What you do not know, is that if you do break free and walk toward that window you will come up hard against the prison wall behind. All that scene is an illusion, artfully painted for you to channel your yearning. You continue to be caught up in your delusion, just unloose these bindings, and you can walk through that window to freedom and that lovely scene you constantly see and long for. Of course, it his paradise compared to the rest of the darkness and restrictions that the room presents.

The system of deception throws up illusion after illusion to prevent you from truly breaking free. Each time you move towards “truth” and “freedom” you are encountering another realm of deception that lures you into thinking you have found “truth”. Sure, you can settle in any of those illusions and live all your life believing that you have discover the genuine and the factual. All your senses, your friends, neighbors, social contacts, political allies, and everyone you encounter will reinforce the notion that you have discovered life’s meaning. You will attach yourself to causes where you find common ground with others and some sense of fulfillment too. You speak a shared language with those around you, you all embrace a collective morality and buy the same arguments, propositions and assumptions. You finally belong.

Nowhere is this scenario more evident in your politics. You have come to a place of common philosophy. You have found your “tribe” and are “living” your “truth”. Every day the headlines provide you with directions as to what you should hate, approve, love. You can find satisfaction in embrace of collaborative causes. You find meaning in the turbulent surge of emotions such as outrage at the latest appalling policy an opposing politician proposes. Righteous anger floods your veins as “they” transgress all the settled virtues your side has prescribed for all. You can release all your pent-up rage, anger, hatred and resentment at your opponents on social media and receive the reassuring feedback of all those other millions of users who echo your same sentiment. Everyone else repeats it so it must be true.

What you do not know is that everyone else is in the same prison, facing the same illusions that you are seeing. No diversion, dissention or difference is allowed.

You can believe this voice is the product of a deranged mind. After all it is one small voice that sounds a little different from the chorus you are used to hearing. It is making you uncomfortable. It is forcing you to question all the assumptions and ideologies you have so eagerly embraced. It is a minority. It should be ignored and shut out.

So, here is an experiment to tell if you are truly “woke”. It is pretty simple, you are told to use it when you are dreaming. Take an action. Pinch yourself. It is the same method, just applied to your mental and intellectual processes.

FIRSTLY

Acknowledge that there is an absolute truth that exists outside of your own consciousness. In other words, if you were suddenly to disappear from this planet or die, this truth would still exist. Christianity teaches that this truth is a person. Jesus said it:

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (Joh 14:6 AV)

This word “truth” stems from the very beautiful Greek “Aletheia” which means Truth, what is true in any sense. It speaks to what is objective, reality, fact and so on. It also refers to truth in a moral sense and what is true in things pertaining to God and the duties of man among its other uses. This word is also used when talking about the Christian meaning of truth. It shows up in doctrinal verses such as:

“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” (Joh 1:14-17 AV)

SECONDLY

Recognize that it is perfectly reasonable for you to seek that truth, whatever you may think it is at the moment. You would be in “good” company. Pilate asked, when standing before Jesus whom he thought was an innocent person on a trumped-up charge, what is truth?

“Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all.” (Joh 18:37-38 AV)

Perhaps if he had asked: “who is truth”?, Jesus would also have answered.

THIRDLY

Answer this question. Can you see the boundaries of your own ideology? In other words, can you identify the biases and limitations of the ideologies you have adopted? Can you detect their weaknesses?

Were you exposed to or taught about the finite applications that they may allow for in terms of personal choices, public policies or vehicles for attracting political adherents? Can you clearly detect their usefulness or lack thereof?

If you answered “no”, it means that you are deep in the illusion. You have been thoroughly indoctrinated and are the victim of masterful propaganda. True methods of teaching will tell you the weaknesses and limitations of the ideologies and philosophies to which you are being exposed, right up front.

If you answered “Yes” to this question, you are beginning to sense the breadth and depth of the illusions to which you have been exposed and are currently enmeshed. Keep on going in your search for truth.

FORTHLY.

If you are brave enough, begin to listen to those around you. Do they demonstrate the same fanatic fervor about the group ideology as those on the other side whom they are encouraging you to eschew? Do they express the same evangelistic fervor in their zeal to measure your and each group members’ conformity to the overarching group think? Do they allow others with different notions to exist, explain and expose their ideas to you and others in your group? Do they allow you to dissent or stray away from prevailing orthodoxies?

FIFTHLY

This step is most telling of all. What happens when you raise doubt about the prevailing ideology? Do they shut you out? Do they “entertain” them and quickly guide you to a “tolerant” or “open minded” conclusion? Do they hastily distract you with some other ideas that feeds your emotions? Do they encourage you to “feel” and respond emotionally to the question under consideration? Do they use your emotions to tell you what your thoughts should focus on? In other words, do they manipulate your emotions?

One of the central promises of the Jesus of Christianity is freedom. He pointed out that those whom the Son set free would be free indeed.

“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” (Joh 8:31-36 AV)

The word “free” is the Greek “eleuthero” which means to liberate, make or set free, deliver, and set at liberty.  It appears in only five other verses in the New Testament (Rom. 6:18,22, 8:2,21, Gal. 5:1).

This freedom is just as it says. You are free indeed. Liberated to think for yourself. At liberty to reason with God (Is. 1:18). You are free to accept or reject. You are delivered to live in the spirit or walk in the flesh (although this is very highly undesirable). You are unfettered to have your mind and mental processes renewed and healed to reflect the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16).

Yes, you might think, you don’t consider it freedom when that same Christian God tells you that you can choose, but if you do not choose His way you will be cast into hell. You believe He punishes those who do not walk according to His way by condemning them to eternal damnation.

Perhaps you may be right. Then your resistance to Him would be justified. You can even entertain the notion that the freedom He is offering is merely another illusion.

Consider this however, what if He, living outside of time, is inserting Himself into our temporal reality to warn us about the two sets of alternatives, choices and consequences which were not created for us. What if these choices and consequences were laws set in motion from eternity, and we stumbled into them by succumbing to the manipulation of an evil being who acted in rebellion and is destined for eternal damnation? What if that being is trying to trap us into joining him in his eternal misery by enticing us to walk his way, instead of the way that leads to true freedom? What if the being you call “god” is truly good and is constantly interrupting enemy propaganda to send you messages that are meant to awaken you to what is really going on? What if God is truly reaching down into time, this limited physical realm and trying to rescue you from all this illusion to bring you into all truth?

SIXTHLY

Test yourself. are you courageous enough to explore these possibilities? What if you find out that this is when you become truly awaken? Here is the good news, if you begin this exploration and find that it is indeed truth, you will want to continue along this journey.

not only did God provide this avenue of escape for you, but He also made it so that we can choose to love or hate, reject or accept. He outlines the consequences of each choice, but He doesn’t force us to choose. Yes, there are consequences attached to each choice, but we have not been preprogramed to make either.

