By Tim Wildmon | AFA President

A friend of mine was talking to a business associate who said the main thing he has against the American Family Association is that we are always against something. “It’s the same with Janet Parshall, AFA, even Focus on the Family – the sky is always falling with these people.”

The person who was saying this is himself a Christian, and he didn’t know what a close friend I am to the person he was talking to. But he was being honest. It was his perception of our ministry here. A misguided one – I would say – but his image nonetheless.

A few reactions to this.

First, thank God somebody is against the open immorality in the land. And thank the Lord somebody is trying to do something about it.

Second, as far as America’s moral sky is concerned, it has already fallen. Just look around. It’s obvious. Abortion. Pornography. Homosexuality. Rebellion against righteousness, decency and proper authority. Open sacrilege and anti-Christian activity in popular culture.

Third, AFA is about doing good as much as we are about fighting evil. Christians should be doing both. In fact, one could argue that fighting evil is actually doing something positive.

Fourth. I wonder if my Christian brother gets down on God for giving us those bummer Ten Commandments with all the “Thou shall nots.”

I once heard a popular evangelist respond to these same charges that he was always preaching against sin and he answered his critics by saying this: “I preach against alcohol because I love the alcoholic and his family. I preach against homosexuality because I don’t want to see the homosexual die of AIDS. I preach against abortion because I love the unborn baby and the mother.”

In other words, his opposition to sin was not just to condemn, but was actually an expression of love and an appeal for those hearing to take a better way. God’s way.

But who wants to always focus on negative news? I know I don’t. I think our reputation for being an organization that is “always against something” is partly earned because of our efforts to hold companies accountable for sponsoring trash TV or peddling pornography. And we are still fighting that battle because it needs to be fought. And we are still having some victories on those fronts, despite what you may hear. (See www.one
millionmoms.com, www.onemilliondads.com and www.one
millionyouth.com.) But we have also initiated what most would call more positive efforts the past few years which many folks do not know about.

AFA now owns and operates a 200-station Christian radio network called American Family Radio (www.afr.net) which plays inspirational music and informs listeners about what is going on in our country, and encourages them to get involved in standing for Biblical righteousness in various ways.

We have original articles and features in our AFA Journal each month, many of which focus on people who are doing something positive in the culture.

AFA has a Center for Law & Policy which defends the constitutional rights of Christians all across the country. Having to face the secular lions like the ACLU in Caesar’s court may be perceived as negative by some, but if not for our attorneys being trained, equipped, educated and aggressive, we would be losing more of our religious freedoms – and that would be the real negative.

We only have one America, folks. And we cannot survive as a nation if we continue to embrace godlessness and immorality. Oh, the nation may exist in name and location – but the soul of goodness that the Lord has blessed us with will be gone. Over time we will become weaker and weaker until we eventually implode with problems too great for all our money and all our education to handle.

If we continue to mock God, He will bring us down.

AFA believes – as did Nehemiah – “the joy of the Lord is our strength” (Nehemiah 8:10). Ultimately, the Christian message is one of joy. One of overcoming this world. It is Christ who has won the victory over sin and death. And it is Christ who has promised, “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
So we keep on keepin’ on, as my dad likes to say. Doing what the Lord has called us to do.