In Washington DC – inside the beltway – speeches are valued at a dime-a-dozen. Everyone has something to say, it seems; many of them have no audience interested in hearing them say it.
Last Tuesday was a bit different. As the toxic cloud of pressing issues swirls over the branches of government, in the White House Briefing Room there was a 20-minute speech by a non-politician that continues to echo around the cultural battlefields.
Raised in Uvalde, Texas – cite of yet-another mass shooting tragedy that should have never happened – Matthew McConaughey met privately with the President, and then came into the Briefing Room and talked about his post-shooting visit to his hometown, told stories he had heard of some of the victims, and then gave his prescription for action: “So, we know what’s on the table. We need to invest in mental healthcare. We need safer schools. We need to restrain sensationalized media coverage. We need to restore our family values. We need to restore our American values. And we need responsible gun ownership…”
The actor was making sense to many who are ready to be more thoughtful than political. One of his challenges is especially telling: “We need to restore our family values.”
In 21st Century America, the vital core of society – the family – has been deconstructed. By God’s design, the family consists of a husband and wife – committed to one another for life – and a next generation of children who are being raised in accordance with values and worldview that are based on timeless reality, not shifting popular agendas. Among contemporary American influencers, most of that biblical model is under attack and the demands for reinvention – with no reference to the Eternal Creator – are unrelenting.
This weekly Point of View is not an editorial pointed toward the high-and-mighty; it is intended to inform and encourage men and women to find their way at a time when demands for engagement are screaming for attention and commitment. We need short lists of solid pursuits that are certain to make today – and every day – stand out as valuable against the backdrop of Eternity.
Micah was God’s spokesman to Israel in the 8th Century BC, yet his insights are still in effect. Here’s what he declared: “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (6:8)
God – in every generation, in every culture – makes the case for living in a healthy manner as a member of human community, allowing societies to flourish and receive His blessing. For people looking for more than survival, the “good life” seems to be the common pursuit. The One Who created us knows what we long for; how can we have the good life, in practice?
He lays-out His three-point plan in simple wisdom: 1) Act justly. Fairness is an essential quality that must be universal. Don’t just talk about justice; act it out. 2) Love mercy. Mercy tempers justice by withholding the full measure of consequence from someone who deserves revenge but, instead, will receive forgiveness. “Getting even” seldom settles anything; giving mercy stuns the recipient and the observers with the largesse of the person who is close to the heart of the merciful God. 3) Walk humbly with God. In a world that openly calls for “pride” as a critical factor for a good life, God offers humility as the alternative. To walk alongside God places one in proper balance; to see His greatness and then to derive one’s personal dimension from His design rather than by the godless alternative of self-definition apart from God’s instruction. Accepting His design – not ours – results in humility.
Do justly; love mercy; walk humbly… with Him. Would that be an agenda that would solve any of the challenges facing the modern world?
