I recently told someone that, here, as it stands today, evil will always win over good. And here is why….the laws of our land are written by and enforced by man.
I read a lot of Facebook posts from local folks around the area. And as our community grows, it’s out with the old and in with the new. There’s been a lot of recent uproar over changes around town. The thing that really got my attention….and pissed off a lot of folks, was a case of imminent domain. A long time local of this town ran a gym in the downtown area….for a long time. He is well respected and seemingly a good man…I’d even go as far to say, a man who seeks the love of Jesus….and gives it also. Unfortunately for the gym owner, the gym was located downtown, right beside a new baseball stadium. So, there’s a lot of money to be made in that area….but not from a gym.
Local city leaders first approached the gym owner by offering to buy the property. The gym, Nautilus Fitness Center, was this man’s life’s work. Uninterested in their “offer”, he declined. That didn’t sit well with local leaders, being told no. To make a long and disappointing story short, local city leaders decided to claim imminent domain….claiming it was for the good of the people. And that’s true, good for the folks who’ll make lots of money building back on land that was stolen. But that’s just the surface, it doesn’t stop there. It’s in all levels of leadership in this community.
This county also recently ousted a corrupt sheriff….known to be corrupt for years prior to his ousting. We see the corruption of the whole system when looking at this particular situation. It’s been said that, the ousted sheriff has “a lot of dirt” on other local leaders. He was in federal court this past week and received his slap on the wrist. Obviously, he was well taken care of. But, what was most interesting to me, was his representation. Amongst his “group”, was none other than Trey Gowdy. Gowdy, himself, was a solicitor along side this Sheriff at one time. I don’t know his exact role, but his presence alone was a big statement. It leads me to wonder….how deep does it go in this county? But you get my point, I hope. There are folks among us who can and will do what they want. And they’ll make a public display of their power. One could easily write an entire article on that sheriff alone, however, I’ll move on. But, one last note on this point….that sheriff certainly associated himself heavily with Christianity.
This town has long been said to have deep roots in corruption. But, I’ll talk more that in another article at some point. Before I continue to the last group of corrupt “leaders” in this community, I want to highlight a few common themes in Facebook posts about our community and its leadership. I hear many folks say things like “they’re tearing apart our community”, “that’s part of this towns heritage”, “they are greedy”, “they do whatever they want”, and my favorite, “where are our Christian leaders”. Unfortunately, there won’t be much Christianity involved in decisions made by our leaders. These folks seek to serve themselves…and close friends. There’s no accountability or transparency from our leaders. And that’s why.
And lastly, I’ll talk for a second about a source of corruption in our largely, “Christian community”. That source….are the “leaders” in our churches who pose as “pastors”. These businessmen have hijacked Christianity and local churches in this area….and everywhere around the country. A prime example, is a mega church on the westside of this town. Their owner, does not teach as Christ would. He and many others like him are selling the name of God and building their brand of “Christianity”. And they will scare the hell out of folks, to prevent them from leaving. They manipulate and steal from their congregations. They are wolves in sheep’s clothing. They should be identified so folks will be aware. But, they’re usually very effective in brainwashing their congregations, who unknowingly pave the way for their personal business success….not to lead the church as Christ would.
So, when your churches and their leaders are corrupt, what do you expect from the rest of your community leaders? Though corruption is certainly nothing new to this community, I can assure you this, it will only get worse until those folks humble themselves before Christ…and that doesn’t seem likely. The Bible warns of these things as we approach the return of Christ. We live in a world of deceptive folks, who’s mission is to take everything you have for their own gain. Todays leaders are mostly folks who will do what they’re told to do….they read from a script. Unethical and immoral aren’t questions we ask anymore. And that’s the problem, no one will stand up and ask for the clear truth and or point out what’s wrong. Our society has conditioned us to fear. If leaders are telling us to do it, it must be right, right? And if you don’t….the consequences could be life changing. But, nothing is as life changing as following Christ. If you build a relationship with Jesus and genuinely seek his will constantly….you will see things differently than once before. And doors will open. But it doesn’t happen on our time, folks. It happens on God’s….for a reason.