''We're naïve if we think our Christian values are going to be upheld in the marketplace. Retailers may remove "Christmas" from their stores, but they can never stop us from loving and sharing the message of Christ with our neighbors. The world can never stop the spread of the gospel; the church has always flourished under persecution. In short, not one of God's plans will ever be thwarted by the world's system.''
The other day, I heard Chuck Swindoll quote John Vernon McGee saying, "We are called to fish, not to clean the fishbowl." As I struggled to understand what this meant, it occurred to me … is it realistic to expect the secular world to honor and uphold Christian values? In the early church, I don't recall Rome honoring Christian values. In fact, people who decided to follow Christ knew it was going to cost them something. They lost personal possessions and were outcast from their communities. What made them want to follow Christ? In addition to the work of the Holy Spirit drawing them, it was the love the early Christians had for each other and the way they cared for each other that solidified the message of Christ in the hearts of unbelievers.
I think our nation has been blessed, even spoiled, over the last 200 years. Being a Christian in America has hardly cost us. We've been blessed to have national holidays like Christmas and Easter. The Bible, until recently, has been at least respected by the secular world, even though it may not have followed the Book's teachings. Our educational system and our laws have Christian roots. Furthermore, we have known much prosperity and abundance and have become one of the richest and most powerful nations in the world. Sadly, God warned of what can happen to a spoiled nation:
Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
– Deuteronomy 8:11-14
Being a Christian in America is starting to cost us something. The Bible is no longer respected by unbelievers or even by "believers" in some cases. Our Christian principles are openly criticized by the majority as being intolerant, and we are openly slandered because we believe in Creator God. Furthermore, we have to fight to get Wal-Mart and the mall to put up Christmas signs.
We're fighting for what? Is that what being a Christian has been reduced to? http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=119146