We can remain with the illusions, knowing and accept them for what they are, now that we have been alerted to them. Many people do. They return to familiar comforts, unwilling to risk the loneliness or pain of estrangement which may result from abandoning the dominant and overarching illusions which parade as a “unifying force”. Life is easier when they ignore the uncomfortable and substitute it for the “broad way”  

“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” (Mt 7:13-14 AV)

On the other hand, we can catch hold of that eternal Hand that is reaching down through all the fog and deceptive mist of ideologies, philosophies, multitude of words and ideas to rescue us and place us in a bold, empowering truth that lets us interact with Him with mutual freedom, openness, honesty and love. Most wonderful of all, our surrender to God’s freedom and truth removes our illusions and places us in relationship with truth.

Learn More about Spiritual growth and maturity from:

Sproul, Wendy. 2017. March to Maturity: Grounded and Built. North Charleston, South Carolina. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

The Matrix (1999)

One day I visited with a friend who lived up in the hills of St. Andrew in my island home of Jamaica. I remained outside in her front yard as I waited for her to conclude her affairs, As the cooling winds from the sea brushed my cheeks and lifted my hair, I noticed that her tree filled yard had lots of birds that cooed, warbled and sang to each other. Rather idly it popped into my mind to join their very loud “conversation” – just to see if I could fool them into thinking I was a bird too.

I began to whistle in a monotonous warble that rose a little above the loudest of the birds. To my delight, a bird began to respond. Thinking that I was imagining this, I repeated this action until we began to “communicate”. I warbled the same note and the bird answered with its raucous call.

“Got you, you noisy bird. You think I am one of you”, I thought rather flippantly and kept this up for a few minutes until my hostess arrived.

Now I have always taken note of birdsong, remarking how they pleasure us mostly unappreciative humans with their lovely melodies and rhapsodies, and how we (rightly) take their songs for granted. I still continued in this vein after leaving those birds I had so easily tricked back on the island of Jamaica, so many years ago.

After living in the US for a while, I resorted to my usual habit of taking the birds’ songs for granted. However, one particular morning I sat in my bird filled backyard, deliberately intending to take pleasure in their serenades. All the birds in the neighborhood seemed to have congregated there and were singing at once.

The thought popped into my mind, why not sing to them and see if they would respond to me like their relatives did in Jamaica?  If nothing else, it would prove that my “communication” had been real and not just a pleasant coincident or an idle but memorable accident occurring on a glorious afternoon under the tropical sun. So, I decided to join them to see if I could repeat this experiment.

I began to sing. I had read in Psalms 66:4, 148, 150:6 about all creation praising and singing to the Lord and wanted to test if this was true. I burst into a magnificent rendition (if I may say so myself) of the old hymn: “in the garden”. All the birds stopped chirping and listened. They made no sound as I ran through the stanzas of this moving, timeless classic.

“good”, I told my little daughter exultantly and partially credulously, “notice that the birds are listening”.

Notwithstanding this show of confidence, I was not fully convinced that they were queuing in to my singing. Perhaps it was another coincidence and they just happened to go silent for a while. However, the thrill I experienced was too much to resist, birds creating an audience for my song? The possibilities this presented and the temptation to experiment were too exciting, I had to make sure.

after the birds started to chorus again, I burst into a less melodious pop song. They all ignored me this time. They chirped, cooed and tweeted to each other as if I weren’t there.

Fascinated by this phenomenon, I hypothesized to my daughter that the birds may have indeed been praising the Lord and perhaps the melody and content of the song were important. My offering of “Another one Bites the Dust” by Queen just was not cutting it with them.

Being as curious as I am, I just had to try this experiment once more. So, I warbled out what I was convinced was a sweet and melodious serenade for the birds and my daughter this time. As I served up the performance of my life and belted out “bless the Lord, O My Soul” from “1000 Reasons “by Matte Redman, the birds became hushed and began to listen again.

The sudden rush of joy and exhilaration that coursed through my veins was astounding. I ran through all the verses of this very beautiful song, (secretly hoping that I wasn’t disturbing my neighbors and have them call the police on me) and the birds listened. I released all the stress I was feeling that Saturday morning and let the music and the absolute attention I was receiving from God’s creatures sweep through my soul. It ended in a beautiful climax and the birds listened quietly for a few moments longer after my performance trailed off into silence. I remained quietly attentive as one little peep emerged after a while and then they all began to chirp, sing and call to each other again. I resumed a loud conversation and noticed that they continued to ignore our presence.

The profound sense of wonder and joy I felt was indescribable. I rushed into the house and started to report this experience to everyone I could find. I researched this phenomenon online and discovered that some ornithologists believe that birds do listen to humans and repeat the melodies they hear. There was some scientific basis for this phenomenon after all. It wasn’t just the “magnificence” of my singing, but the creatures mimicking human notes as they incorporated them into their language.

I still cannot explain why they ignored me when I switched to the pop song and have concluded that the Biblical description was correct after all. All creation does indeed praise the Lord, including the birds (Ps. 148:10, 150:6).

Perhaps God was using the tune and words of the songs to capture their attention. I am certainly no songbird. Despite my over inflated sense of my own genius, I am simply tolerable, so that no one runs shrieking for the hills with their fingers in their ears when I sing.

Suffice it to say that no-one called the police on me that day; and the pleasure and joy I gained from that experience was immeasurable. The sense of abundant satisfaction I felt with those little birds revived me and taught me the true meaning of God’s word that tells us how He loves and interacts with His creation (Job 38:4 – 41 :14, Ps. 104:10 – 30).

Birds are sometimes seen metaphorically as symbolic of Satanic activities (Luke 8:5 – 12, Mark 4:3 – 15). However, it is undeniable that God communicates with them and that they respond to Him (1 Kings 17:2-6). This connection is so deep that even ravens or other unclean birds (Lev. 11:13 – 16) carry out God’s instructions to bring food to Elijah. This communication indicates that God has an unmistakable bond with the creation that He so lovingly spoke into being (Gen 1, 2) and constantly interacts with them. He watches and cares for them as Scriptural references demonstrate (Ps. 147:9, Matt. 6:26, 10:29 – 30, Luke 12:6, 24) and He continuously let them know His will for them.

Imagine being a part of this amazing circle of love, wonder, and adoration. That was just a little of what I felt when those birds hushed their singing to listen to my performance. Abundant Joy, peace and deep satisfaction were mine as I sat for those 45 minutes and joined the birds in this fantastic manifestation of God’s nature and workmanship.

