When the Founding Fathers established the United States, they did so with biblical values in mind. This is made clear in the Constitution,...
When the Founding Fathers established the United States, they did so with biblical values in mind. This is made clear in the Constitution, which says that man’s inherent rights are given to him by the Creator.
That same Creator made it very clear that these rights do not include passing judgment on one another. The Apostle Paul explained this in Romans.
“You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things,” Romans 2:1 says.
In an interview with The Western Journal, “Duck Dynasty” star Phil Robertson said too many Americans have forgotten this guidance. Instead, they are acting as if they have both the right and the responsibility to hold others accountable for things they deem to be sinful.
“They’re dragging up people’s sins where someone made a mistake 200 years ago, and they’ll tear down his statue and say, ‘We will never forgive you,'” Robertson said.
Paul explained in Romans what Christ-followers are not to do to others, but that begs the question: What are we called to do?
Robertson said Paul answered this question in his first letter to the Thessalonians. In fact, Robertson felt this passage was important enough to merit opening his Bible in the middle of the interview and reading 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12.
“Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life. You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.”
In between lines of Scripture, Robertson stopped to explain what this passage means for Americans today. Specifically, he laid out the ways he applies this truth to his own life.
“You’re never going to see me with some kind of signage on a stick walking down the road,” Robertson said. “I’m not going to come to your house … unless you invite me. And when I get there — trust me when I tell you — I’m not going to try to burn your house down.”
Violence of this magnitude has sadly become more prevalent in America over the past few years. One recent example is the Black Lives Matter riots that tore through the country during the summer of 2020.
According to Axios, riots in at least 140 American cities between May 26 and June 8, 2020, caused somewhere between $1 and $2 billion in damages. Politics aside, burning buildings and looting stores is not typically the most effective way to win people over to your cause.
The Bible is clear that fighting hate with more hate is never the right solution, and Robertson said anyone who argues otherwise is contradicting God’s own words.
“Look at the situation,” Robertson said. “They burn people’s businesses. They loot people’s livelihoods. … They get people fired. You’re like, ‘What in the world?’
“What you end up with … is you know that all of this cancel culture and all of this misery that we’ve put on each other, all the hatred and all of that — it’s of the evil one.”
Thankfully, we have a savior who died for us to wipe away our sins. In order to turn away from the culture of hate that seems so prominent in our country today, Robertson said all we have to do is look to that savior.
“You have a whole lot better life, and we all would, if we love God and we love each other,” Robertson said. “I don’t see the downside to either one of those things.”
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