Do you know how to tell if something is crooked? Simply put something that is straight next to it!

Do you know why we have such aberrant sex practices and trends infiltrating and taking over our culture? Trends that not so many years ago were deemed mental health issues and given counseling?

Because our society threw away the straight stick in the ‘60s when we got rid of prayer and Bible reading in our schools! When the ACLU challenged Nativity scenes in parks and other thoroughfares at Christmas, so we took them down. When we began calling Christmas vacation from school ‘winter holiday’, and Easter time off became ‘spring break.’ 

We have no straight stick in our culture today by which to measure behavior and social customs, so now anything and everything is accepted as ‘normal.’

Yet, we have no ‘normal’ anymore. The Ten Commandments were our straight stick for centuries. Suddenly, we became so smart and educated we didn’t need those constraints anymore! Foolish people!! Because we don’t stand for something absolute anymore, we fall for anything, no matter how senseless or inane it is—because our definitions of right and wrong are now relative.

A pastor who was martyred in Zimbabwe more than 100 years ago had this note in his desk. Nothing about what he wrote is relative. He stood for God and for right. He didn’t care who knew it. I quote him because at this critical time in our nation’s life, we need a byword of bravery and he said it well:

I’m part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have Holy Spirit power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I’m a disciple of His. I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still.

My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I’m finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap living, and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don’t have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.

My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way rough, my companions few, my guide reliable, and my mission clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I won’t give up, shut up, let up, until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, and preached up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go on till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work till He stops me. And when He comes for His own, He will have no problem recognizing me—my banner will be clear!”

Author Unknown

— Posted by Tom Salmon for Doris, a fellow member of the Prince William and Manassas Family Alliance