Spring has gone and the birds have left for warmer climes, but I still continue to enjoy the deep pleasure and sense of belonging as my audience quietened down in appreciation of my performance. Even if I never get to thrill a human crowd with my masterpieces, I know that the birds and I joined the eternal chorus and praised our God. Perhaps next spring I will repeat this experiment when the birds return. In the meantime, I strongly recommend to you my friends that if ever you feel unloved, underappreciated, stressed or just worn out by life’s many challenges, let yourself embrace the abundant life that Christ has brought to us (John 10:10). Be brave, bundle up all those negative emotions, put a little time aside, dare to step out into nature somewhere, and with wild abandon just sing to the birds.

References

Miles, C. Austin. 1913. In the Garden.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Garden_(1912_song)

Redman, Matt (2011) 10,000 Reasons. “10,000Reasons” (Bless the Lord) Capital Christian Music Group. USA.

Queen (1980) Another one Bites the Dust. Mute.  UK

Learn more about birdsongs from:

Boswall, Jeffery “how Birds Get their Song” British Library.

https://www.bl.uk/the-language-of-birds/articles/how-birds-learn-their-songs

Davies, Gareth Huw, The Life of Birds

https://www.pbs.org/lifeofbirds/songs/index.html

Mayntz, Melissa (2017) Understanding Why Birds Sing.

https://www.thespruce.com/why-birds-sing-386221

Learn More about Spiritual growth and maturity from:

Sproul, Wendy. 2017. March to Maturity: Grounded and Built. North Charleston, South Carolina. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

Perhaps one day I will write the book with this title that has been languishing in my book ideas file for years now. Just in case I never get around to attaching it to this potential book, I will use it to Segway into my story.

It happened some years ago when I lived on the island of Jamaica with my very young children. We had been recently married and in the throes of setting up our marital home. My lovely house had many, many windows which faced my neighbors and the aquamarine waters of the Caribbean Sea. Therefore, I needed curtains for privacy and for beauty. However, we had very limited income, and After calculating the costs of these curtains, I realized we could not afford them. Being a dutiful Jamaican wife and homemaker, I cast about desperately for a way to solve this particular problem.

So, I prayed. I told the Lord that I knew he was God of the universe, and I realized that my request was frivolous in comparison to all the very big things with which he was occupied. I knew it was a small thing but if He could spare some time, I would like some gold curtains. They were the perfect match for my décor.  I completed this prayer and forgot about it.

Some months later I visited with my mother in law. She was a queen of a homemaker who kept her house impeccably clean and fabulously decorated. During the Saturday afternoon visit, she asked me if I wanted some gold curtains. Surprised and very thankful, I asked why she made this offer. She replied that someone had brought her some new ones and as she was taking down her gold curtains, she thought of giving hers to me. Being the faithful and faith guided Pastor she was, I knew I could tell her about my prayer which the Holy Spirit brought back to mind at that moment. I was confident that she would understand very well how a faithful God could answer the frivolous prayer of a desperate housewife for Gold Curtains.

Not only were these gold curtains in excellent condition, but they were the exact amount I needed for my many many windows.

It was through this experience that the Holy Spirit reminded me how valuable my prayers were to Him. While I would have understood perfectly if God had deemed my requests for gold curtains too trivial to attend to, He told me that it was precious to Him because it was important to me. He brought back to my mind Jesus’ declaration that said down to the very hairs on my head were important to Him, so much so that he counted them (Matt. 10:30, Luke 12:7). The Holy Spirit then pointed out that if He could supervise the fall of little sparrows which were worth very little in the marketplace (Matt. 10:29-31, Luke 12:6-7), of course he would watch the very tiny little things that concerned me in my daily life.

This experience stuck with me. Up to then, I believed that only certain issues should be brought to God in prayer. These certain things were more spiritual ones such as: sanctification; growth and maturity; mine and other people’s life’s major crises; and big macro matters affecting the destiny of nations. I honestly did not think it was particularly spiritual firstly, to bring these trivial little matters of my home decoration to God, nor other inconsequential “life struggles such as a broken fingernail. Secondly, even if I had dared to take them to Him, I did not necessarily expect Him to give them the time of day because they seemed so vain and foolish

The Holy Spirit’s central point came through shining, golden and clear like the sunlight filtering through my beautiful sea facing Gold curtains which I had gratefully hung at my windows.

While I am far away from the island, and have long since left that home and those gold curtains behind, I have made it a point of duty to bring the little things which preoccupy my mind to God in prayer. I strive to include especially those niggling matters which, though seeming unimportant, can make or break my current life’s activities or ruin my day. I have found that this act of surrendering every little issue I can think of to his ministration and supervision helps me to keep in perfect peace. Offten I recall Isaiah’s declaration that:

“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” (Isa 26:3 AV)

 God, through Isaiah, has reminded us that He will Keep those of us whose minds are stayed on Him in perfect peace. This peace is amplified by the fact that I have found the peace that passes all understanding in addition to the other benefits of this reliance on God for the minor as well as the major issues of life:

“And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Php 4:7 AV)

Now when all hell breaks loose, I find a calm assurance and stillness in the knowledge that Jesus’ promise of peace that passes all understanding is being realized in my heart.                         

“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Php 4:6-7 AV)

Of course, I am not perfect and there are days when I get off track and resort to my very human and habitual state of stress and worry. After I have run on for a while, to remind myself of God’s faithfulness, I go to my living room, stand at my windows for a bit, then I reach out and gently, lovingly run my hands down my – yes, you’ve guessed it – my new, very luxurious gold curtains.

Learn More about Spiritual Growth and Maturity from:

Sproul, Wendy. 2017. March to Maturity: Grounded and Built. North Charleston, South Carolina. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

“The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, saying, Go unto the house of the Rechabites, and speak unto them, and bring them into the house of the LORD, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink. Then I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habaziniah, and his brethren, and all his sons, and the whole house of the Rechabites; And I brought them into the house of the LORD, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan, the son of Igdaliah, a man of God, which was by the chamber of the princes, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the keeper of the door: And I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites pots full of wine, and cups, and I said unto them, Drink ye wine.” (Jer 35:1-5 AV)

This incident would have seemed very odd in the ordinary, run of the mill experiences of the Jewish people. It certainly had some distinctly interesting and extraordinary characteristics because Jeremiah’s actions were no everyday occurrences. Firstly, He was God’s prophet. Secondly, He claimed to be acting under divine instructions. Thirdly, he brought the Rechabites into the temple to perform what could be seen as a divinely sanctioned action that would violate their most treasured values, virtues and traditions. Fourthly, the right and appropriate thing for the people involved in this soiree was to obey God’s instructions for them to drink the wine according to the accepted norms for responding to divine invitations. Fifthly, Jeremiah in conjunction with God, seemed to have set up the Rechabites with an unforeseen dilemma with which they had no business becoming entangled.

