Why do Christians and other religions put such value on the places where their deities or prophets roamed? Jerusalem and its environs have been in a steady state of conflict from before Jesus’ time until now and will probably remain so in the future. It seems like there are constant fights going on over that ground. That is because three of the world’s major religions claim the area as part of their traditions. We seem to idolize the land on which our religious leaders roamed more than the teachings they gave us. I know I am going to offend several of you here but I have to say it. It’s just dirt much like the dirt outside each of our houses. Instead of worshipping the land we should set our hearts on living our lives as Jesus taught us.

I had a completely out of the box idea on foreign policy that I will share with you. Why don’t we dig up six inches of dirt from all over Israel and move it to South Dakota and then offer South Dakota as free sanctuary to all the people who will promise to peacefully live there. That would certainly reduce the reasons for conflicts in the Middle East. I’m sorry but I haven’t worked out the details of what to do the those folks who presently call SD home .

I know, I know that is absolutely not even in sight of the box but I’m not sure any other solution will ever end the conflicts in that part of the world. As Jesus said those who live by the sword shall perish by the sword. Constantly fighting and killing each other is just not the solution but is instead a drastic symptom of our failures. Let’s listen more closely to Jesus’ words rather than where he roamed. It’s just a place.