In God We Trust...

Okay, this is a rant, and this is REAL. This isn't pointing fingers at any one person, but it is something we should all consider.

I am a proud American. I am glad to live in a country where I can express my opinion (hence this blog) and be free to worship any way I please while living a life of my choosing. The same is true for every American citizen. Our country was founded on the ideals of freedom, without fear of persecution for just being different.

However, what most Americans have forgotten, is that while this country was built on the idea of religious freedom and the concepts of a democracy and rule by the people, for the people, it was also built on the principals and ideals of the Bible and Christian beliefs. Our founding fathers felt that a country built on God's word would be successful. By building our country on God's word (you only have to look at the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and many other first documents to see this evidence), they were saying this: Our country is based on Christianity. By being built on these teachings, we accept anyone and everyone to this country, just as Jesus accepted anyone and everyone to worship him, come to know him, and live amongst him and his people. This meant that NO ONE would be FORCED to go to the Christian church and worship one set religion. You could bring your religion, your faith, your religious texts, your temple, your church, your monastary, whatever... you could bring it here and worship freely without fear of persecution or trouble.

With that being said, our country has forgotten God. There are citizens who want to remove "GOD" from all money, all documents, all items in this country. Even the pledge is under fire because people want to remove "UNDER GOD" from this. No one said that you had to believe in God, but the founding fathers made it QUITE clear that God and the Bible were the building blocks of our country and what we stand for. If you take God out of America, there will be no America.

We have gotten so far from the basic principles of our country's democracy that it is scary. Freedom of speech was intended to give people the opportunity to share their thoughts and opinions without fear of being  jailed, killed, tortured, hurt, kicked out, etc. Freedom of religion was intended to make the country safe no matter what beliefs you had. The right to defend yourself meant that you were able to protect what you worked so hard for.

Yet, today, those of us who work hard for a living are told we don't "give" enough for other people to mooch off of. We are told that the working class of America has to keep working to pay for those who DO NOT work. Welfare, WIC, food stamps, unemployment, etc. were all created as temporary fixes to a temporary problem. However, people are making a life living off of the system. By allowing this to happen, we are allowing our country to produce lazy, irresponsible, non-productive citizens.

Today, those of us who express our love for God are told we cannot voice our opinions if they might hurt someone who believes differently. We are being criticized, slandered, and mistreated by fellow Americans for trying to stand up for our beliefs. We are being persecuted, in many ways, for acknowledging the truth in God's word and for trying to uphold the beliefs that He teaches us. If we use the Bible or Christianity in our arguments, they somehow become invalid or no good.

Today, when we try to defend our homes, our property, our families, our reputations, or whatever, we are considered racist, sexist, discriminatory, prejudice, or whatever. We are told that because we think or live or look different from someone, that means that it becomes a hate crime or that we are fueled by hate or evil.

Does anyone else see the trouble with this? The further we get away from God, the further we get away from the wishes our founding fathers had for our country. This country is unraveling at an alarming rate. It is a sad day when these things occur:
1.) People LEAVE their jobs to "occupy" parks and fight for something that is really hypocritical to what they are doing.
2.) People depend on the government to take care of them and their children.
3.) People do not accept that there are differing opinions in the world, and just because you don't agree, that means you have to fight and boycott them.
4.) People are no longer safe at a college pool party, a movie theater, a school, a gas station, a restaurant...
5.) Justice is no longer served to people who commit crimes due to "insanity" pleas.
6.) People want to take "God" out of anything political.
7.) It becomes wrong for a person to explain that they are Christian or to pray privately without influencing others (regardless of where they are).
8.) People in government feel it is okay to choose how sick a person has to be in order to be denied health care.
9.) People in government now tell you what you can or can't do in your own bedroom, how to provide or not provide for your own health, and many other things that the government has no business being involved in.
10.) Many people who vote are not educated on the candidates, their stances, and their histories.

This list could go on forever. Guys, we are getting it all wrong. Get back to God, and things will fall into place.

This being said, it is ridiculous that people want to boycott businesses and/or people because they choose to stand up for their own beliefs and rights. It is sad that we cannot even express our own opinion without being ATTACKED for it.

The Bible states that marriage is to be between a man and a woman. God created man, and then he created woman as man's companion. He created a man and a woman to procreate and keep the world going. He gave men and women the ability to think, feel, and learn. We were given the right to choose. We were given the right to use logic and to reason. God intended a relationship to be between man and woman, because he did not give man the ability to birth children, for a reason.

Now, that being said, I think that if you choose to be in a same-sex relationship, that is your choice, and I do not think ill of you. I do not have anything against anyone who is gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, etc. You don't bash me for my choices, I don't bash you for yours, because it is not my place to judge. I do feel though, as a Christian, that while your relationship is your business and who you live with and what you choose to do are your business, that marriage is for a man and a woman as God intended. I don't disagree with the option for a civil union or other acknowledgment, but because of my beliefs in God and as a Christian woman, I stand by God's holy words.

Does that mean I won't be friends with someone in a same-sex relationship? No. Does it mean I hate gays? Absolutely not. Does it mean that I don't support my friends/family who are gay? Heck, no. It DOES mean that I believe in marriage between a man and a woman. It means that I believe in my God's word and that His guidelines and rules are far more important than worrying about what someone thinks of my opinion on this matter.

Since I'm just a normal ole' person, the world isn't going to boycott me for my opinion. I might lose some friends, but then again, I guess they weren't really friends after all if they are going to boycott me for this. However, because someone holding a high position in a well-known and well-liked company expressed this same exact opinion, the world is in an uproar. How fair is that, my hypocritical fellow Americans?

My point is this. We have to stop this nonsense that America is becoming. We need to focus on raising respectful, responsible, law-abiding, God-fearing young men and women. We need to get back to the basics and be humbled in the great power our founding fathers left us with a democracy and freedom. We need to appreciate the America we live in.

God Bless America!