When God spoke through His prophets, the hearer had the choice of fully obeying, partially complying or completely disobeying His instructions. However, this was not the case for the Lord’s people. They had always been expected to obey God’s directives. God had laid this principle out clearly in His dealings with individual humans beginning with Adam and Eve in Genesis chapter 3. He continued to reinforce it unequivocally throughout His covenant with the Children of Israel in Deuteronomy Chapters 27 – 28. In these chapters, Jehovah explained the contract in clear and simple terms such as: a blessing if you obey and a curse if you disobey.

Obedience to God’s directives was a familiar prerequisite for interacting with His prophets as well.  By the time of Jeremiah’s emergence on the scene it had been received wisdom that obedience was preferable. It was also settled that (as a general rule) it was not a good idea for people or nations to disobey the directions of God’s prophets. The Bible is replete with the dire consequences incurred by individuals and the Children of Israel when they did not follow God’s instructions. For example, 1 Kings 13:1-32 relates the story of God’s Prophet who disobeyed His instructions not to stop nor ingest food near Bethel after he had delivered God’s judgment against the idol worshiping Jeroboam. After refusing the King’s hospitality and proceeding on his way, the prophet returned to the house of another deceitful prophet and visited with him against God’s specific instructions. He was killed by a lion after he attempted to resume his journey.

Likewise, partial or incomplete compliance had its punishing results too. Another example of a national consequence that flowed from a partial attempt at following the prophet’s instructions is seen in the story of 2 Kings 13:14-19 when Joash the King of Israel came to visit Elisha on his deathbed. The prophet instructed the King to take some arrows and strike the ground with them. King Joash complied and struck the ground three times and stopped without being told to do so. Elisha became upset with the king and explained that had he struck the ground more, he would have defeated Syria. However, seeing that he had only struck thrice, he would attack them three times but not defeat them.

Within this well understood context, Jeremiah, in compliance with Jehovah’s instructions, brought the Rechabites into the Temple and offered them wine to drink. The Rechabites refused outright.

“But they said, We will drink no wine: for Jonadab the son of Rechab our father commanded us, saying, Ye shall drink no wine, neither ye, nor your sons for ever: Neither shall ye build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have any: but all your days ye shall dwell in tents; that ye may live many days in the land where ye be strangers. Thus have we obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab our father in all that he hath charged us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, nor our daughters; Nor to build houses for us to dwell in: neither have we vineyard, nor field, nor seed: But we have dwelt in tents, and have obeyed, and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us.” (Jer 35:6-10 AV)

It is quite tempting to use the Rechabites refusal to obey Jehovah’s instructions to drink wine to promote abstinence from alcohol. However, this reflects only a shallow understanding of the meaning of their actions. From God’s viewpoint, their refusal to obey His instructions made them the perfect people to employ to carry out His purpose. God had known that the Children of Israel would be disobedient and break the terms of the covenant (De 31:16). Consequently, it was a small matter for Him to select an individual or group of people to display the values He thought were important. It would be easy for Him to arrange matters, (long before they would become current) to have circumstances and individuals in place to obtain the results He needed to make His point. The Rechabites were best fitted for the prophetic declaration and judgment God needed to make at that point in time

“Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Go and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will ye not receive instruction to hearken to my words? saith the LORD. The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, that he commanded his sons not to drink wine, are performed; for unto this day they drink none, but obey their father’s commandment: notwithstanding I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye hearkened not unto me. I have sent also unto you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, Return ye now every man from his evil way, and amend your doings, and go not after other gods to serve them, and ye shall dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your fathers: but ye have not inclined your ear, nor hearkened unto me. Because the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have performed the commandment of their father, which he commanded them; but this people hath not hearkened unto me: Therefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring upon Judah and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the evil that I have pronounced against them: because I have spoken unto them, but they have not heard; and I have called unto them, but they have not answered.” (Jer 35:13-17 AV)

God approved of the Rechabites adherence to their father’s instructions, even though it meant disobeying His own directive. An odd occurrence, because we are familiar with the Lord’s insistence on obedience to His word. Why did their actions so impress God?

Prior to Jeremiah’s interaction with them, the Rechabites were not particularly highlighted in the Scriptures. In fact, this story is only mentioned in Jeremiah 35. In contrast, their father was a noteworthy person and was referred to many times. The most noteworthy mention was in 2 Kings 10:15-25, where Elijah invited him to accompany him on Jehu’s mission to eradicate Baal’s prophets and eliminate baal worship out of Israel. It is reasonable to assume that their existence and customs were probably familiar to Jeremiah because their way of living was not particularly unique, and their father’s participation and actions in restoring the true worship of Jehovah was recorded in the annals of Jewish history.

The obvious interpretation for Christian denominations is to laud the Rechabites for their obedience to their father’s teachings. Other traditional interpretations admire the Rechabites for their moral purity and faithful adherence to the Mosaic codes. Some have used their example as a template for promoting abstinence from alcohol. Still others can identify their rigid faithfulness to their cultural traditions as noteworthy as they resist the influences of cultural change and inclination towards depravity and excesses.

While these are credible ways of interpreting their actions, they do not explain why God approved of their refusal to accept His invitation to drink wine. Neither does it account for why He celebrated it so much that He set up an everlasting covenant

With them

“And Jeremiah said unto the house of the Rechabites, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Because ye have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according unto all that he hath commanded you: Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me for ever.” (Jer 35:18-19 AV)

although obedience was the most striking feature of this episode, their willingness to refuse God’s order to drink wine (because doing so would contravene their allegiance and fidelity to their father’s directives) displayed important characteristics about them. It was also a test of their faithfulness, consistency, commitment, discipline, and integrity.  God had obviously arranged for their forefathers to pass down these instructions to them way back in the past. Jonadab, their forefather, had given them these directives as he saw fit or so he may have thought. They were obviously important because his descendants stuck to them religiously. Whatever means were used to drill these virtues into their family culture, they had carried their allegiance and loyalty throughout the generations, so much so that even a prophet claiming to be divinely inspired could not separate them from these values.

Treasuring these values may have become the very foundation of their cultural distinctness for them, so that they could not countenance being brought into the temple to desecrate them- even if this desecration was to take place in one of the holiest places in Israel.

Jehovah, knowing the heart of their father and his ability to instill these characteristics into his offspring, selected them for their faithfulness and willingness to stick to what they believed in, even when He sent His prophet to test them. They were the perfect material for Him to use as his exemplar. They were to be set up as an example of faithfulness and obedience that He could use to contrast with the nation of Israel. Their very existence would be a reproach to the children of Israel because they were unfaithful and could not keep the terms of their contract with God. Yet these Rechabites would hold to their instructions and not be swayed, even by God Himself.

