Born That Way

The issue of "gay rights" is not about equality; it's about domination. Sally Kohn is a writer at The Daily Beast (which I think is a very fitting title for this publication - see Revelation 13). In a recent article titled, "The New Post-Homophobic Christianity" she said, "Will anti-gay Christians be politically and socially ostracized? I sure hope so." Liberals love to preach tolerance, but refuse to practice it.

They have hijacked the symbol God used last time He destroyed the world for its sin and are waving it in His face as a symbol of their sin. The Bible says in Galatians 6:7-8 (KJB), "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. "

Two of my own children (and several other "friends") have unfriended me on Facebook because I won't change my mind about this issue. My own daughter told me that she couldn't help it because she was "born that way." That's code for "You passed a gene to me that made me like this so it's your fault just like every other problem I've ever had in my life." There is a grain of truth to that in that we are all born in sin (see Romans 5), but the Bible says in John 3:3 (KJB), "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

Join with me in praying they will see the Light before it's too late.

A Biblical Perspective on Sex

If you are married, you have made several vows to your spouse along the lines of:

"To love, honor, and cherish,
To have and to hold,
For richer, for poorer,
For better, for worse,
In sickness and in health,
Forsaking all others,
'Til death do us part."

That's a lot of vows, but there is nothing in there that could be misconstrued as a vow of celibacy.

Hebrews 13:4
Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.

Sex is not only permissible or acceptable, but honorable within the framework of marriage.

Exodus 20:14
Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Matthew 5:28
But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

Sex is unacceptable to do or even think about outside the framework of marriage.

I Corinthians 7:1-9
1 Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman.
2 Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.
3 Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband.
4 The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife.
5 Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.
6 But I speak this by permission, and not of commandment.
7 For I would that all men were even as I myself. But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that.
8 I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I.
9 But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn.

Sex within marriage serves to help us avoid fornication by giving us a legitimate outlet for our natural desires and needs (v. 2). Husbands and wives are both instructed to take care of each other's needs (v. 3). We are told that we have exclusive rights to each other's bodies, but not our own (v. 4).

Notice that verses three and four do not give any conditions in which we can withhold ourselves from our spouses. We are not told that we are to give ourselves to each other only if we are in the mood, or want to, or feel like it. We are not told it is acceptable to deny our spouses if we are angry at them, or not attracted to them anymore, or their health is failing and they are not able to go and do things or work and support us the way they once did. It doesn't even say that we only have to honor this if our spouse is living a godly life. We are to willingly give ourselves to our spouses anytime, 24/7/365.

We read in verse five the only time it is acceptable to deny our spouses of their rights. If both the husband and wife consent to it, then they may refrain from sex for a time of fasting and prayer, provided they get together again as soon as it's over to avoid temptation. How long can you and your spouse go without eating? You should never go any longer than that without making love to each other, and you shouldn't even go that long unless you both consent to it and use the time for prayer and fasting.

It is interesting that the only acceptable time to refrain from marital relations involves fasting. Sex is to a marriage what good, nutritious food is to a body. Sex outside of marriage is like junk food. It may seem good for a time, but it will destroy you. If married couples refrained from eating on days that they refrained from getting together, many of them would have died of starvation long ago, yet many of them cannot figure out why they are so miserable in their marriages. Many marriages fail because one of the partners isn't being fed the good, nutritious "food" of marriage and will end up gorging on "junk food" when the opportunity presents itself.

If you pen up a dog and don't feed it, then someone comes along offering it a treat, whose fault is it when the dog jumps the fence? If it has been less than a day, the dog should have enough confidence that you will be feeding it soon that it can resist a stranger's treats. If it has been a longer time, the dog has cause to be concerned that you aren't planning to feed it and be more compelled to jump the fence. Seldom is marital unfaithfulness solely the fault of only one spouse. It takes two to make a marriage work, and it usually takes two to make one fail. Marriage is not a 50/50 partnership with each spouse giving half. Divorce is 50/50 with each spouse getting half. Marriage is 100/100, with each spouse giving their all to protect and nourish the marriage to keep it strong and healthy.

A lot of Christians, in an attempt to justify their unholy attitudes toward their spouses, will point to verse six and claim that since this is by permission and not by commandment they don't have to live by it. They need to keep reading through the next few verses. Paul was saying we are permitted, but not commanded, to get married. Paul was able to contain his sexual desires, and was saying that it is better for he and those like him to remain single. He was clarifying that it's perfectly ok to stay single if you don't struggle with lust and sexual temptations. Verse nine clearly tells us that if we cannot contain our sexual desires like Paul could, then "it is better to marry than to burn."

