Delayed or partial obedience is still disobedience. I say that because God told me last Tuesday He wanted me to share this, and I have been dragging my feet in doing so. More on the disobedience part at another time as it is a topic for another post. For now, on to what God showed me last week.

I am continuing to study Beth Moore’s 90-day devotional on David. Last week, I was reading about what transpired between David and his son, Absalom. You can read about this in 2 Samuel, Chapters 13 and 14.

The part that I want to focus on specifically is that Absalom was angry with David and had allowed bitterness to take root in his heart. The prayer that day was asking God to help us not allow that to happen in our own hearts.

I stopped and thought about this for a bit and then asked God if there was any bitterness or anger in my own heart towards anyone. He then brought someone to mind. I admit I was a little stunned by this at first, but as God spoke to my heart I knew that it was true.

That person was Clay Aiken. I know. Silly, right? I don’t even know him, so why does it matter? Well, apparently, it matters to God.

And when He told me He wanted me to post about this again, I argued with Him. Our pastor preached a couple of Sunday’s ago from Jeremiah and asked the question when God asks us to do something, are we a player or a protester? I admit, I was the latter. I did not want to visit this topic again. When last I posted about it, the backlash was something I would prefer not to experience again.

But here I am, one week later, and God still has not let this go.

You see, basically, what He showed me was that when I posted about this initially, I did so with love and compassion in my heart. But since that time, I have allowed the compassion to get pushed out and anger to take its place. God convicted me about this. He told me that while my anger was not unwarranted, it was misplaced. I should be angry at the sin, not the individual.

So I prayed and asked God to forgive me. I asked Him to help me be rid of the anger and return to the compassion that was there in the beginning.

I admit, though, I am not there yet. The truth is, I am really angry about this, and I am having some difficulty separating my anger. The man has a gift, and I believe God put him in the position He did to be a light in a dark place, to be a ray of hope. God’s hands and feet.

I understand that he has his foundation that does lots of great work to promote inclusion for children with disabilities. He is an ambassador for UNICEF. All of that is sharing God’s love with other’s. I am not discounting any of that.

But the truth is, the entertainment industry is not the poster child for Christian values. As a matter of fact, I just read an article today about a new study that is out linking teen pregnancies to their exposure to sexual content on television. Ya’ think? You can read the article here, but a short summation of the study is that “teens exposed to high levels of sexual content on television were twice as likely to be involved in a pregnancy in the following three years as teens with limited exposure.”

If you have read my blog for a while, you know that I have talked numerous times about my own checkered past. I have made more mistakes than I can count, been in the pit more than a few times, and am ever grateful that God is merciful and hasn’t given me what I deserve.

I say that to reiterate that I am not casting stones here, although I realize if this is the first post of mine you have read, it may seem that way. I can only pray that you will take the time to read more of my blog and see that this particular post is about me venting. More than that, though, it is a response to a command from God to do something. I may have argued. I may have delayed, but here I am doing as He asked.

And as we go into Election Day tomorrow, we need political leaders, entertainers, and the average working American to stand for the truth of God’s Word. This country needs individuals who will stand up for Biblical values.

I pray that it will be so.

Blessings,