The
Musings 27
Friday,
February 8
Read:
Luke 3: 1-20
The people
living in the cities New York, Boston, New Jersey and Philadelphia and many
parts of this country are keeping their fingers crossed as think about the
tremors that may happen due to an impending storm that is going to lash their respective
shore this evening. But a storm and
tremors of a different kind has already hit the minds of millions of people in
United States. Yesterday was the National Prayer Breakfast, an yearly event
held on the first Thursday of February every year at Washington. This is hosted
by the United State Congress and organized on their behalf by The Fellowship
Foundation also known as The Family. The speaker for this event that was held
yesterday was Dr. Benjamin Carson, a renowned pediatric neuro surgeon at John
Hopkins Hospital, an inspiring story teller and New York Times best selling
author. The speech that Dr. Carson delivered yesterday has created a storm,
whose huge ripples are being felt in the minds of the people of this nation. One
can hear the whole speech of Dr. Carson at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyyHegP255g. He was
speaking to an august audience which included President Obama. His speech lasted
nearly twenty five minutes, resounded with powerful prophetic words that dealt
with issues ranging from education, moral choices, to the responsibility that
each citizen has to take to build up the nation. He proclaimed that his role model is Jesus
Christ and what was unique about Carson's speech was that he was critical about
so called political correctness that people tend to highlight in the world of
today. People today are afraid to speak about their views and opinions that arise
out of one's moral consciousness. Dr. Carson encouraged every one that one
should stand up and defend their beliefs, but at the same time also have the
nobility to respects the rights of individuals that they disagree with. People
today are afraid to speak what they
believe because they don't want to offend anyone. Hence it is political
correctness that is being given importance, which may lead to a dangerous situation,
warned Dr. Carson, as this sort of political correctness can hamper the process
of freedom of thought and expression. He was critical also with regards to
issues like the taxation system and also some policies of the present
government. He termed the great fiscal deficit that people and leaders of this
country is discussing as fiscal irresponsibility. What was remarkable about the
speech of Dr. Carson is that he stressed that when he opens the Bible he sees
that God has given us a system, and that system is called the tithe, and he
equated in a unique way the tithing and taxing system. While delivering his
speech Dr. Carson reminisced his own life, his journey from growing a child of
a single mother to world renowned surgeon, sharing even those intimate details
about his parents, his early family life and the things that influenced him.
Here is one person whose personality, his individuality goes with the message.
The message and the messenger was the same. There was no dichotomy between the
message and the personality of the messenger. I think Dr. Benjamin Carson
should be a role model for all of us. In a time in history where each one of us
is afraid to speak about our faith and our voice of conscience, people like
Dr.Carson brings in a fresh light to the world. He gives us the impetus to
stand for what is right, to profess what we believe, have the nobility not only
to respect the people whom we differ but have the guts to tell them why we
differ. The words of Dr. Carson can be considered as prophetic. Can we also be
prophetic like Dr. Carson?. What God expects in us also is to develop a
prophetic lifestyle.
One of the prophetic
voices that we find in the Bible is that of John the Baptist. He was also like
Dr. Carson not afraid to speak his views. He was also not concerned about
political correctness of the day, on the contrary wanted to prepare the way of
the Lord, speak about the reign of God. In Mathew 3, we find message, the style
of his preaching and the personality of John the Baptist. What was important
for John the Baptist is to preach about repentance and about the coming of the
Kingdom of God. A kingdom where justice and peace reigns. All forms of
injustice needs to be wiped out. He was not afraid to speak authoritatively and
also critically about the rulers of those time like the Sadducees and Pharisees. But like many leaders of the
present times who only deliver hate speeches against church, leaders or other
political leaders, without proposing how changes can take place, John the
Baptist on the contrary is not just blindly critical, but he tells the people
how their life has to reflect the message of the Kingdom of God. In Luke
3:10-16, John the Baptist teaches the people about justice, righteousness and
sharing. When people ask what sort of lifestyle they should live that will
correspond to the reign of God, John the Baptist has an answer for each the
individual on whom authority is entrusted. He tells the tax collectors not to
tax anyone unjustly, while he advises the soldiers that they should not fleeces
others nor accuse any one and try to live a life of contentment. He tells the
common people that they all have to produce the fruits of repentance and should
not just live, claiming that they are the children of Abraham, a spiritual
lineage without showing the fruits of that spiritual lineage in their life.
Here is John the Baptist whose focus is on his calling and his role in
proclaiming the kingdom of God. He is committed to his calling and his message
has nothing to do with who his audience is. His only intention is to be faithful
to God and faithful to his faith and convictions. What has happened in the
world of today especially in this nation is that, Christians have become a
subdued lot, scared that if they proclaim or profess their convictions loudly
and stand for what they feel is right, they might be misunderstood, or people
may brand them as very narrow minded. Hence you have some of our youths,
leaders and others who easily ape the patterns of this world even without
thinking whether this blind confirming of the patterns of the world contradicts
ones faith convictions. When Dr. Benjamin Carson delivered his speech he was
not concerned as to who was there in his audience, I think all his concern was
that he should be faithful to his faith convictions and preach those
convictions irrespective of what others think of him. Even if somebody feels
that they don't agree with him, he seems to have no issue because he feels his
life is an open book for all to see. The
legacy that he leaves behind is something that we all could follow. Can we also
leave a prophetic legacy like that of John the Baptist, Dr. Benjamin Carson in
our life situations too?