Faith of Our Fathers

Galatians 6:9

And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

With all the trials and troubles we face as Christians these days, we would still be hard pressed to find very many who have suffered as much as Paul.

II Corinthians 11:24-33

24 Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.

25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;

26 In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;

27 In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.

28 Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.

29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not?

30 If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities.

31 The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not.

32 In Damascus the governor under Aretas the king kept the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desirous to apprehend me:

33 And through a window in a basket was I let down by the wall, and escaped his hands.

Even in the face of all his suffering, he remained strong in his faith and continued to work to advance the Kingdom of Christ as long as he lived. Too often we miss opportunities to reach the lost because someone might laugh at us or think we are crazy. We are more afraid of a little ridicule than we are of leaving lost people on the path to an eternity in Hell!

Too often we are guilty of singing, "Oh, how I love Jesus!" only to abandon Him at the first sign of discomfort. We honor the Lord with our lips at church on Sunday, then may not even mention Him again until the next Sunday. Paul didn't just talk about Jesus at church, but he lived for Him every day, and still called himself the chief of sinners in I Timothy 1:15. If the man that the Holy Ghost used to write down most of the books in the New Testament was the chief of sinners, where does that leave us? Where are the Christians in this generation who will stand strong in the face of adversity? What can we learn from previous generations that will build our faith and encourage us to stand strong like they did?

The following is from the blog of Old Paths Baptist Church in Northfield, Minnesota (http://oldpathsbaptistchurch.org/baptist-history):

The Public Whipping of Obadiah Holmes

Obadiah Holmes was born in Reddish, England, near Manchester in the year 1606. He worked on his father’s farm as a boy in an England that mostly practiced Puritanism.  At this time, England was under the rule of King James I. In his teen years Holmes saw England returned to rigid Anglicanism as Charles I took the crown. Charles appointed William Laud as bishop of London. Laud then became the Archbishop of Canterbury, or religious head of the Church of England. Laud began to persecute Baptists, Puritans, and other dissidents.  He beat and imprisoned many. This activity resulted in many Englishmen sailing for New England in hope of religious liberty. These were mostly Puritans with some Baptists. Holmes was married to Catherine Hyde in 1630. He accepted Christ in 1638 and sailed that same year to New England.

The Holmes family settled in Salem; but after much conflict with the religionists there, he moved to Seekonk (Massachusetts Bay Colony). It was here that Holmes began to resist the false teaching of the standing order church. He was tormented inside with question like- “Was baptism legitimate for infants?” and, “What if you were baptized, but not a believer?” Then, amazingly, Obadiah Holmes, with no prior religious training, started a “Separate” Congregational church. This courageous act shook up the “standing order” and Holmes was totally ostracized. Later, in 1649, Dr. Clarke came to town. Under his preaching, Holmes got assurance of his salvation, realized he was a Baptist, and was baptized by Clarke. Before we examine the beating of Obadiah Holmes, we need to realize that he and Dr. John Clarke, as well as others, were marked men by the standing order.

In 1651, Obadiah Holmes was found to be a member in good standing at the first Baptist church on American soil, founded and pastored by John Clarke at Newport, Rhode Island. In the summer of 1651, the Newport church received from the aged William Witter a request of visitation, so that he might hear the Word of God. Witter was a man of conviction himself. A strong Baptist, Witter was more than willing to speak out against the state-church and infant, non-Baptist baptism.

Here are just a few of the statements Witter made when dragged into court over the issue of baptism:

“The baptism of infants is sinful.”

“Infant baptism is the badge of the whore.”

“They who stay whiles a child is baptized do worship the

devil.”

(Salem court records, 1644 and 1645)

Witter was a member of the First Baptist Church in Newport, Rhode Island. Being up in years now and blind, he was not able to travel to what was not only the nearest Baptist church, the First Baptist Church, but one of the only organized Baptist churches on American soil. So, upon Witter’s request for a pastoral visit Pastor John Clarke, active layman John Crandall, and preacher Obadiah Holmes started out for Lynn, Massachusetts. After navigating to the mainland and then walking for two days, the men completed the eighty-mile trip. They arrived at Witter’s home on Saturday night, July 19, 1651. They enjoyed a time of fellowship and prayer, and stayed at Witter’s home that night, intending to have church services on the Lord’s Day. News in Lynn spread fast, and a warrant for the arrest of the strangers was delivered to the constable.

