Editor’s Note: The following is based on an excerpt from 'The Glenn Beck Program' on December 12, 2016.
I have something on the wall in my office. It's notes from Hugh Stafford, one of the guys imprisoned in the Hanoi Hilton during the Vietnam War. He talks about how you're not supposed to judge others and how important it is to forgive others, even if they're not asking you for forgiveness.
I can't think of another way that we survive because the world is going over a cliff. I haven't changed. I haven't changed my principles ---not a single one. The principle is still the Constitution of the United States. I don't believe in progressivism. I believe in the Constitution.
More importantly, I have faith. And I have hope because I have seen the charitable works of America. I know Americans. I know where their heart really is. Sometimes it just gets buried.
If we can't find that heart at this time, well, then we're not the people we once were and should be. The fundamental transformation of America will have happened. You see, the fundamental transformation of America was never about the policies. The fundamental transformation of America was really about getting you to shut up and sit down and not be good.
Sometimes the people on the left, they don't believe that we are good. They believe that we only cling to our God and our guns and have antipathy towards others, that we don't care.
But I know that's not true, on the left and the right, I know that's not true. There are bad guys on the right and bad guys on the left, but the majority of us are Americans for all of the good things that that means.
The answer is always faith, hope and charity.
And look what's happening to our faith on little things: The war on Christmas, the destruction of tradition. The degradation of all things that are sacred until there's nothing sacred anymore. All the way to the city policy in Houston of turning in sermons so they can see what pastors are preaching. The removal of prayer in school. Quite honestly, the damage that Christians have done to Christianity. What does it even mean anymore?
We've lost hope that our children will do better. We've lost hope in the idea that America is already great, that we've already lost our shining city on the hill. We've put our faith and our hope in men and in parties, and we've lost our hope as we attack the family. And we're told charity is the government's responsibility. We're told constantly that we're not charitable, that people are lazy, they get what they deserve. We're being divided by hatred, and we're not seeing people as people anymore.
Faith is perfect knowledge. The perfect knowledge of the things you know that are true, but don't see. I know who we are, but I don't necessarily see it.
You want to have faith and hope? You want to really change the world? I'll show you how we do it.
We went out on Saturday as a family and as a church. And we found a battered women's shelter and the number of kids there and how old they were. Then we went shopping for them. It was really quite cool. Five truckloads of toys for these kids.
We got to shop for the boys, and the ladies and girls shopped for the girls. So Raphe and Tim and I went in the toy aisle, and, I mean, it was great. We got to buy the things that we would have wanted. So I was over with the Star Wars things with Raphe, and Tim was over with the Batman stuff. We bought for certain ages and we kept everything separated.
What the church had done --- which I think is great --- they put everything into a warehouse, like a store, and then the moms got to shop for what the kids wanted. So we built a toy store for free for these moms in the battered shelter. Oh, it was so great.
I don't know a single person that didn't walk out of there restored. Helping others restores you. Charity is the way to hope and faith --- and healing our country.
Featured Image: Sunlight shining through sequoia trees in Muir Woods.