A great world for our children

A lot of people say we should leave this world in great shape for our children (and use it to force people to wash and reuse lunch bags, but that's another issue for another day). Some say we should leave children who are in great shape for our world. I think both are true. But I think that leaving our world in great shape is not just about trees and clean water.

I want my children to grow up in a world where it's OK to speak the truth. I want my children to grow up in a world informed about what really goes on. That hope is dimming by the day, but I am not going to give up on truth. It needs to be spoken and shared.

Anyone who has an issue with "Well that's your truth, what about MY truth?" is coming dangerously close to moral relativism (individual morals/ethics for different individuals). Moral relativism is dangerous.

I want my children to grow up in a world where Iran does NOT have a nuclear weapon and where girls around the world are not trafficked for the sex trade. I want to make sure that the UN does NOT make abortion 'a human right' and where the United States (and subsequently Australia - following what happens in the US) government can force Catholic and christian organisations to violate their beliefs and provide contraception and abortions.

I want a great world for my children to grow up in, where justice prevails.

I'm interested in world affairs because of this desire for my children. So.....I found myself the other day wondering about Israel. Yeah, OK, not what 'normal' people do. But a lot of people that I read, like Bill Muehelenberg and Melanie Phillips sometimes have interesting things to say about Israel, so of course this piqued my interest.

My whole life I have heard about the problems in Israel, but haven't really bothered to find out what it's all about. I knew it was about land.....and the words Gaza, Israel, Palestinian, West Bank, firing, death toll, etc were mostly what I heard about it.

I know there's two sides to every story, but I'll admit, I leaned more towards Israel rather than the Palestinians at first. I know God chose Israel as his chosen people and it says in the Bible that He never changes, so I'm guessing he still loves them as He did 2000 + years ago. Not that He loves us gentiles any less, it's just that Israel is chosen. And really, He's God. He can do whatever He likes.

I also knew that the media portrays Israel as the villain and Palestinians as the victims, which also put me on guard, considering the media is pretty much left-biased. I was interested to find out what it really is all about and why these two sides just seem to fight endlessly (I found out it's been 60 + years - that's almost a lifetime!!!).

So, I put my skepticals on and started reading articles and Facebook group pages, weighing up the points of view from a completely neutral position. I thought it was a complex issue, so I wanted to go in with an open mind. Just at that point in time, Israel fired rockets into Gaza, so the whole thing exploded in the media. I read an article that was unbiased that accompanied the reporting to do with the attack. It provided me with a good foundation to work from...and it was even funny.

I asked a Palestinian supporter why they supported Palestinians. I asked in a very cordial and respectful manner, but I received a short reply about how Jesus hung out with oppressed people and another reply claiming that the real question was why don't people support Palestinians? Not helpful.

What changed my mind completely from being an uninformed slightly-leaning-towards-Israel supporter to a full-blown supporter of Israel (and a prayer warrior for EVERYONE caught up in the fighting) is this.

I do not like being lied to. Also, it makes me wonder what else they are lying about. Casualties? The fact that Israeli hospitals are treating Israelis and Arabs at their hospitals? The claims to Israel's land? There is so much more to this issue than the above picture, but I can not stand such deliberately deceptive lying.

As a christian and someone who loves truth, I can never support those who lie for their own gain and misrepresent their suffering.

If you want to balance the pro-Palestinian bias in our media, visit Melanie Phillips - an excellent source that provides another side to the Israel/Gaza issue.

Lets remain informed so we can pray for our world and work to leave it in great shape for our children to enjoy!

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