Archive for February, 2009

Where did it go?

Friday, February 27th, 2009

I’m asking about a foreign concept called Personal Responsiblity.

We don’t have to look deep in our news to find stories of people who proclaim:

  • “Its not MY fault the banks sold me a mortgage I could not afford!”
  • “Its not MY fault I didn’t file my taxes right”.
  • “Its not MY fault I didn’t leave town before the storm hit.”

Everyday we are faced with choices that will effect us the rest of our lives. Some lead to wealth, joy and unbelieveable happiness. Others lead to poverty, hopelessness and pain. But these choices don’t happen in a vaccum. The consequences of our choices ripple out and effects others. Whether it is saving up for retirement or deciding to traffic drugs, these choices can and most likely will cause lasting effects on yourself, friends, family, surrounding communities, your nation and the world.

That is why it is important to hold ourselves accountable for our actions. That is why we should not shy away from holding other people accountable for theirs. As uncomfortable as it may be, we have to be able to view ourselves and others in the light of responsibility.

Clearly, there are more than two sides to every story.

John sells drugs. To increase his profit, he “waters down” his stash with anything he can find. He is arrested and taken to jail. When he went before the judge, he pleaded that he had no other choice because his mother was sick and needed the money for medicine and treatment that they could not afford.

Julie is an addict whose life has been spiraling out of control for years. To get her fix she has had to resort to some pretty degrading things. Things in which nightmares are made. She takes the drugs to make her forget the horrible things that happened to her when she was young. They are the only thing she has found that helps dull the pain. Meanwhile, she has given 10 people HIV.

Should John be held responsible for his actions? Is Julie responsible for her actions? I believe the answer is yes on both accounts. No matter what circumstance influenced their action, they should have to deal with the resulting consequences. It isn’t that I lack compassion for the people in this tradgic situations. I just realize that our society will never improve if we do not hold people accountable for their actions.

Speaking of personal responsiblity; where were John and Julie’s friends and family in their time of need? More importantly, where were you?

Personal responsibility isn’t just about “them”. Its about us. We have to hold ourselves to the same standards that we demand of others. We have to realize that everyone makes mistakes; big and small. We have to admit when we are wrong so we can not only correct and move on with our lives, but help others do the same with theirs.

A big question we are faced with today is how should we help. There are hundreds of answers to that question. Some produce better outcomes than others. Some are more practical than others. Some reach more people than others. I believe it is important that we find something that is ethical, beneficial and most importantly effective. Sometimes good intentions are not enough.

Sadly, there are people who don’t want help. People who, no matter how hard you try, will reject your efforts. People who will take advantage of the system having no intent to change at all. These people come from various backgrounds and lifestyles. From the evangelical television minister who swindles money to the pimp on the streets, there are people who choose to live their life a certain way. As a society, we have to be allowed and able to say “No. You can’t do that.” or “If you need or want help, here are the steps you have to take.”

Too many times we are too afraid to voice our feelings or convictions about issues that involve other people. Many times we are told that we have no right to say anything because it doesn’t involve us. But I believe that viewpoint is extremely short sighted. As I mentioned earlier, everything we do ripples out and effects those around them.

Clearly my arguments are very general. I have no doubt that one could point out various holes in my previous points. But I think the most important thing we can do is find a starting point at which we can discuss our thoughts, feelings, convictions and desires for ourselves and community.

Do you agree that personal responsibility is an appropriate starting point?

Travis Clay

Posted in Common Sense | 7 Comments »

Flag and Church

Monday, February 16th, 2009

This past Sunday our church had an after worship service forum to discuss something that had been festering for quite some time. It dealt with having the American Flag in our sanctuary, or the lack of one.

I only know what was said by our interim pastor at the beginning of the forum, so I may not know the whole story. From what was discussed, the Christian and American Flags were in the church for as long as some people could remember. At some point in the past few years, the church had some remodelling done. The flags were removed for the remodelling and not returned afterwards.

This is where it gets foggy, but it appears that when people wanted to return the flag there was some resistance to putting it back in place. It was never returned. Since our previous pastor left, some people within the church put it upon themselves to create a petition calling for the return of the flag. This is all fine and well, but the Presbyterian Church’s governing structure does not recognize petitions. In other words, petitions do not sway the governing body of the church. (Elders)

So that leads us to yesterday’s forum. The interim pastor laid out the ground rules and allowed individuals to come to a microphone to voice their opinion.

