We all have parents; specifically speaking, they are those biological partners whose DNA have combined to give us our physical traits and basic medical heritage. More broadly speaking, they are those who serve to protect us and our freedoms and are responsible for affecting our heritage (like our founding fathers); have some responsibility for us spiritually (like the apostle Paul for Timothy); or take us in and/or influence our environment (like adoptive parents). My desire is to speak in this broadest of terms.
In the last couple of months, America has lost a couple types of parents. Most notably, in mid-July, John MacArthur, a type of spiritual parent and Wednesday, Charlie Kirk – who went to his heavenly reward after being horrifically assassinated. Although Charlie was still a young man, he was a type of parent who served to advocate for American rights and righteousness, while teaching, stirring, and educating on high school and college campuses.
As with the loss of any “parent,” we will naturally mourn his loss, but it will affect the people of this nation in various ways. Some will respond in anger, others in fear; it will move some to pick up his torch and step into the fight for righteousness, while others will experience a sense of bewilderment at what to do. Of course there will be a gamut of other emotions felt, including those who will mock, insensible to the fact that the violent death of one affects us all – pray for them, gently correct them, then continue to pray for them.
Such a sense of bewilderment, as spoken of above, is a natural response to our three Decency Minutes topics this week. Whether it’s the super-fast paced technology that we can hardly wrap our minds around, as we see these technocrats coming after our children; the increased violence that is seemingly infecting every town to one degree or another; or the untimely death of a true patriot who painted a target on his back by holding up truth (Isa. 59:14-15) – our Father God would not have us bewildered, anxious or fearful. Instead, our Heavenly Father would have us turn to Him in trust and thanksgiving, receiving His peace:
“Be careful [anxious] for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)
Perhaps this little illustration will put things in perspective:
A little girl had to be left alone in the house for a long time. When her parents returned, they were afraid that they might find her badly frightened because the emergency which called them away kept them absent for longer than they had anticipated! “I wasn’t afraid,” the little girl said, “when you are here, God expects you to take care of me, but when you are gone, He does it all by Himself.”
Dear Reader, settle it now and forever, “God is still on the Throne and He will remember His own. Tho’ trials may press us and burdens distress us, He never will leave us alone. God is still on the Throne; He never forsaketh His own. His promise is true; He will not forget you. God is still on the Throne.” (Sung by George Beverly Shea)
Our parents, whether naturally or broadly speaking, are temporary guardians, they will all leave; we will leave. Our Father in Heaven is constant and He is sovereign and always knows what is best. Put your trust in Him; He can “do it all by Himself.”
Please, pray for Charlie’s wife, Erika, and their two children, a three-year-old daughter and one-year-old son, as they have lost a faithful husband and dad.
Psalm 68:3-5 encourages: “But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice. Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH, and rejoice before him. A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.”
The days of pulling a string in the middle of a doll’s back to hear a loop of three or four phrases are gone. Now, with OpenAI and Mattel forming a partnership to “reimagine the future of play,” parents must really question whether such AI interactions are healthy for young children.
Marc Fernandez, the chief strategist of the AI company Neurologyca, shares his concerns, recognizing that children naturally humanize their toys as part of the learning process.
“But when those toys begin talking back with fluency, memory, and seemingly genuine connection, the boundary between imagination and reality blurs in new and profound ways.”
Fernandez concludes: “What are we teaching our children about friendship, empathy, and emotional connection, if their first ‘real’ relationships are with machines?”
Parents, think about the consequences and pray much before deciding who and what your child can play with.
Last week, President Trump presented to America the story of the killing of Iryna Zarutska who was knifed to death on Charlotte, North Carolina public transport.
To the media’s shame, Trump was among the first public figures to report the killing, as the most recent and tragic example of how dangerous many American cities have become.
It is time for American citizens to hold their elected officials accountable for the decline in safety and quality of life in our cities. From theft to public drug use to horrific incidents like what happened to Iryna, crime is more and more becoming something that just goes along with living in a metropolitan area. And it should not be that way.
The federal takeover of D.C. law enforcement demonstrated that American cities can be quickly made safe.
We owe it to our daughters, like Iryna, to do so
Charlie Kirk wasn’t known as an evangelist, but as a political influencer – he was often credited with the momentous rightward swing in young men’s voting patterns in 2024 – and his Christian faith rolled off his tongue at every opportunity.
“It’s all about Jesus,” he tweeted on August 17.
In a June 2025 interview, Charlie was actually asked how he would want to be remembered, “I want to be remembered for courage for my faith. That would be the most important thing. The most important thing is my faith in my life.”
Moments before an assassin’s bullet stole him from his young family last week, Charlie was preaching to the audience that “Christ is a real person” and “He is Lord.”
He will be remembered for his incredible courage and for his faith.
Well done, Charlie Kirk. You were truly used by God.
[I, like many of you, have read several articles on this horrific political assassination. Two of the best I’ve read include Chris Johnson’s article posted on American Decency yesterday and one written by R.R. Reno at First Things.]
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