Two things only the people anxiously desire – bread and circuses.
~ Juvenal (circa second century A.D.)
The fourth commandment, “Remember the Sabbath Day,” addresses issues of renewal, contemplation and holiness – respect for God and the things of God like rest, setting aside time for prayer, good recreation and quiet reflection.
The human body is finite. It cannot operate indefinitely at maximum efficiency. Even the strongest of us must have a regular time set aside to rest, to renew our mind, body and spirit. To forget this natural law is to invite an early grave. God, who is omniscient, knew we needed time for contemplation; that’s why he wanted us weekly to set aside a special day of rest, reflection and worship so that we never forget how good God has been to us.
I see a connection between the fourth commandment and the famous words of the ancient Roman poet and satirist Juvenal. His legendary words on the limited desires of the Roman populace in only a few words captured how the rich and politically connected ruling class (senators and emperors) frequently beguiled the citizens by providing gladiator games. In other words, the emperors could steal the Roman citizens’ blind through oppressive taxation as long as he provided the people a steady diet of “bread and circuses.”
Rather than enjoying bread and circuses, let us remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy.
Last Sunday, President Obama made the following remarks before the president of Turkey, a 99 percent Muslim nation: “… [W]e have a very large Christian population. We do not consider ourselves a Christian nation or a Jewish nation or a Muslim nation; we consider ourselves a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values.” None of Obama’s 42 predecessors would have dreamed of making such a treasonous statement as that on two grounds: 1) The statement isn’t factually or historically true; 2) The statement essentially makes America look weak and afraid to embrace her moral and cultural heritage out of the Judeo-Christian traditions of intellectual thought.
Apparently neither Obama nor any of his foreign policy advisers ever heard of the Constitution’s framers or the founders of America, including the Pilgrims and the Puritans, who were all very religious people – authentic American heroes who purposely sought to infuse America’s republic with Christian precepts. This historical fact about America is incontrovertible except to a historical revisionist or a Marxist.
For example, the Supreme Court, in the case United States v. Macintosh (1931), held, We are a Christian nation; in Zorach v. Clauson (1952), the Court ruled, We are a religious people and our institutions presuppose a Supreme Being. Five years later, in 1957, President Eisenhower and Congress even enshrined into perpetuity our national motto, In God We Trust, on all of our currency. They did not write, In Allah We Trust. Therefore, what nation is Obama talking about when he states before the nations of the world that America isn’t a Christian nation? If you look at past history, recent history, constitutional law and the words, ideas and ideals of the Constitution’s framers, he certainly could not be talking about America.
Rather than enjoying bread and circuses let us Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy.
Will America return to honoring God by remembering the Sabbath Day and keeping it holy? Don’t get me wrong. I don’t want another national holiday to achieve this, but a Sabbath Day commemoration by each American that truly loves God to separate one day per week for special prayer, quiet recreation, quiet reflection and sincere worship in gratitude to the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Israel who has blessed America more than virtually any other nation in the history of the world.
America, let us have more Sabbath Day commemoration and less Obama worship, less concern about Michelle’s muscular arms she loves to show off, less news articles about her sweater, whether she should have hugged the queen of England, or how stylish first lady Obama is in her latest fashion ensemble from J. Crew.
America, let us have more celebration of the Sabbath Day rather than giving credence to propaganda about President Obama being a rock star on the international stage, a stage where perhaps more than any president in U.S. history he is exploiting by selling out America’s most sacred principles to our enemies. Obama has just finished traveling around the world practicing diplomacy from our knees and apologizing in a most obsequious manner to the world we saved in World War I, World War II and the Cold War. Why? … for being Americans.
I do not apologize for being an American! I love this country.
I remember an interesting scene in the movie “Gladiator” (2000) starting Russell Crowe, where the gladiatorial games (“circuses”) were traveling throughout the desolate backside of the Roman Empire. Just before the bloodletting began between the gladiators, the people were literally pelted with loaves of wheat (“bread”). What a disgusting spectacle indeed. The legendary great citizens of Rome were fighting for every little morsel of “free food” as they fell to their knees and scurried around in the dirt like dogs. In the meantime, the local governor looked at the masses with an imperious glare of contempt. Every time I watch this movie I can literally hear the words of Juvenal ringing in my ears: Two things only the people anxiously desire – bread and circuses.
In conclusion, let us have less offerings of vanity, less fanaticism of sports and entertainment figures. Do not be beguiled by Obama’s “listening tour,” which is intended to placate the discontent of the citizens and distract attention from his radical, Marxist policies, which will inevitably lead to a worldwide economic depression and geopolitical chaos.
In other words, let us have less “bread and circuses” that Juvenal spoke of, and let us endeavor to have on a personal level regular worship of God on His Sabbath Day to keep it holy.
This might be the dumbest anti-hate campaign ever
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