Holmes and company began their service the next morning, and after four or five visitors came, the constables burst in to break it up. The three men were taken into custody. The same day, the men were forced to attend an afternoon service in the standing order Congregational church. This Puritan run, state-church was the approved church of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. It is amazing how quickly those who fled religious persecution in England became the persecutors of the Baptists! Upon entering the meeting house, the three bowed and saluted the assembly and sat down, refusing to remove their hats, thus showing their contempt for religion. The constable was commanded to knock off their hats, which he did so promptly. Clarke attempted to preach and was silenced. They were then taken to prison.

On Tuesday, July 2, 1651, Holmes, Clarke, and Crandall were taken to Boston, so that they might appear before their adversaries. They were committed to jail and on July 31 they were tried in court. After an animated courtroom frenzy in which Clarke showed what an articulate defender of Baptist doctrine he was, the judge agreed with the prosecutor, Puritan preacher John Cotton, that this heresy (Anabaptism) was worthy of death. There really was no trial, just a reading of the Allegations and a commencement with their sentencing. Clarke was fined twenty pounds or be “well whipt;” Holmes, thirty pounds or be “well whipt;” and Crandall, five pounds or be “well whipt.” Money was raised to pay the fines.  Crandall was released from the fine. Clarke and Holmes refused permission for  their fines to be paid, not willing to admit guilt, knowing the dreaded whipping post was the alternative.

As Clarke was led to the whipping post, a friend pressed money into the hands of the Puritan official accompanying the party, and Clarke was released. But Holmes stated, “Agreeing to the payment of my fine would constitute admission of wrongdoing.” Holmes was led to the post and stripped to the waist. While being stripped, Obadiah Holmes preached a sermon to the on-looking crowd, exhorting them to stay faithful to their beliefs. Obadiah Holmes’ sentence was ten stripes less than the maximum of forty lashes, which was considered a death sentence. Holmes’ sentence was the same as that of rapists. Many in the gathering crowd cried out in protest. At least thirteen individuals were arrested for calling for the punishment to stop. The beating was an attempt to kill Holmes. Holmes later stated that the flogger used a whip with three hard leather lashes. The man stopped three times to spit on his hands, and applied the whip with all his might. Each of the thirty strokes cut three gashes through the skin, for a total of ninety slices through the flesh. Holmes gave this account of his beating:

“As the man began to lay the strokes upon my back, I said to the people, though my flesh should fail, yet God will not fail: so it pleased the Lord to come in, and fill my heart and tongue as a vessel full, and with audible voice I break forth, praying the Lord not to lay this sin to their charge, and telling the people I found He did not fail me, and therefore now I should trust Him forever who failed me not: for in truth, as the strokes fell upon me, I had such a spiritual manifestation of God’s presence as I never had before and the outward pain was so removed from me, that I could well bear it, yea, and in a manner felt it not, although it was grievous.”

The unbroken spirit of Holmes and the Baptists of New England was exemplified in the statement Holmes made to the magistrates as he was released from the post.  He boldly stated, “Ye have beaten me as with roses.” This cruel beating did not stop the Baptists, but rather emboldened them.

The Effects of Holmes’ beating:

John Spur, an on-looker, later testified that, being  moved powerfully by the faith of Holmes, he was born-again at the beating. John Spur and John Hazel helped Holmes from the bloody post and were imprisoned. The aged Hazel later died and never returned to Newport, suffering from complications relating to his imprisonment.

John Clarke, Holmes’ pastor, being proficient in law, medicine, and theology, upon the beating of Holmes wrote a book, “Ill Newes  from New England” (1652). In it, Dr. Clarke presented his philosophy of government. He pushed for government not to interfere with man’s conscience on  religious matters. Valentine Wightman, on February 10, 1702, married Susannah Holmes, granddaughter to Brother Obadiah Holmes and  great-granddaughter of Roger Williams (who was called, “The Apostle of Freedom of Conscience”). Later in 1712, Wightman left Rhode Island, won converts, and started the First Baptist Church of New York City. Holmes has a godly offspring.

Wightman won Wait Palmer to Christ. Palmer, then pastoring in North Stonington, immersed Shubal Stearns, who became the “Father of the Separate Baptists.” Shubal Stearns deserves more credit than anyone else for the explosion of the Gospel in the South, which became known as the Bible-Belt. Shubal Stearns started the Sandy Creek Baptist Church, which in two generations birthed thousands of churches.

Henry Dunster, president of Cambridge (now Harvard) University, stirred by Holmes’ beating, stood against infant baptism and was forced to resign his position at Cambridge in 1657. Dunster spread Baptist beliefs loudly and influenced Cambridge and neighboring Charlestown until the first Baptist church of Massachusetts Bay Proper was established. Thomas Gould, influenced by Dunster, became a warrior for religious freedom. Bulldozing through the courts, his efforts aided in the establishment of the first Baptist church in Boston.

