Fact or Urban Legend

I rarely read any forwarded emails. So many are old myths, aka "urbanlegends," and not worth the time it takes to read. (Like the awful, "Magalyn Murry O'Hair is going to take 'Touched by an Angel' off the air." As far as I know, it is off the air already.)

If I do read them, I check Snopes.com or About.com's Urban Legends & Folklore page to verify the truth. Then I reply letting the sender know this is an old myth. (See why I don't read many forwards?!)

Today a co-worker sent a forward about a prayer a pastor prayed in Kansas that caused quite a stir. It had many of the earmarks of an urbanlegend, so I checked it out. Happily, this one was true.

For the entire story, go to: Urban Legends Reference Pages: Inboxer Rebellion (The Wright Stuff)

Heavenly Father, we come before you to ask your forgiveness. We seek your direction and your guidance. We know your word says, "Woe to those who call evil good." But that's what we've done.

We've lost our spiritual equilibrium. We have inverted our values. We have ridiculed the absolute truth of your word in the name of moral pluralism. We have worshiped other gods and called it multiculturalism.

We have endorsed perversion and called it an alternative lifestyle.

We've exploited the poor and called it a lottery. We've neglected the needy and called it self-preservation. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. In the name of choice, we have killed our unborn. In the name of right to life, we have killed abortionists.

We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem. We have abused power and called it political savvy. We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it taxes. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.

Search us, oh, God, and know our hearts today. Try us. Show us any wickedness within us. Cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent here by the people of the State of Kansas, and that they have been ordained by you to govern this great state.

Grant them your wisdom to rule. May their decisions direct us to the center of your will. And, as we continue our prayer and as we come in out of the fog, give us clear minds to accomplish our goals as we begin this Legislature. For we pray in Jesus' name, Amen.

Snopes.com's article goes on:

What to make of all the fuss? Syndicated religion columnist Terry Mattingly probably explained it best when he wrote: "The easy answer is that he read a prayer about sin. The complicated answer is that Wright jumped into America's tense debate about whether some things are always right and some things are always wrong."

I'm sure we each may take issue with an item listed. And it'll be different for each of us. But I'm sure we can each identify with many of the others.

I want to be around people willing to call our sin "sin," not just their sin. (However we define "their.") Then we can confess it, asking God to forgive us. And then we can receive His forgiveness and the subsequent freedom.