Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

My youngest turned 18 last Tuesday and I was blessed to take him for his first time to vote. I have always told my children to vote Jesus. Allow God to guide their every move. To ignore what their friends, the media, others are telling and to vote for ones who stand closest to God in matters of life, faith, love, liberty. But can I let y’all know something? I’m scared for the generations to come. There is too much noise around them and they are surrounded by falsehood. And sadly…folks hear us talk about our favorite teams, hobbies, opinions more than they hear about our love for Jesus and the need to make Him the leader of their life.

In Homer’s Greek mythological poem, The Odyssey, the main character, Odysseus, had been warned about the Sirens – those beautiful creatures who sang an irresistible song which lured sailors onto the rocks where their ships were smashed to pieces. In order to avoid this fate, Odysseus ordered his crew to plug their ears with beeswax and to tie him firmly to the ship’s mast.

On hearing the Siren’s song, Odysseus himself could not resist and begged to be untied, but since he had instructed his crew to ignore him, they refused his pleas. Thus, the ship with its crew was able to sail safely past danger; but only because Odysseus was smart enough not to underestimate the power of temptation.

Church…what are you sticking in your ears? There is so much noise all around us. With God’s help, we can focus on what pleases our “commanding officer” and not get entangled in “civilian life.”

So I need to ask you this: Do you know our commanding officer?

Have you surrendered your heart and your all to Jesus Christ and followed his example…dying to your old self and having your sins washed away in baptism and coming out of that water fully clothed in Christ as we see over and over and over and over again in scripture?

If not…then what’s holding you back? The hardest step is the first one. No one will judge you…and if they do, they need to be beside you doing the same thing.

And…if you have surrendered your all and had your sins washed away in baptism…are you keeping your mind focused on things above?

I love that Veterans Day was this past Friday. I love being an American. But there’s so much more to life than America, elections, political stances, opinions.

So much more than all those things…I love being a follower of Jesus Christ. My true citizenship is in heaven. That’s what matters most.

Rev. J. Cameron Bailey is pastor of Kenbridge Christian Church. He can be reached at jamescameronbailey@gmail.com.