Daniel Skognes

Last night riots broke out in Minneapolis over the death of George Floyd. I don’t claim to understand the frustration that drives people over the edge like that. I don’t condone in any way what the officers did to Mr. Floyd. Nobody deserves to be brutalized like that. This is a tragedy on multiple levels. It is another reminder that we as a country have not learned the lesson, and thus have to repeat the test. Do you remember Rodney King? His words call out to us today as a country, “Can’t we all just get along?” That is a good question!

Why can’t police identify officers who have a record of brutality and get rid of them? They have no business keeping the peace by overstepping their authority. Their job is to serve and protect. How can a man who has had a dozen complaints against him still be on the force? I don’t know what has to be done to clean this up, but the police chiefs and commissioners need to pay attention to who is on their staff. Perhaps the problem goes to the top. Who knows? The people at the top ultimately have to take responsibility for the people they employ. If they turn a blind eye to brutality, then the frustration will continue to build.

On the other hand, why does his death merit burning down businesses and setting cars on fire? How does that accomplish anything positive? Here again, I don’t pretend to understand the level of frustration, but I don’t see that destroying your city is the answer to the problem.

My hope and prayer is that police officers around the country take this as a wake up call, and that people in the community learn to respond to injustice through legal means. Racism is as old as creation and the seeds of injustice have deep roots, but that does not mean we have to accept that as how it has to be. We have to learn to love and respect one another regardless of how we look, and regardless of what our job is. If we don’t learn the lesson, we WILL repeat the test and the outcome will not be good. Violence is not the answer…love is.

Shalom!

Daniel Skognes

Yesterday was the last day of school. One of the last tasks I was assigned was to help a couple of our employees put up new flags outside of our school. The old ones were pretty beat up and needed to be replaced. One of my teammates was telling me that he got detained for three hours one time when he was on a military base and failed to stop when the flag was being raised. I did not know there was such a rule, but I love the fact that our military sets an example for showing proper respect for our flag.

Right after he told us this story, we were in the process of changing out the flags (without letting them touch the ground). We noticed a person standing out by the highway at attention…with his hand over his heart as we raised the flags. It was a beautiful confirmation of what my friend had just shared with us. I would be willing to bet he was a veteran.

We live in a time where respect has been forgotten by some. Many don’t honor our flag and some have outright contempt for it. For those that don’t love our country, I wonder why they choose to live here. It can’t be for any honorable reason. I know there are many enemies we have who would like nothing less than to see us lose our freedom and succumb to their ideologies.

One thing I know about respect: it has to be earned. Recently I watched The Last Dance documentary on Michael Jordan. I was touched by his raw behind the scenes story and how he continually had to gain the respect of those who opposed him. Obviously it is somewhat different in sports with all the trash talking that goes on between competitors, but is it really all that different?

Think about the trash talking that goes on in politics. I hate election year because of all the mud that is slung between the candidates on both sides. It seems to be a battle of words and it does not matter if there is any truth to the accusation or not. I realize that politics and religion are two topics which draw the most heated debates, so I try not to grandstand on those subjects because of the potential dog-piling that often ensues online. It does not mean I don’t have strong opinions about both, because I do. I just choose my battles wisely.

Why do people take the liberty to bash other people’s opinions just because they are different from theirs? I don’t mind healthy debates, but I detest bashing and bullying. If you think about it, it is reverting to a very childish behavior.

One thing I picked up from Michael Jordan that I really appreciated about his mindset was that he used the negativity of others to fuel his desire to win. And win he did. He had numerous failures and setbacks along the way, but look at what he accomplished! Wow. He was not perfect by any means. None of us are.

My advice is pretty simple: allow people to have their own opinions. If you choose to debate a point, do so with respect. If not, you may be fueling a fire that could consume you. I have the image of Michael Jordan walking off the court after one of those memorable comeback moments with the song in the background echoing: “How you like me now?” Be willing to earn the respect you desire and understand that it comes at a cost. Respect and freedom have this in common: neither one is free.

Shalom!

Daniel Skognes

Do you appreciate the freedom you have? With the recent onset of the world-wide pandemic, you may feel like you have lost your freedom…and to a degree, you have.

However, freedom is something we can have regardless of the restrictions placed upon us by the government. How is that possible?

There is freedom found in Christ. I think of the story in the Bible in Philippians chapter 1 where Paul was being held in prison. He said that what had happened to him was to advance the gospel. He claimed that he was in chains for Christ! His imprisonment gave his fellow Christian brothers and sisters confidence to share the gospel. Talk about a different perspective!

In the 16^th chapter of Acts, Paul and Silas were both in jail. They were anything but despondent. They were singing praise songs to God. In the middle of their praise there was a violent earthquake. All of the jail doors came open and everyone’s chains came off. The jailer woke up and when he realized all the doors in the jail were open, he assumed that the prisoners had escaped. He started to take his own life but before he could, Paul called out to him to let him know that all the prisoners were still there! The jailer had a come to Jesus moment right then and there! His simple question to Paul was, “What must I do to be saved?” How cool is that? The jailer came to realize that HE was the one being held captive, and true freedom is found in Christ.

We all have to face our fears, and we have to adapt to the “new normal,” whatever that might look like. The question is, are you free or are you a prisoner of your fears? Don’t let the storms of life hold you down. You have a choice to make: freedom or fear. Choose wisely.

Shalom!

Daniel Skognes