The New Year has come and we’re now into the second month of 2017. By now those folks that make New Year’s resolutions have for the most part fallen off the wagon, so to speak. The world is a different place than it was just a month ago. The changes in the American political landscape have led to a lot of angst and uncertainty in the Unites States and the rest of the world as their new president has embarked on fulfilling all the changes he said he would make during his campaign. Sadly, those of us of the Christian persuasion are taking a lot of hits for his policy and programs. His agenda is more protectionist and extreme right wing than it is Christian, but his wooing of conservatives and his vocalizations of his beliefs has led folks to believe he has a Christian agenda, which I, personally, don’t agree with – as a matter of fact, I find his exclusionary politics the exact opposite of a Christian agenda. Whatever happened to “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free?” I can’t change the politics of the United States any more than I can change the politics of Canada. All I can change is me. Let’s all try to become more welcoming, more supportive, more encouraging to the people we know and the people in this world we don’t know. Invite people to get to know you and what you believe. Live your Christian beliefs, don’t just talk about them. Make sure the walk you walk reflects what you say – and remember that you shouldn’t be talking about the splinter in someone else’s eye when you have a two by four in your own.