Each “side” presented some great opinions/arguments. It is my opinion that most people were very polite and didn’t pour gasoline on the fire that was already burning. There seemed to be two arguments presented at the forum.

The first argument expressed the strong tie that they have to the flag. Many veterans (some WWII) felt that the flag belonged in the church as a reminder of how good God had been to us. It reminded them of the sacrifices they had made and others close to them had made for the country that they loved. I am not sure it was said, but I believe some of the feeling on this argument revolves around tradition. Growing up in a Southern Baptist church, I can’t think of a time that there were not flags in the church. I don’t remember where they were exactly in every church, but I do believe they were there.

The second group of people believed that the flag really didn’t have a place inside the sanctuary. The reasoning revolved around passages in the Bible where God said that we are not to have any other god or idol before Him. They also read the verse where Jesus states that we cannot serve two masters. There were even veterans who supported this argument. The flag is presented seasonally and it seemed to be the way most people in this group felt. Some also felt it was a barrier to other religions, cultures or those from other countries.

I’ve had to ask myself where I stood on the issue. In all honesty, I am divided on the issue. I see good points in each of the arguments. Growing up, I have always remembered having a flag in the church. In each VBS (Vacation Bible School) there was always a time where we would say the pledge of allegiance and sing a patriotic song. In the hymns located within the church I attend, there are patriotic songs as well.

After thinking (and googling) I came up with a solution that each group may be able to agree upon. I suggested that we place the flag(s) near the entrance/exit of the building. This could serve two purposes. First, when one enters the church, the flags could be a reminder to use that we need to leave everything at the door. That our purpose is to worship the Lord and nothing else. Upon leaving the church the flags would help us remember Matthew 28:19-20 (the Great Commission):

19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Hopefully we will be reminded that there are people in the world that do not know Christ and that we are commanded to take Him to those people.

Perhaps this would be a compromise that both sides could accept. It would allow those who believe their is a place in the church for the flag. It would also place the flags in a place that would not distract others while they worship the Lord.

However, there will be people who will not be happy with this idea. Some believe that having the flag in the church will serve as a barrier to people. They also believe that it could even be offensive to them. Perhaps I am not tolerant enough to understand this point of view. For instance, why would people have a problem coming into our church if they see a flag? More importantly who would these people be?

One group that was mentioned were Muslims. I don’t understand the logic behind this because there are a great number of Muslims in our country that love America. Would we want to take it away from people who feel a strong tie to it? Another group that was specifically mentioned were people from Iraq (or other countries that may not feel we are treating them with respect among other things). I’m assuming that most of these people, especially in the Mobile area, are exchange students. Perhaps I am being intolerant once again, but I don’t see why we should hide our flag because some people may be offended. In this specific case, these students are studying here in America. Most get to experience the same daily freedoms life as Americans. They get the benefits of freedom while living here. I would imagine that many are here on their own free will looking to better themselves and benefit from our education system; an education system that is provided in America. If anything, the flag should be something that brings pride to all that choose to come here.

Should we remove the cross because it offends people?

We all have prejudices. We all have emotional barriers that we have to get past. If the Flag stands in your way, talk about it. We live in one of the greatest nation in the world. It has its faults, but overall we are blessed to live here. Every one of us.

I hope that the church can find a solution and is able to move forward in telling the Good News of Christ. As someone said last night, “Imagine what we could do If only we had this much passion for sharing Christ with others.”

So true.

Travis Clay

Posted in Religon | 3 Comments »

Harder than I thought.

Thursday, February 5th, 2009

Picking a first post has been pretty difficult. There are so many things going on that I could talk about. I suppose I will pick one soon so worry not. In the meantime, here is a quote from a recent email between a friend and myself.

“Information is awesome. Misinformation is dangerous. Ever since Al Gore
created the Internet, people have been able to go online and post “facts”
without any thing to back it up. If you repeat something enough, it becomes
“common knowledge.” This happens much faster when people with some
credibility stand up and cheer for a cause”

So I will do my best to get all the good information I can before express my opinion.

Travis Clay

Posted in General Information | No Comments »

Where do I start?

Monday, February 2nd, 2009

Good morning,

Like always, there are a lot of things going on in this world.  There are things that are good, bad and things that are quite subjective. Over the next few days, I will decide where to start.  Feel free to leave suggestions if there is something you would like to talk about or discuss. I am more than willing to hear your opinion on various subjects. Perhaps we can get into a deeper discussion as to why we view things the way we do. I hope to have something to share soon.

Travis Clay

 

Posted in General Information | No Comments »