Did anyone else watch the Democratic National Convention last night? I'm sorry - they called in the "Grammy's"; it just SEEMED like the DNC with Al Gore and the Dixie Chicks there... ha ha! Anyone else disgusted by the Dixie Chicks??? Let's put aside the fact that they spoke out against our president at a concert in London (I'll get to that in a second...) and the content of their videos and music (in one video, they have a woman being abused by her husband kill him. Great message to fight back and stand up for yourself, but murder isn't the answer to domestic problems obviously).

What SERIOUSLY irritated me last night, for those of you who didn't see it, when they were called for one of their FIVE awards, Natalie Maines came to the microphone and said, "In the words of the great Simpson... heh heh... A lot of people just turned off their TVs right now..."

I was still irritated about it this morning, and I was really asking myself why it bothered me so much. It really does bother me that they spoke out against our president, in a public forum, and to another country. Of course, non-Christians are not going to behave as Christians should.

It is not wrong to disagree with our President. I don't agree with some of the things President Bush has done. But, there is a difference in disagreeing with a LEADER and promoting those opinions publicly to "outsiders".

The Bible tells us that the leaders that have been placed over us - whether in the church, in our workplaces, or our country - are placed there because God has ordained them to be there. We are to respect them, pray for them, and submit to them. Agree with them always?? NO! Romans 13:1 says, "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God." Even those who may seem to be the worst of the worst leaders are placed there by GOD! ALL authority is established by God!

So, what is our response when we don't agree with our leaders? Do we go over to London and say we are ashamed that our president is from the same state we are? NO! That causes dissension within our own country, and it portrays our country in a bad light to another country. Relations within this political world today are so fragile that the tiniest cracks in unity can make a big difference!

The same is true with the authorities in our church. Are we going to agree with our leaders all of the time? Are we going to understand all of their decisions? NO! But, we are to submit to them because they are ordained by God! They are in leadership and see a picture bigger than that of the one we see. They make decisions based on the whole of the church or the whole of our country, and not one small fraction.

And, if we do disagree, the Bible gives us ways to handle those conflicts:

Matt 18:15-17 says, "If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector. "
We are to go TO the person we have a conflict to - not announce to another country or gripe to everyone else about it. Within our country, we can write to our congressmen or president or work on trying to change laws we disagree with. Within our church, we should go to the leaders if we disagree with something, OR just submit and understand that they know better than we do. Our leaders are going to be held accountable by God for the decisions that they make; it is not for us to hold them accountable! We certainly should not go out into the community bad-mouthing the church or to other countries bad-mouthing our President! Just as our country is politically fragile, so is the spiritual warfare we face! How much more serious when we talk about someone's eternity! There is NO reason to create or continue dissension within our churches or to cause a "seeker" to not visit our church because of something we've said.

Isaiah 1:18 -20 says, " 'Come now, let us reason together,' says the LORD. 'Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.' " We are to reason TOGETHER - GOD forgives ALL of our sins as we are to forgive others. We are to be willing and obedient not resistful and rebellious!

The Bible also talks about conflicts within all relationships:

Ephesians 4:25-27 says, "Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 'In your anger do not sin': Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold." Speak truthfully - tell someone directly if there is a problem and....

Ephesians 4:3 says, "Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace." .... keep at it working on the problem until peace is resolved! We have to do our part. We can apologize and repent for our own actions only... I was just having a conversation about this yesterday! At some point, we have to make sure we have repented for our own actions and apologized with the right heart. Once we've done all we can do to mend a relationship, it may be up to the other person to then work and pray through their part of the conflict.

Proverbs 10:12 says, "Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs." Whether dealing with Christians, our church, or our country, we are to deal with ALL conflicts and wrongs with LOVE! It may take praying through things to get to that point, but LOVE is what we are called to do! And, we have to do HEART CHECKS - see previous post on that - to determine whether our hearts are truly in the right place!