Everyone has heard people quarreling. Sometimes it sounds funny and sometimes it sounds merely unpleasant, but however it sounds, I believe we can learn something very important from listening to the kind of things they say.

They say things like this, “How’d you like it if anyone did the same to you?” “That’s my seat, I was there first!” “Leave him alone, he isn’t doing you any harm.” “Why should you shove in first?” “Give me a bit of your orange, I gave you a bit of mine. Come on, you promised!”

People say things like that every day, educated people as well as uneducated, and children as well as grown-ups.

It looks very much as if both parties has in mind some kind of law or rule of fair play or decent behavior or morality or whatever you like to call it, about which they really agreed. And they have. If they had not, they might, of course, fight like animals, but they could not quarrel in the human sense of the word. Quarreling means trying to show that the other man is in the wrong. And there would be no sense in trying to do that unless you and he have some sort of agreement as to what’s right and wrong are—Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis.

This letter is not about Republicans and Democrats. It’s not about liberals nor conservatives. It’s about right and wrong.

I wholeheartedly believe this to be true. Nobody can spend their way out of debt!

Do we agree? If we can not agree with this most basic of principles then I would like to suggest that you read no further and go back to believing Barack Obama is not a socialist, he is not a communist, and he is not spending us into a black hole. As for the rest of you, please continue.

Some of you have attended tea parties. Some of you are watching the news and wondering what is going on. The rest, well, they are probably not reading this. You know, Michael Jackson died. No disrespect but there are life-changing events happening in the world. It’s time to focus.

And what should that focus be? Cap and trade? Universal health care? Hate speech? How about giving the Federal Reserve even more power?

Those are some very disturbing things to be greatly concerned about indeed and I disagree with all of them. I believe we should all stand up and speak out against these things but these things are not where our focus should be.

Our focus should be on God!

There is right and wrong! Why? It’s like gravity. It’s a law! Right and wrong can not be subjective. Right is right, wrong is wrong, like on or off, black or white.

The problem with America and the world is people are not looking to God. Here is what happened to Israel when they stopped looking to God.

First Samuel Chapter 8 beginning at verse 11, “And he said, ‘this will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots.'”

Not that the government has this authority by their office, but that such as reign in God’s wrath would usurp this over their brethren, contrary to truths that are self-evident: That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness—The Declaration of Independence.

And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over 50s; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots.

This speaks of hard labor and war. There is no choice in this.

And he will take your daughters to be confectioneries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers.

Women will not be exempt from the toil. This too is not by choice.

And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your olive yards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.

By fraud or force, as Ahab did from Naboth. He will not only take the fruits of your lands for his own use, but will take away your possessions to give to his servants—Wesley. No property rights means no private property. Can you say wealth redistribution? How about being told where you will live?

And he will take the 10th of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants.

Could this be taxes for bailouts and lobbyist friends imposed upon the people?

And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work.

Do I need to explain this?

He will take the 10th of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants.

Still taking your property and labor away. That is, he will use you like slaves, and deprive you of that liberty which now you enjoy—Wesley.

And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the Lord will not hear you in that day.

We must repent! Repentance is the answer!

When America removes God from every public place and Christians sit silently, this is what we can expect from our government. When we deconstruct books and progressively push ethical relativism denying that anything has any real meaning other than what one makes of it, we deny God.

Everyone knows, even those who deny, right from wrong. “It’s the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness” (Romans 2:15).

If America will not have God rule then we will find the yoke exceedingly heavy. Those that submit to the government of the world and the flesh, are told plainly, what hard masters they are, and what tyranny the dominion of sin is. The law of God and the manner of men widely differ from each other; the former should be our rule in the several relations of life; the latter should be the measure of our expectations from others. These would be their grievances, and, when they complained to God, He would not hear them. When we bring ourselves into distress by our own wrong desires and projects, we justly forfeit the comfort of prayer, and the benefit of Divine aid. The people were obstinate and urgent in their demand. Sudden resolves and hasty desires make work for long and leisurely repentance. Our wisdom is, to be thankful for the advantages and patient under the disadvantages of the government we may live under, and to pray continuously for our rulers, that they may govern us in the fear of God, and that we may live under them in all Godliness and honesty. And it is a hopeful symptom when our desires of worldly objects can brook delay; and when we can refer the time and manner of their being granted to God’s providence—Matthew Henry’s Commentary.

The American motto is, “In God We Trust.”

“It is time to repent and seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you (Matthew 6:33). Then perhaps the Lord will tarry His soon return, can ye not discern the signs of the times?” (Matthew 16:3), but I digress.

God help us all,Michael PendletonBainbridge, Ga.