Roundup Record Tribune & Winnett Times -

Why Can’t We Get Along

Once again, we find ourselves struggling to maintain some sort of a semblance of a civilized country. One act of anger, or hatred, or whatever it was, has turned the nation into a volatile powder keg. How does it happen so easily and quickly? After all, it is nothing new. If you know your Bible, you know that Cain killed his brother Able in the fourth chapter of Genesis. It didn't take long before the inner core of man, because of sin, was subject to the impulses of doing harm to his or her fellow human being. And guess what, it hasn't stopped, and according to scripture, it won't until God totally changes things. That is for another time.

I watch some of the news about what is going on, and I get upset. Many protests, some peaceful and some not so peaceful, and wonder what they are trying to accomplish. Often protesters are asked what they hope to achieve. They spiel off some platitude of high or not so high ideology that all sounds the same but has little valuable content. Invariably they all seem pretty much the same. I have an old friend who used to say that he was a "nonconforming, conformist." His point was that most nonconformist end up being just like every other nonconformist. History tells us that murder, bigotry, racial, and every different type of prejudice have been maladies of the human race ever since sin entered into mankind. We keep conforming. Wars have been fought, and laws have been made, and still, we end up back doing the same evil things that laws and protests will never change. I'm sure you're already tired of my ranting by now and ask, "What's your point?" I'm glad you asked.

There is only one thing that will cure this dilemma of man, that is a changed heart. Change that comes from the inside, not the outside. As hard as we may try, we will struggle and ultimately fail to change our hearts in our own power. God has to change it. That starts by realizing that we can't do it ourselves. We are hampered by our sin and the consequences of it. We must know we need Him to forgive us through Jesus and to give us a heart that mirrors His heart. The change of your heart begins at that moment and continues a lifetime. The power to change a cold, hating, unforgiving, prejudicial heart. Into a heart that loves and reaches out in love to people no matter who they are, because it is a heart that comes from God. In writing this, I realize that God needs to chip away at some of the hard corners of my heart. If you want to talk, you may reach out to me at [email protected].

Pastor Lynn Rettig

Musselshell Community Bible Church