First let me point out that God is Sovereign and in control over all the nations of the earth. I should not fret when wicked men succeed, because fretting leads only to evil. I need to commit my way to the Lord and wait on Him, for "the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; he is their stronghold in the time of trouble." (Read Psalm 37) And praise be to God, I belong to a kingdom that can never be shaken! (Hebrews 12:28) These truths stand out as an anchor for my soul in times of trouble.
Though my ultimate citizenship is heaven, I do have certain responsibilities as a citizen of the country in which God has placed me. Though increasingly in name only, this nation is a republic. The government is to be limited and is to protect the liberties of the people. We have a Constitution that is supposedly the law of the land, but it is getting increasingly ignored and trampled. I realize that the degradation of the Constitution began long before 2009, but I'm not willing to see it completely slip from our collective fingers without a struggle. The struggle always needs to begin on my knees, but can still involve raising my voice, and taking action as allowed a citizen.
This is what I'm contemplating today...
Apparently many of our current lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have never read, or have forgotten the 13th Amendment of the Constitution which states: "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."
I say that because this morning, I read the text of: H.R. 1444 which seeks to establish a Congressional Commission on Civil Service, including the Duty to determine "Whether a workable, fair, and reasonable mandatory service requirement for all able young
people could be developed, and how such a requirement could be implemented in a manner that would strengthen the social fabric of the Nation and overcome civic challenges by bringing together people from diverse economic, ethnic, and educational backgrounds."
Our blind leaders have already passed the GIVE/SERVE Acts, which in these economically troubled times pours $6 billion dollars into getting government more involved in national service. The mandatory aspect of it was taken out of the Senate version of the bill, but is coming up again in H.R. 1444.
These days, many people, including a majority of our current political leaders think that people exist to serve the state, instead of the state existing to serve the people. If our lawmakers are willing to consider enslaving our chidren to the state in even the smallest degree, it is another sign that this nation is on a slippery slope to fascism.
This oxymoronic idea of "mandatory volunteerism" threatens inalienable rights given by God and outlined in the Constitution of the United States. In this idea are the seeds of slavery.
As a citizen, I have the duty to stand up for the Constitution. However, I realize, as a Christian, that those rights are actually a blessing from God, and I and my family eventually might have to lay down those "rights," suffering for the sake of Christ, and entrusting ourselves to Him who judges justly. I praise God that all things work together for good for those who are called according to His purpose! (Romans 8: 28)
Baby Steps:
Red Envelope Campaign
If you are on Facebook, click here: Great Tea Bag Mailing Campaign
Tax Day Tea Party
Good Reading:
Non-Homeschool Related Testing
The Gift of Suffering, Part II
6 comments:
this is an excellent post. thanks for blogging this.
AHHHHHH! It's so frustrating to see this kind of illogical, unjust, and unconstitutional scheming going on in our nation's capital and in capitol buildings around the country. But then, like you Melissa, I remember Who REALLY is in control: "...the rulers gather together against the LORD...The One in heaven laughs; the LORD scoffs at them." (Psa. 2) Still, what price will we have to pay while citizens here on earth? Thanks for the post!
Great post, Melissa. Very well said.
mere
So, you're OK with "enslaving" other children to fight useless military battles for you, but when it comes to your little darlings, they should be exempt? Oh, the hypocritical nature of the homeschooling family. You want the government to stay the heck out of your business, but you don't think they should have to give back to the country that allows you the freedom to do whatever you want?
How do you feel about military recruiters visiting schools in low socioeconomic areas to recruit those children who feel they have no other paths? Do you think those children are less important than your own?
Actually, you don't need to answer, because your refusal to allow them to mingle with the commonfolk speaks volumes.
How did Jesus Christ get thrown into this discussion? Just how are you living out what he wanted?
The only slippery slope I can see is your thinly veiled prejudice.
Anonymous,
I was not posting about the military. I do not think that the battles that our military fights are useless.
How exactly did you jump to the conclusion that I don't want my "little darlings" to volunteer for military service? How did you jump to the conclusion that I think my children should not serve their country?
Military recruiters do not just do their recruiting in low socioeconomic areas. I live in a middle class neighborhood. My cousin who grew up in the same neighborhood joined the Marines through a local recruiter.
No, I do not think that my children are any more important than any other children.
How did you jump to the conclusion that I refuse to allow my children to mingle with "commonfolk"? Your snide comment speaks volumes about your judgmental attitude. We ARE commonfolk who have made the choice to homeschool along with millions of other Americans. My children are also friends with kids whose parents have chosen to utilize the public school system, which I myself attended.
Jesus Christ gets "thrown in" to a lot of my "discussion", because He is my Lord and Savior. I take it that your "question" is actually an accusation that I am not indeed living out what he wanted. However, your judgment is based on wild assumptions you are making about me and my family and on your misunderstanding of the topic of my post.
"Thinly-veiled prejudice"? Pot meet kettle.
I smell a troll Meliss. IMO, you should just delete that above comment. There was not a rational counter argument there worthy of an answer or open discussion. The questions were a disguised attack, not an honest desire for understanding.
Cheryl
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