Friday, April 18, 2014

Public Display for Political Reasons

By Douglas V. Gibbs

The truth, when it comes to power hungry politicians, is usually hidden, draped with good deeds, and virtuous intent.

Darkness always first appears as an angel of light.

As they say, "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions."

In the Bible, Matthew 6:6, King James Version (KJV), it reads: But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

This verse is mistakenly taken to mean that Christians cannot pray in public, it must only be in private, behind closed doors.  In reality, what the verse, when taken in context, is saying is that because of our human nature it is in our best interest to pray in private, for if we pray in public, and it is for reasons other than the prayer, such as for a portrayal of self-edification, then the prayer is empty, and should never have been prayed in the first place.  When in private, the dangers of our human nature using prayer for show are eliminated.

Understanding the verse in Matthew does not then mean that an extreme should be applied, and therefore we should never pray in public.  Jesus prayed in public.  Many important historical figures prayed in public.  Public prayer, for the right reasons, is a wonderful thing.

In the Bible, Matthew 19:24, King James Version (KJV), it reads: And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

As with Matthew 6:6, Christ is not saying that "absolutely" no rich person can enter Heaven, or that being rich is a sinful thing.  It all goes back to human nature, once again.

Wealth does a funny thing to people.  With the acquisition of wealth often comes a narcissistic attitude of power along with it.  People who accumulate wealth run the risk of believing they are somehow above other people, that they are wiser, or belong to a "better class" of people.  Such a system of beliefs places in danger the person's faith, for they forget the source of their talents, or the order of events that occurred in their lives that brought them to that point.  Their money, and the position of power, becomes more important than God, and in many cases leads the person to deny the existence of God in order to satisfy their own selfish desire to be able to claim that it was themselves that ensured they attained such a position in life.

It is not impossible for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God, but human nature plays a large part in making it difficult for a man to humble himself before the Lord, to admit he is a sinner, and to accept the gift God offers.  In fact, as the verse goes, human nature makes it so difficult for a person to put God above all of their wealthy earthly possessions, that for them to seek out God is so unlikely, it would be easier to thread a camel through the eye of a needle.

Does this mean that obtaining wealth on Earth should be avoided?  Absolutely not!  It means that we need to make sure we are right with God when we reach those heights, and constantly remind ourselves that our financial gain was not of ourselves, but because of the Will of God.

The point of explaining these two verses was to spotlight human nature, and how as humans we have this tendency to do things for show, rather than for the genuine reason we should be doing them.  I understand that nobody knows what is in another's heart.  We can only observe, and determine a person's heart by the fruits we see.  But if those fruits do not line up properly with the other fruits, or the words that sometimes comes out of their mouths, sometimes it is easy to pinpoint who is "full of it" when they perform some charitable action in public.

The nature of liberal left progressive democrats has been to ensure that the perception is optimal for their agenda.  Everything is about perception, with these people, even if it is a false perception.  Therefore, the truth is often hidden, and much of what they do is for show.  The liberal left progressive democrats have proven this to be true time and time again.  They are the ones that pray in public to show everyone how spiritual they are.  They are the ones that participate in certain acts of charity to make up for their guilt regarding their position in society.  They are the ones that make public displays of being a wonderful person, for political reasons in order to help the image of their political agenda.

President Bill Clinton gave us a glimpse of how he has a certain face for the camera, for show, when at Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown's funeral in 1996 he was yucking it up, laughing and grinning, until he realized a camera was on him, at which point he lowered his head, draped a solemn look across his face, and acted as if he was wiping away tears.

President Barack Obama, after attacking and mocking the Bible early in his presidential career, and during his candidacy, shifted quickly when he realized it was not a popular thing to do with it came to the constituents.  Suddenly, Obama became a regular church goer, publicly mentioning his “Christian faith” more times in a few months than he had the year prior.  He began to frequently cite passages of the Bible, including repeated references to what he believes to be the spirit of Genesis 4:9 — “I am my brother’s keeper; I am my sister’s keeper” — which was a mainstay of Obama’s 2010 campaign stump speech. References to his “Christian faith” also began to appear in Obama’s speeches.  One wonders why suddenly, after being criticized for his mocking of Christianity, the sudden public expressions of his Christianity.

Could it have been for political reasons?

Which brings us to the Wicked Witch of the West... also known as Nancy Pelosi.

Congresswoman Pelosi is about as hard-left liberal as they get, and is known for having harsh words for her political opponents.  She opposes her Catholic Church on abortion, and the church's position on Obamacare's mandate regarding forcing religious business owners to offer health insurance that covers all contraceptives, including aborticides, like the morning-after pill.

Yet, despite Pelosi's hate for her opposition, and her hardcore leftist agenda that flies in the face of a value based system supported by Christianity, when it comes to walking in the steps of Jesus, a tradition of washing the feet of others during the Holy Week before Easter, she's all over it. . . ensuring cameras are around to catch he in the act, with a huge smile on her face.

An act of humility?  Or a politically motivated photo-op?

When it comes to liberal left democrats, understand that EVERYTHING they do is for the advancement of their progressive agenda.  Everything is a lie.  Everything is a deception.  Perception is everything, especially in the eyes of the uninformed voters that blindly vote for these people because they buy the propaganda.

Only Nancy Pelosi truly knows in her heart what was behind her public display of servitude, and Christian humility.  I only ask, was it a true act of love? Or a public display for the camera?

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

Pelosi assists in Holy Week foot-washing ritual - SFGate

Bill Clinton Cries for the Camera - YouTube

Barack Obama Lets His Faith Show - Free Republic

Obama Mocks and Attacks Jesus Christ and the Bible - YouTube

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