Forthright Magazine http://www.forthright.net Straight to the Cross "Straight to the Cross" isn't just our motto. It's the name of our first book as well! Get it here: http://www.ForthrightPress.com COLUMN: Up for the Task Navajo Nation by Paul Goddard "I am amused to see from my window here how busily man has divided and staked off his domain. God must smile at his puny fences running hither and thither everywhere over the land." --Henry David Thoreau The Navajo Reservation (Dine' Bike'yah) covers 27,000 square miles of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. With a population of more than 250,000, it is home to the largest indigenous group of people in the United States. Despite their disinterest in a centralized government, the U.S. asserts plenary control over the reservation. This control started in 1871, when Congress abolished the practice of treating indigenous tribes as sovereign nations. Sixteen years later this practice was strengthened by the Dawes Severalty Act. The intent of this action was to assimilate all "Indians" into the white culture. This was done by banning polygamy, imposing limits on men's hair, sending native children to boarding schools, and dissolving tribal ownership of the land. Once these goals were accomplished, an allotment of one-hundred-sixty acres was given to the head of a family unit, thus making the adult owner a citizen of the United States. The remaining seventy-five million acres of tribal land was then released to white settlement. This treatment was so draconian that the Dawes Act was repealed in 1934 by the Indian Reorganization Act. This legislation allowed the unsettled land to revert back to the tribes, thus revoking the previous provisions. Its design was to improve conditions on the reservations and seventy percent of the tribes welcomed it. Despite the benefit of this reform, the Navajos rejected it. In doing so, they proclaimed their self-determination and cultural autonomy, declaring that they were a nation within a nation. Long ago near the trees of Mamre at Hebron, west of the Jordan River, there lived a 99-year-old man called Abram [exalted father]. God spoke to Abram, and he made a promise, "No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham [father of many], for I have made you a father of many nations (Genesis 17:1-8)." Years later, while Abraham's grandson was in Egypt, the promise became flesh, as the family developed into a great nation (Exodus 1:1-7). It continued to grow and in the fullness of time, it produced Jesus, the Messiah (Matthew 1:1-7). After the Messiah's death and resurrection, he commanded some of the family to share the story (Matthew 28:16-20). With this story of hope many have been adopted into the family (Ephesians 1:3- 10), and it has become a great nation without boundaries (Acts 2:1-12; Revelation 7:9-12). It is indeed a nation within nations. Shall we continue to share the family's story? Christian, are you up for the task? "May we be a shining light to the nations, A shining light to the peoples of the earth; Till the whole world sees the glory of Your name; May Your pure light shine thru us!" --Chris Christensen ---- Join the conversation. Read this article online and share your thoughts with us. Click here: http://www.forthright.net//navajo_nation.htm COLUMN: Heavenly Connections Gold Prison Bars by Tim Hall The world recently rejoiced when two miners in Australia were freed from the gold mine in which they had been trapped for two weeks. One man had died in the accident, and there had been little hope of rescuing the others. Through determined and creative efforts, however, the two survivors were able to walk from their prison on their own strength. Some might have flippantly reflected on the ordeal: "What a way to go!" To be surrounded by such enormous stores of wealth, even in its unrefined state, is heavenly for the materially- minded. Never mind that these men had no way to put this gold to work. Just the possession of riches brings happiness, many apparently think. But is that way of thinking correct? Stories that occasionally appear in the news reveal the lie. Those who are fabulously wealthy are not immune from domestic strife, addictions, crime, depression, and suicides. The problems of the rich may not be the same as those who are poor, but they do have problems. To be surrounded by gold does not guarantee happiness. Paul taught this idea. In 1 Timothy 6:9,10 he wrote: "But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows" (NKJV). If this statement is true, then our cravings for riches ("greediness") can lead to a kind of imprisonment. A man named Gehazi confirmed that this principle is true. A servant of the prophet Elisha, Gehazi saw an opportunity for personal gain. After Elisha passed on Naaman's offer of lavish gifts, Gehazi lied to obtain the gifts for himself. His lies, however, didn't deceive the man of God, and Elisha pronounced upon him a curse of leprosy for the remainder of his days. Gehazi, through his greediness, pierced himself through with many sorrows. The gold he gained became prison bars. Then what, if anything, can lead to the happiness we all desire? Paul addressed that question in the passage noted above: "Now godliness with contentment is great gain" (1 Timothy 6:6). Great gain doesn't come through wealth, Paul argued. It comes by being godly and by learning to be content with whatever our heavenly Father sees fit to give us. Those two men in Australia are blessed to have escaped their prison. How many more of their contemporaries, though, will never realize their imprisonment? Thankfully God offers rescue for all who see their endangered situation and cry out to him for help! ---- Join the conversation. Read this article online and share your thoughts with us. Click here: http://www.forthright.net/heavenly_connections/gold_prison_bars.htm ---- You can help get the word out. Here's how: http://www.forthright.net/editorial/lend_a_hand.htm