Culture = The Customs, Arts, Social Institutions, and achievements of a particular nation, people, or other social group.

How important is having a good set of values to live by? Can bad values destroy a culture or nation? Can bad values destroy a family or person? Can good values lead to everything being better? Can we even say what is good or evil? Now days, it seems, every “bad guy” really is simply misunderstood and not so bad after all. What is the value of the messages we are sending?

How do we decide what is a good, or bad, value? Does it bring harm? Does it hurt others? Does it tear down or build up? What does it lead to? When it comes to values, you got to look down the road. What’s its’ most likely final destination? We cannot let culture determine our personal values. Culture can become a place of horrible values and everyone suffers as a consequence. Culture can literally go into a self-destruct mode and not even seem to care! Are we on the verge of WW III? That’s suicidal!

People with values came out in droves in this last election because they knew our country was gone if we did not. Would the physical continent of America cease to exist? No. But we were on the verge of a transformation of epic proportions, and our past culture would be gone. The culture that created a prosperous society we enjoy would be gone. Is the grass really greener on the communist side? No. Evil dictators rise and everyone but a few suffer.

A majority of people read the hand writing on the wall and said, This is not good! These new values are destroying us. We will no longer have freedom of speech, or the freedom to practice our faith as we have in the past. We saw the huge shift taking place, and they almost had it secured! We were within a hair’s breath.

Flooding our country with foreigners in ways not honoring our laws, and placing them into the swing states, was an insidious plot that should be considered akin to treason. We were within one election of this whole country shifting to be California. No I.D. required to vote. All swing states go permanently blue. Game over. Checkmate. They win. (Whoever they are.) They knew what they were doing. We know what they were doing too. This election proves it.

However, right when all seemed lost, a huge wave shifted everything the other way. And we see how fragile a culture really is. Shifts can be manipulated. Shifts can be made to happen by pulling the right levers. And if these levers involve lying, false advertising, tons of money, threats, assassinations, psychological warfare, law warfare, what does that say about those who are guilty of pulling those levers on a daily basis, time and time again? Are they a person of honor? Do we value honor anymore as a standard? What kind of values do these people have? I’d say, none that are good anyway.

Our country has already shifted a great deal. We are like a person with stage four cancer and now we got to go through chemotherapy treatment. It won’t be fun. We might feel like we’re going to die before the cancer does. How does a responsible nation ever get 36 trillion dollars in debt? Where is the value, or common sense, in that? Is common sense even a value anymore? For some of us it is. Men in women’s sports? And their locker rooms? Come on now. Have we all gone insane?

Just the other day the CEO of United Health Care was shot in the back, without any warning, given no chance to fight back, and he died. A coward’s way of fighting. The assailant, by many is being hailed as a hero. What kind of values is that? And what were the values of the rich CEO? From what I’m hearing, it is likely both these individuals have very self-centered values. Both are reaping what they have sown. BUT…what does it say about the rest of us? If we applaud this action, we are very close to going over a cliff we can’t come back from. This vigilante didn’t even give the CEO a fighting chance. My values say he’s a coward.

I know, believe me, I’m a simple guy who teaches that the love of money is evil. I probably would not have liked this CEO either. I teach moderation and minimalism regularly. I share about how Jesus recommended minimalism, and these money hungry and materialistic preachers have done much harm to the body of Christ. But what would Jesus do? What did Jesus do? For me, my values are heavily influenced by “HIM”. You know, the Guy Upstairs, the final judge of all things, if the Bible be true.

No other book has caused such ripples in the earth as the Bible. Debates are never ending as to its’ validity. Millions believe it to be exactly what it claims to be. When they apply it to their life, they experience its’ benefits, if you value such things. But the Bible says, if you love darkness, you do not consider the light to be a benefit. So…it don’t fit your values.

Can we come back from the cancer we have? Evidently, there are many who think the cancer is good. It’s what they want. It’s what they believe in. They vote for it. Christians pulling the lever for the promotion of abortion and homosexuality. The “promotion” of those things. We know people will choose such things, but we do not promote it! These Christians are about to reap what they have sown, and no priest is going to be paid money to pray them out of it.

So… have we shifted to a Batman culture? Are we about to see vigilantes everywhere? Is there any point in which such actions are justified? Is there a point in which the leaders of a country have become so evil, that citizens need to take up arms? That is a hard question to answer, but my opinion is that does not end well.

I’m a strong believer in being led of the Holy Spirit in all things. Would I take up a gun to protect my wife and children from harm? May God forgive me if that is wrong, but yes, I would. But what that vigilante did to the CEO on the streets of Gotham… ooops…I’m sorry…did I say Gotham? I meant New York City. Funny how many of our fictional movies end up becoming reality. Like the Matrix, or Hunger Games, or Batman?

Anybody got an opinion out there?