American Idol..atry

OK, OK...before I go any further I'll admit: I, too, watched this season of American Idol. I did, see - I'm open and transparent. And I'll admit this, as well: I was pulling BIG TIME for Kris Allen to win. I felt that he was the one worthy of the title, and was truly a good guy that could make an impact through his music and testimony. We'll wait and see on that one, I guess. Only time will tell. But in all the hustle and bustle of over 100 million votes being cast in this competition, God's been stirring my spirit up in concern, so I thought I'd blog since it'd been a while anyway.
You see, America is hurting right now. I'm not even referring to the economy or jobless rates at all - they are obvious. America is hurting morally, and we're hurting worse today than ever in our nation's history. Not only do I believe that, but I don't understand how anyone on this earth wouldn't see that as an obvious fact. From the huge "cultural issues" of the definition of marriage (or re-definition should I say), to the murdering of what equates to an entire generation of innocent human beings on the altar of personal convenience, we're in trouble. It's as plain as day.
There's just no more right and wrong. Even men who stand and claim to the "spokesmen for God" or "preachers of the Book" will proclaim to the world that much of our society today is gray. Moral absolutes have seemingly left town as quick as we can turn around and realize they're gone. It's all about relativism these days - "What's right and wrong to you in the moment..." And boy have we played the blame game. As a matter of fact, we've blamed just about every possible source.
There's the media - and we LOVE to blame them. "If all that smut wasn't on TV for all the world to see at any hour of the day this would all be different." Really? Would it? Is it really the media's fault that Christians sit on their couch and watch the garbage? By the way, the R on the back of that movie case doesn't stand for "really good"... I truly believe that the media is fed by the market - and the fact of the matter is, Christians make up a HUGE chunk of that market. Simple fact: if everyone who is opposed to such vulgarity and indecency in the media would simply stop giving them their money, things would have to change, otherwise they'd go broke. That fact is proven every time a "G" or "PG" movie does better than an "R" rated movie in the theaters. Listen - the powers that be in the media really don't care how much we protest or use great verbiage against them. At the end of the day, they're making money, and that's what business is about.
Oh, and don't forget politicians. Man, do they ever get the brunt of the "can o' blame" on a daily basis. Can I go on record as saying that there are, believe it or not, actually a few folks in government that are good, decent, well meaning, moral people? Yes - seriously - there are! I happen to know a few. But regardless, if we have a government that is making decisions that are totally in opposition to where we stand morally, why haven't we done something about it? This is still a democratically elected government, isn't it? So you are abhorred by the number of abortions performed each year? You tremble at the thought of marriage being redefined for the first time in human culture? You don't like greedy CEOs getting bailed out with regular folks like you and I go broke without our bailout? Then when election day comes get up off your Lazy Boy and go vote! And tonight when you lay down in bed or tomorrow when you wake up, start doing something so radical that the world might just call you crazy: pray for those "crooked, immoral politicians." Don't think it'll do any good? Oh yes it will - God's still bigger than Washington DC, trust me.
Can I just sum this book all up with one point? I'm going to talk directly to my fellow followers of Christ - my bros and sis's in the family of God. It's our fault. Period. Christ said we'd be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. So if darkness is prevailing it's not the innocent bystanders who's eternities are hanging in the balance - it's the carriers of the Light that have failed. And just before you decide to get angry and me and write me off, just ask yourself: when was the last time you led a lost person without Christ to Him? Whens the last time you spend tear filled hours on your face before God praying for this nation and its leaders? Whens the last time you demonstrated the love and compassion of Christ in His Name to those in need around you? If it's been a while, or you can't even remember a time...turning yourself around is the first step to turning this nation around. Period.
If we believe the Bible truly is God's Word, then we have to believe that what it tells us as Christians to do is really our responsibility. And if we aren't busy making disciples that will grow and follow Christ, we are sleeping on the job. Meanwhile, America is on fire with passion for everything BUT Him. Our American idols have begun to gain all of our focus, and Christ is slowly being pushed aside. And as He is pushed aside, so is the future of this amazing nation we call the United States of America.

That's just a thought, and I welcome yours.
Feel free to email me anytime at pastorblakeman@yahoo.com .
Until next time, live blessed!
blake