The Rechabites had been chosen to be God’s advertisement. This was not strange from a scriptural perspective. We know of Job, who unknown to him, was suddenly thrust into the middle of a divine contest at God’s insistence to prove God’s points in His argument with Satan (Job 1:8 – 12, 2:2 – 6). Like the Rechabites, it wasn’t just job’s integrity that was on trial, but God’s ability to assess character and pronounce judgment on anything. Job did not fail God, but stood as a shining billboard to prove to Satan and the hosts of eternity that His confidence was well placed.

The Rechabites in their own simple way had been living from generation to generations as show pieces and bandit signs for God’s fidelity and justice. Unknown to them, He had selected them long before they were born and given their father instructions which would see them tested at some time in the future and able to successfully pass the test. Their disobedience to His prophet was never a question from His perspective. Although Jeremiah might have wondered about the outcome of this venture, God would have known beforehand that they would react the way they did. Further He would have been aware that this was the reaction that was needed to provide the example that He could hold up for the rest of the Children of Israel to see.

More importantly for us, their example earned them a chapter in our Bible. What we can learn from them is perhaps yet not properly understood. Certainly, it was far more than drinking or not drinking wine as a sign of their righteousness. The Rechabites were not the only people who abstained from strong drink and wine. Samson (Ju 13:3-5) and John the Baptizer (Lu 1:13-15) were two other famous examples of people who practiced abstinence from wine and other alcoholic beverages.

Based on God’s reaction, it was clear that the Rechabites had fulfilled the purpose for which He had called them. They were to be advertisement for the values He treasured most such as consistency, integrity, obedience, commitment and fidelity to the most important customs, practices and values as they understood them.

The argument can probably be made that they were faced with a win -win situation. This means that if

they had chosen to follow the prophet’s instructions and drank the wine, they would have been obeying Jehovah and therefore were not sinning. This argument can be strengthened by the fact that wine drinking is perfectly acceptable among those who follow Judaism. God had not prohibited wine drinking, so that the prophet had not set up a moral dilemma for them, and the question was not about sinning, but making a choice that had particular repercussions attached. It is possible that in their simple way they were unaware of the long-term ramifications of their choice and did not ponder too much about which way they should go. They simply relied on the tried and true values, virtues, and traditions that had kept them through the generations and chose according to what they knew to be right.

Just as their choice taught us something, we can also learn from the alternative that they did not pursue. Although it was not a question of sinning, had they drunk the wine they would not have served Jehovah’s purpose for them to be His showcase. They would have abandoned what they knew to be true up to that point, relinquished their treasured values and lost their distinctness as they began to drink and behave like the Jews among whom they were living. They were Kenites and “strangers” among the Jews and they could easily have adopted their customs and blended in, leaving their fathers injunctions behind. We would probably not have read about them as they settled in to be like everyone else and possibly died out as time wore on. In all this they would not have sinned but done what the good man of God had encouraged them to do.

However, they would have lost out on the opportunity to be God’s showcase for His prophetic purpose. Their act in holding to what they believed to be true and right for them, led them to be a remarkable group. So much so that God’s approval was recorded for our instruction. Not only that, but God has blessed them so that their culture and way of life did not die out, but they lasted all those millennia and can still be found today in the middle east.

Learn more about the Rechabites at:

http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/12616-rechabites

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rechabite

Who were the Rechabites?

https://www.gotquestions.org/Rechabites.html

Similarly, we go through our everyday lives often assuming that life and reality are random. Our experiences are series of coincidences as we travel from our home to offices, stores, airports and places of business. If we are fortunate, we get to where we are going incident free. Sometimes we may encounter mishaps which might range from the mild and inconsequential (if we are lucky) to the extremes where we are severely injured or killed.  We make decisions, pursue our careers and participate in life’s events without noting the small or big rational choices which constitute the series of events which run together to make up the courses of our lives. We attribute the sum total of our life’s activities and events which happen to us to luck if we do not subscribe to any religious beliefs and God or some other supreme being if we do.

Contrary to the seeming randomness of life and chance that happens to us, our realities and lives are shaped by people and forces which make decisions, influence agendas, manipulate, and constantly strive for control over our minds, thoughts, lives, and futures.  A frightening thought, many of us dismiss these possibilities as “conspiracy theories” and relegate them to the fringe where weirdos and paranoid people live. In all of this, we rarely think about who sets the agenda and who is behind the seemingly random things and consequences we are experiencing.

That reality is not so random as we believe has been studied in major universities. For example, there is a whole body of theory that looks at choice, decision-making, the nature and exercise of power, and their effects on human reality and behavior in the Social Sciences.  Accomplished sociologists like Steven Lukes identified three “faces” or dimensions of power. The first is Decision-making (who makes which decisions for others).  It is in the first face or dimension of power that powerful people or entities make decisions about others. They make choices that affect our ordinary, everyday realities as we move through their spheres of influence in the course of our existence. For instance, government makes decisions which translate into laws and policies which have direct bearing on our behavior or the alternatives available to us. Heads of companies and chairmen of boards make decisions which influence their companies, leaders of nonprofits and communities make choices and decisions about the directions of their organizations.

The second dimension of power is distinguished by non-decision making or agenda setting. If you want to know who holds most power in a group or country, just look at who sets the agenda. Who determines what comes up for mention or is considered important. This can be seen in policy priority areas, what items the media and other news outlets give prominence to, what is promoted or suppressed.

The third dimension of power is characterized by ideology and manipulation. In this dimension the person who is able to influence or shape the wants of others is demonstrating this kind of power. It is here for example, that education, media, marketing, culture, political ideologies, and other paradigm shaping mechanisms are used to mold the wants, worldview, and moral values of the people over whom they are exercising power. This is where popular culture can be tweaked to instill certain notions of what is good or bad, what is acceptable or not, and what is desirable so that those who are experiencing this manipulation come to want what those who are more powerful determine that they should desire.

Although we would probably want to retreat to the comfort zones of the mundane, predictable chaos of our seemingly random lives (Where we do not have to contend with forces out of our control, nor the implications of our actions and choices on the outcomes of our lives) Christianity also teaches that our lives are not random, nor do our realities form in a chaotic, uncontrolled fashion. Psalms 37:23 indicates that our steps are ordered by God, and Jeremiah 1:5, 29:11 tells us We are called into being for purposeful lives.

In this ordered stratum (1 Ch 16:31, Ps 47:1-8,93:1-2, 96:10, Is 40:21-23) God governs as King. He sets the agenda of our lives. He has a definite will and rules in the affairs of human beings (Da 4:17). When our lives are submitted to God, believers respond to, shape, activate, and carry out this agenda in our everyday worlds. God designs the incidences and courses of our lives so that nonbelievers (knowingly or unknowingly, deliberately or inadvertently) also play roles in carrying out God’s agenda or will. This divine weaving ensures that all things work together for good for those who are called according to His purpose (Ro 8:28).

