A General Lack of Respect

March 30, 2008 marked opening day in Major League Baseball here in the states. As is customary, our president threw out the first pitch. This time it was a special inaugural pitch, the first pitch to be tossed from the mound of the Washington Nationals' new baseball stadium.

Unfortunately, the whole scene became a mockery. George W. Bush was booed by thousands of fans. What should have been a celebration of America's greatest pastime instead was a political statement. It was a general lack of respect for the highest office in our land. I don't want to mince any words here. The fact that the president was booed really bothers me.

I know we are in a very unpopular war right now. I know a lot of people blame George Bush. I don't want to be over there, either. I want all of our service men and women to come home just as much as you do. I know the economy is in straits. I know gas prices are at all-time highs. I would like to see some changes, too. But you don't boo the president. You don't disrespect the office of the president.

What is happening these days in the political realm is a microcosm of the moral slide and ignorance of our population as a whole. The apostle Peter once wrote, "...the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries" (2 Pet. 2:9-10).

I think it is interesting that Peter describes those who conduct themselves with a fleshly mind as those who "despise authority," who are "self-willed," and who "are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries." I believe the point is that there are a good number of people in our land who don't want to be governed at all. The only master they desire is the one in the mirror. They make no sacrifices for the country, but they want all the freedom. They are never satisfied, and they always cry for change.

Whether you agree with the president or not is not the thrust of this article. It is about allegiance to a cause, respect for authority, and couth. America is only going to stay great if Americans will demand that they themselves be great. The same is true for the church. Do you respect your elders, even when you don't agree with them? Do you honor the Bible, even when there are some things with which you struggle? Do you obey the elders, even when you know their faults?

If we cannot respect authority, we cannot be ruled. If we cannot be ruled, we cannot have Jesus Christ.

"Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work." ~ Titus 3:1