After his scourging, Holmes journeyed back to the freedom of Newport. For twenty days and  nights, he could sleep only by lying on his stomach or propped upon his knees and elbows. Many sleepless nights reminded him of that day on the Boston square when the blood ran down his back and into his shoes. After Clarke, Holmes pastored the church in Newport.

One might ask, “What’s the point?”  Baptists today sit unmolested, undisturbed, worshipping Jesus Christ, practicing Baptist baptism, tithing to our own churches of our own free will, and preaching with complete liberty granted to us because of courageous acts like the refusal of Holmes and others to admit to the charge that being a Bible-believing Baptist is a sin.  Illegal search and seizure laws are on the books today in a big part because the framers of the Constitution took note of what happened at Witter’s home and the homes of others throughout the colonial history.

Learning from History-  We and our children owe a great debt of gratitude to our

forefathers. We owe it to our children to give them these inspiring facts of history. We owe it to our God to stand for Him in our generation like Obadiah Holmes and the New England Baptists did!

Shiloh Baptist Church in Gwinn, MI has produced a movie about this event. View a trailer and find out how to order a copy at  http://www.shilohfilms.org/as_with_roses.html .

Blessings Through Obedience

I John 5:1-3

1 Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.

2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.

3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

If we love God, we keep His commandments. The flip-side of that coin is that if we are disobedient to God, we are not returning the love He has shown us. This does not mean that we have lost our salvation, but that we have gotten out of fellowship with God. Disobedience to God is a sign of a lack of faith, because if we have true faith in Him we will know that what He tells us to do is what is best for us. As His children, there are consequences when we are disobedient to Him. God will not continue to bless us while we are out of fellowship with Him because He is holy and cannot reward sin.

We talk a lot about trusting, believing, and having faith in God, but our actions don't always back up our words. Faith requires no effort on our part. You either believe something or you don’t. When you start to sit down on a chair, you either trust it to hold you up or you don’t. If you do, you just sit down without worrying about it. If you don’t, you will either not sit down, or just put a little of your weight on it to test it and support the rest of your weight yourself and can’t really get comfortable. You will not be able to rest in that chair. It’s the same way with our relationship with God. You either have faith in Him or you don’t. If you do, you will trust in him without worrying about anything. If you don’t, you will either stay away from Him completely, or rely on your own efforts and hope He can take care of whatever you might miss. That is no way to live.

God has a plan for each of us. He has given us everything we need to know to serve Him in the Bible. He gave us detailed instructions on how we are to relate to Him, as well as our spouses, parents, children, neighbors, employers, employees, government, and even strangers. That covers everyone we will ever meet, but it is up to us to read and study His word to learn what we must do to be in His will. It is foolish to expect God to bless us while we are outside of His will. We cannot live by our own desires and expect Him to answer our prayers. If we live outside of the will of God, how are we supposed to win our lost friends and relatives to the Lord and keep them from the fiery pits of Hell? We owe God our obedience because He saved us, and we owe it to those around us to let them see a difference in us. They need to see the joy that a life of obedience to God will bring. They need to know that God is real and blesses those who trust Him. They need to hear about what He has done for us, and what He is offering freely to them

Our Duty to Christ

Luke 17:6-10

6 And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.

7 But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat?

8 And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink?

9 Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not.

10 So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.

Whatever we do to serve the Lord, we need to do it with a spirit of humility. Our service to Him is not to earn any favors from Him, or to somehow make Him owe us. Whether we do a lot or a little, it is never going to be enough to repay to Him what He paid on our behalf, let alone make Him indebted to us.

As servants of Christ, we are duty bound to do everything we can to serve Him. We are to use all of our resources in a way that brings glory and honor to Him, because we belong to Him. As soon as we finish one task of service, we should begin another. There is no break time, no day off, and no vacation from our service to Christ. He created us and knows what is best for us, and He will give us rest when He sees fit.

We are to put Him first in every aspect of our lives. Verse 8 tells us to gird ourselves and serve Him first. "Gird thyself" is about the same idea as the modern phrase, "roll up your sleeves," meaning to get prepared to work by getting every hindrance out of the way. Verse 9 tells us that our service for the Lord doesn't even merit His thanks. "Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not." According to Webster: "TROW, v.i. To believe; to trust; to think or suppose." "I trow not," then means, "I think not."