The Divine agenda is expected to dominate the believer’s worldview and activities. It demands absolute allegiance and comes into sharp conflict with the dictates of this world. There is an inherent dichotomy between the rules, principles, operations of the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of this world.

God is constantly working towards the ultimate fulfilment of His Agenda. This agenda necessarily conflicts with what those who wield power in the decision making, agenda setting and the ideological dimensions of power want. The Scriptures teach us that human beings are rebellious and do not want to be controlled by God (DE 31:27, IS 53:6). It also informs us that those in power deliberately promote their own agendas. Although they may believe that they are actually in control, they are subject to manipulation from Satanic forces which are bent on promoting the objectives of the Kingdom of darkness.

More often than not. Those who rebel against God are carrying out the wishes of the Satanic agenda. They often use institutions such as government to make decisions and legislations which directly contradict God’s moral laws, oppress people and destroy opportunities for those who are poor and disenfranchise. They fail to provide beneficial services such as justice and security for their populations because of the destructive decisions and choices they pursue in the political, social and economic spheres. God repeatedly decries these practices through the voice of His prophets in the old Testament. In doing so, God inserts a set of contrasting information that both condemns the sins or wickedness of bad decisions, and presents an opportunity for decisionmakers to choose godly alternatives. Decisionmakers are constantly reminded of the outcomes of bad or good decisions so that those who choose to wield power in this realm have no excuses for failure or advancing the satanic agenda.

In the agenda setting sphere, major social institutions such as political parties, the media, educational and school systems are used to advance the issues and priorities which powerful elites want to have promoted to the detriment of others which are beneficial and godly. These priorities are in conflict with God’s will and teaching, and serve to advance the Satanic agenda. We can think of many social and cultural issues which directly contravene God’s will. These issues are paraded on our television screens and promoted as political agenda items which ungodly politicians use to propel themselves into office. Moreover, when in office they resort to the mechanisms of decision-making to enact on an unsuspecting population.

Many of these agenda items are sold to the potential voting population as beneficial, when in fact they are destructive and deadly. More significantly, they are ensuring the achievement of the Satanic agenda which is in deliberate and outright opposition to God. Those who promote a satanic platform can identify godly issues and policies which they can advance if they so choose. Those who are actively working against god’s agenda are inexcusable as God provides through Christianity, godly, wholesome priorities and not the selfish destructive issues which now parade before us.

At the ideological sphere where people are manipulated to want or desire things which are to their detriment, social institutions and mechanisms such as media, popular culture, government policies, education systems, and entertainment are used to obviously or subtly shape the desires of an unsuspecting population. For example, advertisement and marketing campaigns are used to sell products or services which people are bluntly told are good for them.  These products and services are promoted in ways that entice the unsuspecting potential consumer. More subtly, political ideologies promote lawlessness, destructive behaviors in attractive and sophisticated policy language which eventually become enacted.  Universities are tools that advance paradigms and ideologies which help to carefully indoctrinate or plant particular ideas and notions in the minds of students who are seeking to be educated. These educated people then gravitate towards the desired objectives, and go out into the general population to further the agendas of those who want to have them promoted. Stripped down to their barest elements, many of the goods, services, ideas, paradigms, and desires have been shaped or inculcated into unsuspecting individuals and groups. These recipients then begin to express desires, ideas, and behavior patterns which line up accurately with a Satanic agenda that seeks to steal, kill and destroy human beings who may not realize that they are effectuating the dictates of the dark realm.

Christianity presents a powerful alternative ideological framework for influencing and shaping people’s wants and behavior. It sets up a potent, contrasting moral code that is inimical to the interests of the Satanic Kingdom. Further, it pierces through the propaganda of the dark realm to empower its adherents to resist evil programming that fosters sinfulness and wickedness, and leads people away from God.

Us ordinary people are for the most part unaware of the battle between the Kingdom of God and that of the Kingdom of darkness. We live every day without realizing how the conflicting agendas spill over into our mundane, ordinary existence and are shaping our choices, activities, and life events. We, by and large, take it for granted that our worlds are just the way things are, not recognizing that what we call reality is being shaped by beings and groups who are presenting to us what they want us to see. We are ignorant that there are other alternative realities which can be implemented and that our current constructs of reality are not inevitable. Most important and to our detriment, we do not comprehend the amount of power we also possess over our own malleable reality and we relinquish control to other entities who wield power over us.

We are often blissfully unaware that the events and occurrences which seem so detached, inexplicable, and meaningless have their origins in this epic conflict. For instance, some random stranger drinks to excess and runs into someone’s vehicle on our way to wherever. That random offender, unbeknown to us, is in the throes of an addiction to alcohol that was introduced to him or her through others who are bent on making money at all cost. This addict cannot help him or herself, but still needs to carry on his or her daily existence. This existence requires a trip to the supermarket. This unfortunate addict chooses to drive him/herself and winds up killing another random stranger. Sin’s consequences have played out on many levels in both random strangers’ lives with deadly consequences right before our eyes.  The Satanic objective to use others to introduce that random stranger to addictive substances which eventually steals his or her self-control leads to that individual destroying an unknown innocent victim. To our minds, this happens so frequently that we accept it with the stoic understanding that this is just one of life’s tragedies. Meanwhile, if we had enough information to analyze the chain of events in their entirety, we could trace their origins back to the conflict raging in the unseen realms. We might even find out that the Satanic agenda was to destroy both the addicted perpetrator and the victim of the accident.

Christianity is dangerous to the powerful on many levels. It conflicts with the satanic designs against humanity. It challenges those who wield power to do right and carry out God’s will. It empowers the individual to resist the machinations of the dark realm and those who would promote dark agendas. It enables us to withstand the wiles of the enemy which are packaged in enticing paradigms and ideologies.  It empowers and liberates those over whom power is being exercised by granting them access to alternative power sources from God’s unlimited divine reservoir.

Finally, its danger also lies in the fact that it is guided by God’s inexorable, invincible will. This means that any design that emerges in opposition is surely doomed to destruction and failure. Translated simply, all the machinations and cunning devices which humans or Satan can devise are doomed to fail. God consistently reminds His children of this fact as He inserts hope in the lives of those who submit to Him. This constant reminder also empowers those who work in this kingdom to resist the Devil and his proxies, regardless of where they manifest.

Learn more about God’s personhood, nature and power in:

Sproul, Wendy “March to Maturity: Grounded and Built (2017) Create Space. USA.

Learn More about Steven Lukes three faces of power from:

http://changingminds.org/explanations/power/three_faces.htm

And:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Lukes#The_three_dimensions_of_power

“Wendy, do you ever cry?”

