This past Sunday my pastor gave a message that tied in well with Mr. Peroutka's "plow your row" slogan and my following commentary pretty much wrote itself based on the words of these two fine gentlemen.

This is the first year of gardening at my new residence. Although this is the third summer in our current home, the past two have been filled with many other things that prevented me from starting a garden. But this year my wife insisted -- she is learning to can and expects to save a good deal on our monthly grocery budget by canning sauces and vegetables and making fruit preserves.

So as I've got the new job of gardening occupying my mind I hear a sermon based on text from Galatians 5 and 6 on reaping what we sow. A couple points came across very clear and I'd like to share them with you for your consideration.

First, you reap what you sow. If you plant tomato seeds you will get tomatoes. If you plant corn you will not get squash - you will get corn.

Second, there is a disconnect of time between sowing and reaping. After the seeds are planted you have to wait a given period of time before you can harvest. With my radishes I'm getting a harvest every three to four weeks, but I'm still waiting for the first buds on my peppers, and cucumbers are just starting to form on those plants.

And third, you always reap more than you sow. For the one tiny tomato seed I put in the ground I can expect many tomatoes from that plant. And don't forget about the three zucchini plants I have growing that already have more than a dozen zucc's, some of which will be ready to pick this week!

1) You reap what you sow; 2) You have to wait from one to the other; 3) And you get back more than you planted.

What in the world does this have to do with a Christian, constitutional perspective of politics or the Constitution Party? It all unfolded for me like a large-print book as I listened to my pastor speak this weekend.

Galatians of course refers to sowing the seeds of sin and the ugly harvest thereof. The Constitution Party has done the same thing and is now reaping that harvest. Way back when in the early 1990's a great man by the name of Howard Phillips had had enough of the way things were going in Washington. He made some phone calls and sowed some seeds. The ground was fertile and the seeds took root and grew.

As time has gone by now we can see that the seeds Mr. Phillips planted weren't what was in the package. He may have thought he was sowing seeds of liberty and a return to justice for all. But the package was mislabeled and we are now harvesting the fruit of compromise with pluralists.

Bill Shearer's AIP CA and the Hansen family's IAP NV have deep roots and, while it has taken many years for the true fruit of their vine to be recognized, they have now revealed themselves for what they truly are - people willing to compromise on the sanctity of life.

Many who are more familiar with these things than most of us recognized the plant, and the result of letting it grow, years ago. They tried to warn us that someone had sown tares in with the good crop. Speaking for myself I was more focused on my respect for the accomplishments of my elders in the Party. Those like Dan and Janine Hansen and Bill Shearer who had been around for decades and deserved credit for their past achievements. I was ignorant in my political youth and now I stand among many others who have been disheartened by the result of ignoring the warnings from the recent past.

But I do not think all is lost, not for one minute! The ground is still very fertile and there are many good plants. The proper thing to do, if you're a good farmer -- one who plows His row -- is to uproot the plants that are "Independent" and recultivate those areas of the garden.

It's not too late for a rebirth of freedom, even among ourselves. We should not be uprooting ourselves and looking for a different garden -- who knows what was in that soil before. And to start an entirely new garden at this point would mean many more years of waiting for a harvest when we have a grand opportunity now, if we will choose to seize it.

Grab your hoe, bring your "garden weasel", fire up the tiller -- there's work to be done! A section of our garden has rotted and we need to deal with the rot so we can plant anew in our own garden. There's one section of my garden I didn't plant so it was neglected and guess what happened? WEEDS! They took over that small section and I didn't think anything of it until this past weekend. My peppers and eggplants were too close to my squash. As the squash grew the large leaves shaded the smaller plants next to them. I ended up spending much time removing the weeds and replanting my peppers and eggplants, but my harvest will be well worth the work. And, I have learned something for next year about what to plant where and, that I should tend to the whole garden, not just the areas where I plant things.

When I first met Howard Phillips it was during his 2000 campaign and he made a stop in Wisconsin to be the keynote speaker at our State Convention banquet. He opened with these words "Imagine abortionists on trial for murder". Those six words erupted our convention hall in a loud round of applause and cheering. In the same light of those well spoken words I now say "Imagine a Constitution Party of Nevada".

While the CP is taking some big hits with state affiliates dropping off one by one, most recently Montana voted to disaffiliate on July 1, I still do not think it's too late to make the necessary changes. It's time for the National Executive Committee, under the leadership of Chairman Jim Clymer, to admit that an error in judgment has occurred. We have to weed our garden now, before the weeds are allowed to take over!

I call for a suspension of the rules and a new vote to be taken at the fall meeting of the National Committee. The IAP Nevada has violated its affiliation agreement and continues to support candidates with a less than 100% pro-life stand. This goes against the principle of the San Antonio Resolution as well as the Affiliate Agreement signed by that state's Executive Board.

If they are not willing to comply with the documents they signed and agreed to uphold, then their affiliate status should be revoked. So doing will bring back those states that have left and we can once again begin to "plow our row" as we look towards the 2008 presidential campaign.

My pastor related gardening to our lives as it is illustrated in Galatians. If we sow sin we will reap the fruits thereof. Even a little sin will be multiplied at harvest time and the price we pay, or the result of that sin come the time of harvest, never comes immediately after the sowing.

Fourteen years ago a couple bad seeds were sown under the guise of creating a new political party that would speak for the Christian conservatives in this nation. At the time of the harvest of our "first fruits" we have discovered a little sin that has now multiplied beyond what any of us thought could be. The "Principle Over Politics" of the Constitution Party has been sacrificed for the sake of unity and loyalty to individuals.

I call upon those members of the Executive Committee of the Constitution Party who were a part of this rotten harvest to repent and seek forgiveness. If not, the fracturing will only continue as more states vote to disaffiliate, leaving our garden bare for the coming season.

Swallow your pride gentlemen and admit to your mistake. It's not too late to remove the weeds that will continue to choke out the good plants if left untended.

=============================================================
If you enjoy these commentaries and have not already subscribed to the list, click here to be added and you will receive an email notice when a new post is available.

If you have subscribed in the past and no longer wish to receive these commentaries then click here to be removed from the list. You will receive one final message confirming your desire to be removed.

If you aren't sure how you came to receive this then perhaps someone you know forwarded it to you. Please feel free to forward this message with the SUBSCRIBE / UNSUBSCRIBE info in tact. Always use Bcc: and clean up a message before you forward it. No one likes scrolling through forwards or reading between all the >>> junk. Thank you for your support!