Revelation 22:20, the second to last verse in the Bible, says; He who testifies to these things saith, says, I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. 

         Do you ever feel like that? Does it ever feel like the world has gotten so stupid that we would be better off if the march of time just ended? Being ready to die, even looking forward to it, is one thing. But thinking that it would be better if the Lord just came back now and stopped the nonsense is another thing.

         Last week a young man walked into the mall in Greenwood with a backpack on. Nothing unusual there. But in the backpack, he had a disassembled rifle. In a pocket he had a pistol. He went into a stall and assembled the gun. He was in the restroom for an hour and two minutes, supposedly getting himself psyched to do what he planned to do. Finally, he emerged onto the food court and began to fire his weapon. Another young man was in that area with his girlfriend. This young man had a conceal/carry permit and a registered handgun on his person. He pulled his weapon and shot the assailant dead. Some innocent lives were snuffed out by the assailant and two were injured, but there were two lessons that were taught on that food court. First, not all people who carry guns are dangerous and two, our state allows private citizens to carry concealed firearms. So, if you decide you are going to shoot a place up to gain fame, you will probably wind up dead. Whatever the assailant was thinking, whatever his motive, he was stupid. However, the ‘stupid’ didn’t end on the food court. A police spokesman called the young man who was defending himself, his girlfriend and lots of others, a good Samaritan. Those who oppose the conceal/carry laws could not condemn the young hero because he had saved lives. But they were appalled that he was called a good Samaritan. Why, they said, the story of the Good Samaritan was in the Bible and therefore should not be used to praise the young hero. I doubt that these people ever actually read their Bibles, or else they would know that the Good Samaritan was saving the life of someone who had been terribly injured by robbers who had beat him. (Very few things set me off like people who use the Bible to put forth their silly agendas.) And the ‘stupid’ continues. This week there was a protest outside the Supreme Court, protesting the decision to knock down Roe vs Wade. There is nothing wrong with this, even though I disagree with their thinking. It is a Constitutional right for American citizens to peacefully protest something they feel is wrong. However, this group began to block traffic, causing a bigger headache than normal for the terribly congested streets in DC. The Capitol police warned the protestors three times to get off the street. There was plenty of room off the street. Finally, the Capitol police had no choice but to start arresting violators. Sixteen of those arrested were United States Congressmen and women. Of course, on Twitter they claimed they were arrested because of the abortion protest. Some of them, when the cameras turned their way, put their hands behind their backs as though they were cuffed and being led away. The ‘stupid’ comes in when these Congressmen and women actually believe that this will win them votes and increase their prestige. Americans are not, as a whole, stupid, unless they want to be. Here are people who swore to uphold the Constitution and who were then doing so with a peaceful protest, but who began to break the law for no other reason other than for dubious political gain. Can Americans respect adults who play in traffic?

         Ah, but the ‘stupid’ does not end there. It is possible this year that the NCAA will name a transgender athlete as Female Athlete of the Year. I guess that makes sense in a society that allows a person to use whichever restroom they wish, so long as they identify with that sex that day. Then, there is the well known celebrity who was changed his gender from a man to a woman but still prefers women as sex partners. It is unreal.

         Here is something for those who were offended because someone desecrated the Bible by invoking the phrase ‘Good Samaritan.’ Isaiah 5:20-21-- Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight! Of course, I do not need to point out to Bible scholars such as these what ‘Woe’ means in the Scripture. Someone who is twisting good for evil and who thinks that their foolishness is intelligence is in for some real trouble.

         Ninth floor of the Cleveland Clinic. One of my people was in with emergency surgery. It was night and it was pouring rain. I went to an observation room on the ninth floor, just to look out at the city for a bit. When I got there, there was a smallish man in a threadbare suit looking out the big window. I knew when I saw him that he was a pastor. I went up to him and we began to talk. He was from West Virginia and was there for a family in his church. He was almost never in a big city and just thought he would look for a bit. We stood there and talked for a while, this unassuming man and myself. I didn’t want to end the conversation, but we both needed to get back. However. I knew that I would probably never stand with such a man of God again. You could feel the Godliness in the man. A smallish man in a threadbare suit on the ninth floor of a hospital. Yet, he was God’s man.

         Why do we call political people our ‘leaders?’ They are supposed to work for us. And why do millions of people follow them when there are smallish men out there, wearing threadbare suits who are giants?