I shook my head, “no”.

“Learn to cry, it’s cathartic. It’ll relieve your stress” he recommended

Ever since then I cry when I am sad or just overcome with the issues and challenges of merely living. I go to my praying place, sit before my Lord and weep. If I can articulate the things which press me down I tell Him as bluntly and as unpolished as I feel. When My crying is over, I wash away my tears, pull myself together and get back out into the fray.

People around me have been known to comment that they never see me down or depressed, not like others. Of course, I get depressed and sad I tell them. What they do not know is that I have learned to cry as per my doctor’s advice so many years ago.

What I can tell my friends now is that when I cry, inevitably my thoughts wander to settle on two things. Firstly, I imagine how others who are encountering the same challenges must feel and how difficult the human conditions can be. This reminds me that I am not alone and that others encounter the same hardships to. Somehow that lessens the feeling of aloneness and places me as part of a whole company who share similar pain and distress. When I feel most frustrated and facetious, I remind God that He knows, through His son Jesus what it is like to be human. I bring to the fore those troubles and afflictions we constantly face and how frail and helpless we feel when we encounter them. I petition for relief if that is in His will. I almost always use the reference from Hebrews 4:15 to bolster my argument.

“For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” (Heb 4:15 AV)

Secondly, while I am going through this mental exercise, my mind inevitably strays to the things I can be thankful for. I begin to enumerate them, starting with the most immediate and my most favorite blessing: life, food, family, sanity; good health and the list goes on. For some reason this exercise constantly kicks in when I begin to ruminate about the things that make me sad. Perhaps this occurs because I frequently recall the words of a hymn we used to sing in devotions when I was a little girl:

“When upon life’s billows you are tempests tossed,

And you are discouraged thinking all is lost.

Count your blessings Name them one by one,

and it will surprise you what the Lord has done.

Chorus:

Count your blessings, name them one by one,

Count your blessings see what God has done,

Count your blessings, name them one by one

and it will surprise you what the Lord has done.”

Then again, maybe it is because I have taught my kids and practiced the habit of giving thanks for at least one thing every night before we go to bed. If we can’t find at least one thing for which to thank God, I remind them that there is at least one thing about a bad day; it will end, and we don’t have to end with it. It nearly always cheers them up after they have faced their bad days.

Whatever the reason, this reaction is inevitably triggered and by the time I am finished the tears dry up and glimmers of hope and optimism restore my emotional balance.

So now the secret is out. I am tough as nails and ferocious in life’s battles for all those who know me. But that’s because I cry when I need to.

Reference

Oatman, Johnson (1897) “Count Your Blessings”. Story behind the Song Count Your Blessing. Published 2014.

http://www.staugustine.com/living/religion/2014-11-20/story-behind-song-count-your-blessings

VisitedOctober 8, 2018

Since its birth around two millennia ago, there has always been a notion that seem to encourage separation in Christianity. This tendency is based on some verses in the

Bible that, in some instances, seem to encourage people to be “separate” and not to love the things of this world. According to some of these verses:

“Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,” (2Co 6:17 AV)

And:

“Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” (Jas 4:4 AV)

For the first three centuries in its fledgling existence, Christianity struggled to survive as a kind of fringe religion that was often forced underground. It was not until about the third century AD that Christianity was adopted by the Roman Emperor Constantine. As part of his conversion, he merged Christianity with the Roman state and decreed it the official religion of the Roman empire. Since then, organized Christianity’s fortunes were closely allied with those states which eventually emerged as “western” countries.

The Protestant reformation, led by Martin Luther around 500 years ago, gave rise to denominations which to some extent or other have shunned the union of Church and state.

in relatively recent modern history, the US constitution has been read to mean that there should be elimination of religion from public life. This interpretation ostensibly stemmed from the first amendment wording which dictated that,

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

Brilliant in its simplicity, this amendment (at face value) seemed to have set up a one-way relationship between the Congress and the American people who wanted to practice their religion. Congress was not to impede nor enact laws which hindered or restrict the religious expressions of the people. This one-way relationship meant that the Church and other religions could freely express their freedoms in every area of life, including politics and other institutions in the social sphere. It was the government which was restricted by this amendment, not the Church.

Since its crafting, this amendment was misinterpreted that there should be “separation of Church and state” where religion should be kept out of government, rather than that Congress should not interfere with, nor impede the religious freedoms of the American population. If read in the latter way, Churches would be able to carry out religious practices and the government was not empowered to prevent the church from engaging in religious expression. In reality, government action began to impede religious expression in government institutions such as schools and other federally funded programs.

This misconception was given further legs by Linden B. Johnson’s 1954 Amendment to the US tax code (to a bill in the 83rd Congress, H.R. 8300 which was enacted into law as the Internal Revenue Code of 1954) that included a provision prohibiting endorsement or opposition of political candidates by all 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations. Effectively, this was translated by many Church leaders as churches should not have a political opinion. This position was adopted out of fear that political expression would lead the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to exercise the power given to it to remove the Church’s tax-free status if the Church expressed a political opinion or supported any political organization.

This over 60 year provision effectively acted as a gag order on the church, as obviously good, law abiding churches strictly adhered to it. The net result is the church lost public ground as it remained silent on many social issues which affected not only their congregations but the people whom they would need to target for purposes of evangelism. More equipped and wealthier congregations tried to have their voices heard in court. They enjoyed some victories with some favorable court decisions that allowed them to claw back some religious freedoms that had been steadily eroding over the years.

Coupled with the cultural and behavior change caused by these kinds of government actions, the ordinary believer learned to further separate him or herself from public political discourse in order to preserve these fragile religious freedoms. This position was further exacerbated by the rise of some Christian sects which argue that Christians should not be involved in politics, using Jesus injunction to “give to Caesar what is due to Caesar and to God what is His” (Matt 22:21, Mark 12:17, Luke 20:25) as the justification for this separation. In essence, the church should not have anything to say about politics.

Many believers have erroneously interpreted these Scriptures to mean that we should disengage from public life as we become more and more focused on the things of heaven. While our focus should be more concerned with the Kingdom of God and its advancement, Jesus has taught both by word and example that we should influence our world for good.

“Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.” (Mt 5:13-14 AV)

And:

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:” (Mt 28:19 AV)

Jesus’ actions demonstrated His concern for the welfare of His fellow citizens as well. Not only did He perform miracles to ease their illnesses and diseases, but he engaged their everyday issues through doctrine, counsel and material provisions.  In the story of the feeding of the five thousand (Matt 14:13-21) Jesus carefully organized for his audience to be fed with the food available, thus demonstrating concern for their material welfare while he was teaching them the principles of God.

