Remember the song: "That’s what I like about the South"?

There appears to be something special about the southern area of our nation. People who live there seem to love it. They say its good for your health. Industry is shifting in that direction. Flocks of snowbirds flee there from winter’s drabness in the North. People like me dream of someday owning a place in Florida.

The sunbelt draws us. There is promise in thoughts of it. It must have been a southerner who wrote the old song that says, "Cheer up, my brother, live in the sunshine."

In the Word we have read from Malachi we find an admonition that we live our lives in the sunlight of God’s love, assured of his grace and mercy, and governed by his righteousness. The implication is that, even when the drabness of winter and a hostile …