in praying for the candidates and the outcomes of the elections rather than just adopting a fatalistic attitude. I have signed up to receive daily mailings from the Presidential Prayer Team that will remind me to pray and even give me a prescribed prayer for each day.

Whether you do as I have done or not, it is our responsibility to storm heaven and pray for our land. "I urge that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for kings and all those in authority..." (1 Timothy 2:1-2). Marilyn Heavilin is author, speaker, and counselor-in-residence from March to October at America's KESWICK

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