Stephen Broden: It’s Not What You See That Matters — It’s Whom You Know

We are witnessing a full out shift in our nation’s values. The progressive left through infiltration and incrementalism have slowly moved our culture to accept the godless philosophy of secular humanism as normative. This doctrine is devoid of the Judeo-Christian heritage that has undergirded those traditional values which once influenced our nation’s collective sense of right and wrong.

At the 1992 Republican Convention in Houston, Texas, Pat Buchanan observed that our nation was involved in a culture war. “There is a religious war going on in this country,” he said. “It is a cultural war, as critical to the kind of nation we shall be as was the Cold War itself, for this war is for the soul of America.”

Mr. Buchanan’s observations at that time were spot on as we have witnessed battle after battle over the moral character of our nation. Family values, sexuality, marriage, and the sanctity of life have been under assault by radical feminists, secular humanists, LBGTQ radical activists, and progressive liberals.

Through gradualism, political correctness, and the doctrine of “tolerance,” Americans seem to have capitulated to the dark armies of the left. There is very little resistance to same-sex marriage, gender fluidity, and transsexualism. The one pocket of resistance is evident among the few biblical Christians who dare to stand on the immutable word of God. Here is the brutal truth facing those who stand against the onslaught of the left’s agenda: they are in the crossfire to forever mute their opposition through hate speech and hate crime legislation designed to rob the church of its First Amendment rights.

It is my observation that every major institution that influences us today has surrendered to the godless agenda of the left. Businesses and corporations promote the immorality of a neo-sexuality defined by LBGTQ+ activists. Academia and educational institutions indoctrinate students with a doctrine of toleration that dismisses traditional values. Media and entertainment create images and programs designed to change the nation’s values and notions of right and wrong. Government, both national and state, are legislating and legalizing decadence. The Liberal Church is entirely on board with the agenda of the left. Finally, the family has bowed to the sword of the liberal left and handed their children over to the radical change of America’s values.

From 1992 when Pat Buchanan spoke his ominous observations, it looks like the battle is over; however, God is in the fight. Although the left has all the support of legislators, corporations, and big money special interests, they cannot win because their fight is with God.

In the book of Esther, the spirit of God records what appeared to be an insurmountable dilemma facing His people while in captivity. Haman, an Agagite, had devised a plan to kill all Jews in the kingdom because of his disdain of Mordecai, a Jew. The signature of King Ahasuerus supported Haman’s edict. In Haman’s eyes, his plan was proof — no possible way to have it overturned. Esther, who was the Queen of King Ahasuerus and Jewish, was also under that edict. Haman’s threat included her as Mordecai her uncle pointed out.

“Do not imagine that you in the king’s palace can escape any more than all the Jews. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, and you and your father’s house will perish. Moreover, who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?” – Esther 4:13b-14

Esther was the last chance to stop Haman’s plot. But there was a significant risk connected with her plan to stop the wholesale slaughter of the Jews. The threat to her very life to go before the king without being invited was real! The odds were against the Jews, and Haman had the upper hand. If Haman were successful in killing all the Jews, he would have disrupted God’s long-term plans for the Jews and the coming Messiah. So, God stepped in and rescued people.

“For Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the adversary of all the Jews, had schemed against the Jews to destroy them and had cast Pur, that is the lot, to disturb them and destroy them. However, when it came to the king’s attention, he commanded by letter that his wicked scheme which he had devised against the Jews, should return on his own head and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.” – Esther 9:24-25

The lesson here is that in spite of how overwhelming the odds are against you and how formidable your enemy may seem, when God is in the mix, your victory is certain. Never allow what you see to determine your outcome, but rather base your success on whom you know. Walk by faith and not by sight.

All indications are that the progressives have taken over our culture. They are indoctrinating our sons and daughters. They are redefining morality and turning traditional values upside down. For all intents and purposes, they seemed to have won the culture war, but God…

— New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (Es 9:24–25). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
— New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (Es 4:13–14). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

Photo credit: Pict-your (Creative Commons) – Some rights reserved

Stephen E. Broden is the senior pastor at Fair Park Bible Fellowship, founder of Protect Life and Marriage Texas, and member of the National Black Prolife Coalition. He is the chairman of the Gone 2 Far Movement. 

The views expressed in opinion articles are solely those of the author and are not necessarily either shared or endorsed by Black Community News.