The Dying of The Light

"Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light."

-Dylan Thomas wrote these lines in 1947 in a time when our country was not facing the battle that's before us now, yet how appropriate are these words for Christians today.

This particular poem is about fighting against the dying of the light. Christians are not called to be silent, we are not called to fit in. 

Romans 12:2 says, "Do not be conformed (behave according to socially acceptable conventions or standards) to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you.] AMP

I've been unusually quiet since Target announced their new bathroom policy. Mainly it's because I wanted the chance to get to read through all the blogs and articles posted in the heat of the moment, each with different perspectives. However, there always seems to be an equal tone to most of these posts. More love and kindness, less judgment and bullying, and let's not forget: don't give Christians a bad name. Let me just get to the good stuff... Not all Christians signed the American Family Association's petition to boycott Target. I want so badly to say that I understand both sides... but I would be lying to you. So with love, and seasoned with salt, I'm going to give you my explanation for boycotting Target.

In the words of one of our founding fathers, "It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ!" (Patrick Henry) No matter how anyone tries to argue it, we are in fact a Christian nation, and God did have a hand in all the original documents of this country. Therefore, we must rage and fight against the dying of the light. In the Old Testament The Lord says, "Go down from here at once, because your people whom you brought out of Egypt have become corrupt. They have turned away quickly from what I commanded them and have made an idol for themselves."(Deuteronomy 9:12)

What if an authoritative figure in Sodom had stood up and said, "Enough of this, we've become corrupt and God is going to destroy us if we keep living like this"?

Let me make my stance very clear. This is not about hate. I wouldn't want anyone to be bullied or beaten down. What I don't understand is that if for some reason I felt more manly today, if I knew even for a second it would put my child in danger or scare them even in the slightest, I would find another way to deal with it.

"If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who 

believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to 

have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be

drowned in the depths of the sea.” -Matthew 18:6

There's a reason my blog is called "Raising A King."

We all become kings when we arrive at the opportunity to vote in America. We are not at the mercy of Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, or Donald Trump; they are at the mercy of us. In the Bible, the people of the cities were at the mercy of their kings. They didn't get to be apart of the big decision making process. We, however, do get to decide here in America. So being founded on Christianity and to keep God's hand of protection over us, we are all personally responsible for the decisions we make for our country. If Jesus came back today would He be pleased with our stewardship and the decisions we've made to keep our nation Holy? 

It is just not enough for us to sit down, keep quiet and hope that someone will realize we're Christians in the midst of darkness. You don't have to parade around the decisions you make and the way you vote. But vote and petition, and choose Biblically.

It's one thing to have always had these policies in your store and have always been "secular." However, it's another thing to announce it publicly to all of America that your bathrooms are now free game for everybody. And other stores have followed and you're now responsible for placing fear in the 1.2 million people who have signed that petition. Not out of hate, I remind you, but out of fear. I refuse to take part in planting seeds of fear, and to the ones who choose to do so, you're undeniably and immediately, now putting a whole lot of faith in a stranger to not take advantage of you or your children. And what people don't realize is that it doesn't even have to be physical abuse, there could be a man waiting in the next stall to peek over the top at your child and get his fix for the day. It's not about how you've probably already used the bathroom in the company of a transgender person, it's now about YOU and YOUR CHILD'S word against a sick person. Our society has rejected what was once considered normal as a crime of hate to keep our bathrooms the same. Every Christian who sits down and shuts up and refuses to be "judgmental" will be held accountable before Our King for how they guided this country.

And we do these things as the generation to come cries out:

"And you, my father, there on the sad height,

Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Rage, rage against the dying of the light."

With Love,
Victoria Valentine & Tosha Smith

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