A voice shaped by classrooms, radio waves, and the rough edges of politics sits across from us and makes a simple claim: authority exists to serve human flourishing. Pastor Robert Opont walks us through his path from Haitian educator and Radio Lumière journalist to senator, then across an ocean to years of pastoral work in Florida and New Jersey. The story is gripping on its own—threats, exile, rebuilding—but the heart of our time is what he learned about power, conscience, and the steadying role of faith.

We explore how politics and religion can share an origin without collapsing into each other. In Opont’s view, politics orders the common good, while religion keeps the soul aimed at the good itself. When rulers drift, prophetic voices should recalibrate direction. When churches chase celebrity, they forget their charge to teach, warn, and heal. He brings scripture to the surface not as a museum piece but as a living framework: unchanging in core values yet applied with wisdom to new terrain. Technology and social media amplify both insight and error, so language must be chosen with care, expertise held with humility, and progress judged by what it does for the most vulnerable.

The conversation turns intimate with parenting, responsibility, and the hard edge of consequences. Freedom is not license; adulthood begins when we bear the weight of our choices. Pastor Opont shares practical, memorable images—from car insurance to house rules—that illustrate how families can raise adults who respect law, serve neighbors, and carry conviction without noise. We close by mapping the conditions each life stage demands, and how healthy authority—spiritual and civic—keeps communities whole.

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