We don't have God's favor because He owes us for our service, but because He owes His own honor because of the promises He has made to us. Whether we do more or less than anyone else to serve God, we will never go above and beyond our duty to Him. Even those who have done the most, even to the point of sacrificing their lives for Him, must acknowledge that they are unprofitable servants according to verse 10. This is because all of our service does not add anything to God or make Him better. If it did, then He could become indebted to us and would cease to be supreme. Without us, God is still God, but without God, we are nothing.

Let Your Light Shine

John 1:1-5

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2 The same was in the beginning with God.

3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

As believers, we have two forces working within us. We are born with one, our sin nature, which is darkness. We receive the other when the Light of Jesus shines into our lives and we accept His grace through faith. Those in darkness who do not realize it tend to be content with their situation because they are unaware that there is another way. They have grown comfortable with their lives and see no need for a change as they draw nearer and nearer to Hell. The conflict begins when the Light shines into their dark lives and shows them the true nature of their existence. As with anyone who has been in a dark room for an extended period of time and the light suddenly comes on, they will usually try to cover their eyes to block it out at first until they get used to it and can enjoy the benefit of being able to see. However, some people are so comfortable in their darkness that they get angry about the light and even lash out at the one who turned it on.

We see it in the news every day. One atheist group or another is always screaming about some "injustice" that has been committed toward them, most often by Christians. They whine about how intolerant and bigoted we are. They call us hateful and accuse us of all manner of evil. They call us "homophobic" because we believe that homosexuality is a sin. They call us "islamophobic" because we speak up about the evils of Islam, how they are taught in their book that they should kill anyone who does not convert. They want to do away with prayer in public, and even want to dictate what can and cannot be preached in our churches. They want to remove any mention of God from the public, unless it's something sacrilegious. If they want the ten commandments removed from courthouses, I think they would have more success if they changed their strategy. Instead of claiming it offends them, they should point out that posting things like, "Thou shalt not covet," "Thou shalt not bear false witness," and "Thou shalt not steal," in a building full of lawyers creates a hostile work environment for them.

Earlier today, Mike Huckabee posted this on his Facebook page:

"After 9/11, two steel beams were found in the World Trade Center rubble, fused into the shape of a cross. The Ground Zero Cross inspired so many people, it’s now in the Ground Zero Museum. But some atheists are suing to remove it. They call it “offensive and repugnant” and claimed its very existence gave them stomach aches, depression, headaches, anxiety, and mental pain and anguish. They dropped that silly claim after a state court tossed their suit. But now, they’re appealing to a federal court. The American Center for Law and Justice filed a brief arguing that acknowledging history is not establishing a state religion, or else we’d have to remove all religious paintings from public art museums. Hey, don’t give them any ideas! The court gave the atheists until July 14th to explain why their personal offense constitutes a Constitutional crisis. They might also ponder this: If a cross has that much power over them, are they sure they’re atheists?"

I thought Governor Huckabee's closing question was brilliant.

Romans 1:20-21

20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

The fact that they are so vicious in their attacks against us is proof that deep down they know the truth, but are too comfortable in their sin and want to remain there. If they truly did not believe that God exists, then what would be the point of wasting all that energy and time attacking Him and His followers? They call us crazy for believing in a God we cannot see, but isn't it crazier to be angry with a God you do not believe exists? Their attacks are not really against us, but against Christ. They cannot get to Him directly, so they take it out on us since we belong to Him. Jesus said in John 7:7, "The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil."

Matthew 5:14-16

14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

What About the Children?

I've been reading a lot about the plight of these children flooding across our border to escape the horrors of their native countries. It is hard as a parent to imagine conditions so harsh that I would send my children thousands of miles away over hot, rough terrain that is infested with criminals in hopes that they may have a better life if they make it. I think of all the thousands who made the trip successfully and wonder, how many more thousands died along the way? My heart is truly broken for all involved.

I've heard from those on the right that we need to send them all home immediately, and from those on the left that we need to take them all in and let them stay. Here is the dilemma: if we send them all back now, they will be going back to the same dire conditions that prompted their parents to send them here in the first place, but if we let them stay we will be encouraging others to send their children on the same brutal journey. Either way, thousands more will die cruel and painful deaths. We need to take the rhetoric down several notches, stop the name-calling and threats so common in comments on articles about this subject, put aside our emotional, knee-jerk reactions, and work on a solution that will truly help these children.

My proposal for a solution is this: we should meet the immediate needs of those who are here, while making it clear to their native countries that they will be returned shortly and no more will be permitted to come in. We should then offer help to their governments in getting their crime and poverty situations under control, so these children will have a better home to return to. I know it will be expensive, but what price can be put on all the human lives that will be saved? In order to fund my plan, I propose that we start by cleaning up this list and use a portion of the savings to pay for this and use the rest to close our border securely.