Contestant or Onlooker?

Action photography was my hobby in high school. It earned me a place on the school newspaper and yearbook staffs. This entitled me to watch football and basketball games from the sidelines instead of the bleachers, to photograph the action. It felt almost like being involved in the game. But I wasn't in the game - only watching and making images of it.

One of my tools was a strobe light that flashed so quickly that it "froze" the movement of players in my photos. I captured images of ball carriers grimacing and struggling as they fought to squirm away from tackles, pictures of footballs poised above the reaching hands of receivers, and of basketball players hanging in the air as the ball soared toward the hoop.

Thus I had a part in documenting victories and losses of our teams. However, I remained within the side lines and took no part in the struggles on the field and court - except perhaps to blind players with my flash.

Now, years later, I see my nation struggle with kinds of confusion, sin and corruption I never could have imagined in high school. I ask myself, "Am I a player or contestant in the struggle? Do I join the contest or watch from the sidelines?"

What can one person do to promote the sanity, integrity, and wisdom essential to a healthy republic?

The Christian has an answer to these questions. God arms His people for the struggle against evil and confusion. Paul speaks of Scripture as "the sword of the Spirit." James the brother of Jesus enjoined, "confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much."

In the book of Genesis, God Himself made a promise I believe Christians have inherited. The patriarch Abraham pleaded with God to spare the residents of Sodom from fiery destruction, arguing "Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?" God responded, "If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place on their account." Abraham persisted and God reduced the requisite number to ten.

Surely there are many more than ten righteous men and women in America! Let the church cross over the sidelines onto the field, engage with our God, and fervently and persistently plead with God for Americans. Let us remind God of His promise to Abraham and assert it is a promise that His church has inherited! The effective prayer of a righteous man, woman, boy or girl can accomplish much!