This morning, on FaceBook, Chelsea Clinton was quoted as saying she would not be celebrating Columbus Day because Christopher Columbus took Native Americans back to India. News to me and my history lessons were far superior to hers, I'm sure. I say that because I once applied for a job in San Antonio and had to take a math test. I groaned and said I hadn't been in math class for 25 years. The woman administering the test said I would do better than someone just out of high school. She was right. I aced the test and the kid who took it with me didn't do well at all.
It is true Columbus was trying to find India by sailing west to get east and when he arrived on our shores, he called the natives "Indians" in an effort to prove himself right. It may also be true he enslaved many of the natives he met.
Some of the he did things were not Christian, although his writings show he was a believer. However, that being said, Jesus plainly said that we are not to judge or we, too, will be judged. Only God knows our hearts. Never have I heard that He retired and handed the gavel to an imperfect human being. I have to wonder how we will be judged. especially the Clintons. To many in earlier centuries, slavery was not a bad thing because it is mentioned in the Bible. That's certainly not our understanding today.
Our understanding of slavery may also be flawed. What about people in bondage to drugs or alcohol? Those selling it and getting rich may have to answer for enslaving others out of pure greed, although it's very much an accepted part of society today. Then there's the abortion industry. Pharmaceutical companies, food companies, and cosmetics have put fetal material in their products without telling the pubic, turning us into cannibals without our knowledge. What will history say about that? Far worse, what will God say? He took down ancient nations because they soaked the land with blood. What will He say about us? Adrian Rogers once said if God didn't punish America, He owed Sodom and Gomorrah an apology.
Then, too, what happened in history cannot be changed. Right or wrong, there it is. Trying to make Italians feel bad about their hero doesn't fix a thing. Columbus was a product of his time, just like we are a product of our time. How will history judge our generation? Especially the Clintons. Should history ignore wrongs? No. By the same token, it should not negate the good done by the very same flawed people. We're no better, but we've been too busy pointing fingers to see there's more coming back at us than there are pointing at someone else. Focusing on the negative is one of the reasons America is so angry and depressed. Be grateful for the advances made and leave the negatives to God.
Let's face it. Nobody's perfect. When I stand before Holy God, the only thing asked of me is what did I do with Jesus? Did I acknowledge my sin, repent, and ask him to be my Savior? Christopher Columbus, Chelsea Clinton, Donald Trump, nor anyone else will come into the conversation. It's all between me and God.
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