Kill The Spider

By Lydia Chorpening

I recently heard a story that pierced my heart with its message. It went like this.
Years ago a little town held its annual revival meeting which brought in the saints and sinners alike. The town drunk came too and was convicted of his evil ways. During the altar call he ran forward and cried out, “Oh Lord, forgive me and clear these webs from my mind.”
The next year the same thing happened. The drunk ran to the altar and cried out, “Lord, forgive me and clear these webs from my mind.” This went on for a few years until one year when the drunk ran forward, a voice called out from the back of the room, “No, Lord, kill the spider!”
We may chuckle at this story, but how true it is. The best way to remove webs is by killing spiders! The spider I am spotting in this letter is our “godlessness.” Oh, yes, we have all sorts of gods, but we have lost the God of our roots. Back in the 60’s we ruled out prayer and Bible reading in our schools. Ever since then our country has been in a downward spiral in our quality of education, by increased crimes and sickness and through disastrous weather patterns.
John Adams, America’s second president, made an entry in his diary dated February 22, 1756 which reads: “Suppose a nation in some distant region should take the Bible for their only law book, and every member should regulate his conduct by the
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precepts there exhibited! Every member would be obliged in conscience, to temperance, frugality, and industry; to justice, kindness, and charity towards his fellow men; and to piety, love and reverence toward Almighty God…What a Utopia, what a paradise would this region be.” (Quoted from One Nation Under God, a publication of the Christian Defense Fund.)
I know we have been consumed with the commercialism of the Christmas season, which unfortunately, is keeping many of us from realizing the seriousness of the upcoming primaries. Let me challenge each of us to remember that “righteousness exalts a nation,” while “sin is a reproach to any people.” Another great writer told us many years ago that the root of ALL evil is the LOVE of money.
When you vote, will you vote for the person who will do his best to return this nation to our roots of godliness, or will you vote for who you think will pad your pockets? Though some of us are afraid of spiders and run rather than killing them, I urge you to support a God-fearing candidate. It is our privilege! Voting is a blessing we can’t afford to miss! Think hard, pray much and be prepared to vote for righteousness!