August 23, 2021 – Click here to listen
Today I’m in a confession mode. I confess I thought the people in Oregon were a bunch of radical liberal crazy people and the folks in California were far worse. But having spent some time in both those states in the past few weeks I have come to understand that people are people wherever one goes. There are good people and evil people and it’s been that way since Cain and Able.
I did not find streets being patrolled by Antifa in Portland and when I traveled to the beautiful Oregon coast, I saw more pickup trucks and American flags than I could count and even saw Trump flags flying in several places. In California I’m staying in Huntington Beach and found the same to be true there.
People in restaurants, stores, marinas, and on the street were nice as was virtually every person we’ve met during our stay. My wife and I had bought plenty of masks and were ready to don them outside if necessary but hardly anyone was wearing one in either place. Wat?
I asked my California buddy about their Governor. He just laughed and said he was annoying. I wonder if being named Gavin had anything to do with his warped ideas? Johnny Cash wrote a song about a boy named Sue that seemed to mark him for life, maybe Gavin is living out his rage against society because of his resentfulness for being named Gavin.
I asked my fishing buddy what was up with all the nice people out there, I was prepared to fight my way in and out of that hellhole. He just laughed and said that they have their loonies for sure, but for the most part those folks were congregated in the downtown inner-city areas. My son said the same of Portland. The big problems are contained within just a few blocks of downtown Portland.
Hmmm . . . You know Atlanta is like that and in fact the small suburb city where I raised my children has turned into a graffiti laden coven of gangs and violence. The difference is that these cities don’t get hammered night and day by a clickbait driven media. Go to Miami or any major city and we find problems galore, but even those places have good people and wicked people.
I conclude that judging someone doesn’t define who they are but who we are. I admit to failing because I know in my heart I should never judge someone else by the opinion of others and to a large extent that is what I’ve done.
Before I get bombarded with letters I will state that somehow the radicals have gained control of these states through voters and probably fraudulent elections and as a result, idiotic regulations, unrealistic costs of living, legalized immorality are facts of life, but these states are beautiful with plenty of awesome things to see and do and God must have worked overtime to create these gorgeous places and as a bonus, California also has one of the best climates one can imagine.
I have resolved to work harder to refrain from judging. I found this Proverb this morning in my Bible study, and it seems that God is helping me to verbalize what I’m trying to say in accepting that judgment comes from Him, and we need to work on our own lives. I have plenty to work on and imagine you do as well.
Proverbs 21:15
It is a joy for the just to do justice, but destruction will come to the workers of iniquity.