Wow! What a difference a year makes.
Just a few months ago, Palestinian Authority (PA) president Mahmoud Abbas stood in the White House and praised President Donald Trump's leadership and negotiating abilities. He gushed, "Now, Mr. President, with you we have hope."
Last week, Mr. Abbas delivered a two hour rant to the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). In it, he raged against President Trump and even pronounced an old Arabic curse upon him: "Yakhrab baytu!" Translated: "May his house be destroyed."
Since Mr. Trump now lives in the White House, and that is "the peoples' house," it seems logical that the Abbas curse applies to the United States, as well. A little like spitting on our flag.
What made the PA leader change his tune so drastically in the last few months?
Well, a couple of things quickly come to mind. First, President Trump officially recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. (And this week, Vice-President Pence told the Israeli Knesset that our embassy would be moved there by the end of 2019.)
Then, President Trump's disgust with the PA finally got the better of him and he tweeted: "...we pay the Palestinians HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS a year and get no appreciation or respect. They don't even want to negotiate a long overdue peace treaty with Israel."
His recent criticism of the PA and Abbas for promoting terrorism by using American money to reward terrorists who kill Israelis has rankled the Palestinians. Mr. Trump threatened to cut off funding to the PA as a result.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered his explanation of Abbas' unhinged public rant: "The world has pampered the Palestinians, and not told them the truth. I think Abbas is reacting. For the first time, someone is telling them the truth."
That someone is Donald Trump.
You know, Mahmoud Abbas isn't the only one who hates Donald Trump and the United States of America. Curiously, though, there may be more Americans who hate Donald Trump than non-Americans! At least if you believe the mainstream media.
Aside from his obvious brashness and hubris, his tendency to fire from the hip, and his use of nicknames to identify the defining traits of his opposition, what is it that so irritates that opposition? Especially the American Left!
I hate to say this, but I think it is his intense desire to see America return to its greatness and position of genuine world leadership. And if he's hated for that, then it means that those who hate him actually want to see America weak and content to languish back in the pack with the other mediocre nations and societies.
Donald Trump wants so much to see America return to greatness that in 2012 he trademarked the slogan, "Make America Great Again!" In 2016, that sentiment finally resonated with a majority of American voters.
I believe there is a broad sense among Americans that we've left something behind -- something crucial. But what? What made America so successful, rich, safe, powerful, and desirable?
We keep hearing that it was "American values." But what are "American values?" The definition you would hear from a 20-something in 2018 would be very different from a 20-something in 1958.
"American values" change with the generations.
George W. Bush and Barack Obama believed that "American values" would transform Islamic nations. Bush tried nation-building in Afghanistan and Iraq. Obama pushed the Arab Spring.
The utter failure of both of those enterprises should be a lesson learned. America's greatness did not come because her successful democracy and constitutional government. Rather, her successful democracy and constitutional government came as a result of her greatness.
You see, the truth is America's greatness has little to do with "American values." It has everything to do with "Judeo-Christian values!"
In fact, American values are at their very best when they reflect Judeo-Christian beliefs. And it's not true just for America. Where Christianity flourishes, people flourish. Humanitarianism, science, the arts, and democracy all abound in societies that try to align themselves with Biblical morality.
One practical reason is that children thrive in a Christian environment. It's full of love and discipline. It encourages and stabilizes families -- the foundation of any society.
Bible morality and Bible values also cause business to thrive. With them, owners and workers alike value honesty, responsibility, sobriety, hard work, compassion, and fairness.
Even government works better when the people have a general agreement on Bible-based values. More Bible means less corruption and more cooperation.
For two centuries now, we in America have been the recipients of these blessings.
That's not to say that we've never failed morally. Having ideals and fully living up to them are two different things.
We still struggle sometimes to live up to the most basic premise of our society, that "all men are created equal." (That premise, by the way, directly reflects Bible doctrine.) And our critics are quick to point out our failures. But with "created equal" as our north star, America became the safest, fairest, and most prosperous society in the history of the world.
Sadly, all of that is beginning to disappear. The economy is booming, but the joy is gone. Corruption is spreading. Too many little ones are neglected and abused. Millions are killed before they are born!
How did this happen? Where will it lead?
I believe the anti-God movement that seems to be the major motivating force in America today seeks the love and kindness of Christian teaching, but without the God who inspires it -- or the Bible in which He teaches it. For decades, they've been working to build a Christian society, but without Christ.
That's like transplanting a tree by cutting it off at ground level. Without its roots, the tree will die. So we shouldn't be surprised to see the tree of liberty withering and dying in our day. America is cutting off its roots.
When followed, Biblical principles -- such as the Ten Commandments and the Golden Rule -- make nations and people great. But when they stop believing in God Himself, they are usually just a generation or two from denouncing those Bible principles. (Sound familiar?)
After that, the loss of prosperity and freedom is inevitable.
Finally, nothing is more descriptive of the mystery of the Church than the sublime comparison between Christian marriage and the marriage of Church Age believers to the Lord. Especially when viewed in the context of the marriage customs of the time in which the Apostle Paul describes it.
The "process" of marriage in those days was far different than now. It illustrates the "process" of our union with Jesus Christ. We'll go from the betrothal to the whisking away of the bride by the bridegroom to the gala celebration of the marriage to the "happily ever after!" That time is so very close, that you may be surprised at where we are today in that beautiful scenario.
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