With the last signature, it became dead

With the last signature, it became dead

I know right about now, you are thinking, “Those words are really strange.” So let me explain just what I mean. Not to long ago, we lost what I personally think was one of the greatest Supreme Court Justices in my life time, Antonin Scalia. Great, not because most of the time he ruled in what I would say was for me right in line with my thinking, but because he always tried to vote on the laws that he judged by what the Constitution said, and not what he thought the signers might have meant when they all signed the documents that would govern our country through the years up until this day.

It's easy to say after the fact (and years into the future) what someone would say. “I know it says this or that but what their intent was this,” sometimes the opposite of what they put on paper. And most of the time that it happens, it’s because someone disagrees with what they said, and you just don't like those words — and just because that it is the law of the land doesn't mean I have to do it. And right here, think about our leaders and think about the ones in Europe that are changing the laws there because they don't like the way it is, even though they are from another country.

I'm one that believes totally in the first amendment, although I disagree with what a lot people say. And also the second amendment, and this is whether I would ever want to own a gun or not. If you look around you everyday, there are enough of our rights taken away from us because some judge or some small group of people don't like what the Founding Fathers wrote, or the way they wrote it. But the fact is, it's the law of the land whether you or I like it.

Just the writing in there, where it says something about the separation of church and state, you could probably fill an ocean with just the back-and-forth talk that takes place about that one issue because on one side of that issue you have God and on the other side you got… well, you decide who you want to put there. My personal feeling on that talking point is that when this country was formed, the God that almost all of them praised and worshiped at that time is the same God that I look to and pray to this very day, and that would be the true God of the universe, the God of Abraham and Isaac, and that is why through time this was said to be a Christian nation, even when our leader says it's not. But for sure, it's not a Hindu or Muslim nation, because all of these came to this country much later.

Think about the words “endowed by our Creator” (and for the life of me I can't find where any other so-called god created any one). We have a lot of our leaders leading this nation today that just don't like for God to be in control, so the God over the whole world has to take a back-seat to all the other gods, but be assured he will have his day and there won’t be any place to run and hide or say that his way was just too hard.

It seems today to get pretty much what you want, all a person has to say is “that offends me” — whatever “that” is — “and I want it to stop right now!” And because a lot of our Justices believe the same way, it stops, and so we as Christians lose more ground in our God-blessed nation.

If you really want to be offended about something, how about an innocent man going to the cross and suffering and dying for all of us? Although all are deserving of the very worst that could ever happen and none of us are worthy of that kind of love. And I don't care how good you are now or how good you have been all your life, you still fall short and this act of love that was all put in place for you and me. But the God of this nation saw fit to love us and the rest of the world so much that he was willing to let his only son come here to earth and pay that terrible price.

It's not just in our court systems that we see so much disagreement over something that was written so many years ago. Just take a look at the Bible and what some say about what was inspired by God to be written — so they say — what God “probably meant” when he inspired this verse or that verse and now it makes them feel better.

In this country today, there are churches that have been set up with one verse read wrong simply because they thought that God's intent was something totally different than what was on paper. It would be like during the flood I know that it says water but what he meant to say was a great dust storm came and done away with the people.

When I think about this, it makes me think that a lot of people are playing a game of Russian roulette with their trip to heaven or to that other place which a lot don't even believe that there is such a place and all I can say about that is what if there is… “Hmmm?” Kind of scary to think about that. But as they always say, it is what it is. But as for me, I'm looking forward to that trip up yonder. As always, may God bless you and all your love ones.

Bill McFerrin is a West Memphis resident with some things to say and a certain way of saying them.

By Bill McFerrin Local Commentary