This was not a new development in God’s response to mankind. Throughout the Old Testament he constantly commented on the political and religious situations of the Israelites and their neighbors through the mouths of prophets. God recognized and showed us repeatedly in the Scriptures that people’s welfare is dependent on their relationship with God and righteousness. Those who spoke on His behalf constantly reminded the Children of Israel and their surrounding neighbors of the negative fates which would befall them if they made certain poor choices.

Mature believers should be very interested in and involved where possible in the politics of their community and country. On May 4, 2017, President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order attempting to negate the effects of the Johnson Amendment, noting that:

“It shall be the policy of the executive branch to vigorously enforce Federal law’s robust protections for religious freedom. The Founders envisioned a Nation in which religious voices and views were integral to a vibrant public square, and in which religious people and institutions were free to practice their faith without fear of discrimination or retaliation by the Federal Government. For that reason, the United States Constitution enshrines and protects the fundamental right to religious liberty as Americans’ first freedom. Federal law protects the freedom of Americans and their organizations to exercise religion and participate fully in civic life without undue interference by the Federal Government. The executive branch will honor and enforce those protections.”

Consequently, the order directed that:

“All executive departments and agencies (agencies) shall, to the greatest extent practicable and to the extent permitted by law, respect and protect the freedom of persons and organizations to engage in religious and political speech. In particular, the Secretary of the Treasury shall ensure, to the extent permitted by law, that the Department of the Treasury does not take any adverse action against any individual, house of worship, or other religious organization on the basis that such individual or organization speaks or has spoken about moral or political issues from a religious perspective, where speech of similar character has, consistent with law, not ordinarily been treated as participation or intervention in a political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) a candidate for public office by the Department of the Treasury. As used in this section, the term “adverse action” means the imposition of any tax or tax penalty; the delay or denial of tax-exempt status; the disallowance of tax deductions for contributions made to entities exempted from taxation under section 501(c)(3) of title 26, United States Code; or any other action that makes unavailable or denies any tax deduction, exemption, credit, or benefit.”

While critics of this directive argue that it does not repeal the provision of the Johnson amendment, this new thrust is seeking to lift the gag order on the Church and facilitate greater opportunities for believers’ involvement in America’s public life.

As matureChristians, we are not only expected to get beyond our self-imposed restrictions, but to actively engage politics and politicians in the public sphere. Not only can believers effect positive change, but we can follow the early traditions of our Christian heritage and influence strategies, actions and programs which alleviate the hardships and sufferings of our fellow citizens and also promote their best welfare.

We are to seek to carry out the will of God as mature believers. And surprise of surprises! The will of God is for us to be salt and light. God expects us to be involved in the issues which affect the daily life of our friends and neighbors as well as ourselves. Not only did Jesus give us this instruction, but the entire Bible is replete with the political history of the Israelites and other peoples with which they had to engage. Moreover, it is filled with political strategies and can provide the astute politician with brilliant strategies with which to win and keep on winning in political life. Not surprising, the New Testament scriptures tells us that God’s divine power has given us everything for life and godliness (2 Pet. 1:3). That same verse indicates that Christ has called us to glory and virtue. What better arena to display these attributes than in the public life of our communities and countries?

Learn More about Early Christianity’s evolution and development from Dr. Johnathan Phillips’ “Ancient Roads: From Christ to Constantine” at:

https://www.tpt.org/ancient-roads-from-christ-to-constantine/

Learn More about Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation from “a Man named Martin” at:

https://www.lhm.org/studies/studydetail.asp?id=27156

Learn more about the Johnson Amendment at:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnson_Amendment

Learn More about Presidential Executive Order Promoting Free Speech and Religious Liberty at:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/presidential-executive-order-promoting-free-speech-religious-liberty/

One of the most memorable quotes from “Enders Game” by the Science fiction writer Orson Scot Card states that

“In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him. I think it’s impossible to really understand somebody, what they want, what they believe, and not love them the way they love themselves. And then, in that very moment when I love them…. I destroy them.”

Put in Scot Card’s words, the idea seems a little strange at first, however, it is reminiscent of Jesus’ famous injunction for us to love our enemies.

“But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;” (Mt 5:44 AV)

And:

“But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,” (Lu 6:27 AV)

Jesus seems to have given us the impossible to do. We are to love our enemies and do good to those who seek to hurt us. Why would he give us this particular injunction? Simply put, Jesus understands the value of love and the danger of engaging hatred. This is especially important when we are confronting enemies whom we believe are bent on destroying us in all areas of our lives, especially in the current bitter political climate in which many of us find ourselves.

Orson Scot Card’s application of Jesus’ directive in the political sphere suggests that Love follows understanding. However, for the majority of the rest of us imperfect humans, love usually precedes understanding. If you love your enemy, you can get to know and understand him. When you understand him, you can then develop empathy, and it is then you can defeat him.

Nevertheless, Scot card’s argument is valuable because it establishes the relationship between understanding and loving others. This then equips us with the information we can use to defeat him or her. This is very true in political strategies.  Loving our political opponents means that we would pay attention to them, we would come to understand their viewpoints and their strategies and then learn to neutralize them, because we have come to know their weaknesses and strengths. We can use their strengths to our advantage and enhance their weaknesses in order to defeat them. We can make better judgment as to how best to respond to our enemies so as to mitigate their influences and possible harm which they can inflict on us. This, in fact, was how Ender was able to defeat the Hive Queen.

On the other hand, hatred is self-destructive. It shuts us off from our enemies. In the realm of the supercharged, hostile politics which characterizes today’s environment, the more animus we display to our political foes, the more we destroy our own causes. It has long been instinctively known that the animosity and bile we spew against our rivals speak more about us than the target of our odium. Those in our audience looking on come to their own conclusions about us and the ideas we are peddling as we seek to destroy our enemies and win verbal battles.

A frequent discussion my husband and I hold is this. If our neighbor stands at the top of our street and yells and screams at his or her opponent all day, every day, pretty soon the rest of us looking on will come to conclusions about that neighbor, not the target of his or her rancor. If the targeted neighbor resists being drawn into a two-way quarrel, we will all very rapidly come to despise the screaming neighbor. This holds true, even if the vocal neighbor had valid grievances, and the offender justly deserved the initial tirade.

So it is with hatred. It poisons the person who embraces it. It destroys his or her objectivity and fairness as it becomes all encompassing and devastating. Sure, we might be tempted to think that the target was all he or she was accused of, but after relentless attacks, pretty soon the attacker, and not the target becomes the problem to others. We might even begin to feel sympathy for the target of the hatred. The attacker will have lost his or her argument, and earned the rejection of the onlookers.

At more insidious moral levels, hatred eats at the soul of the individual who embraces it. This individual may shut out his opponent, fail to glean any useful information, and become vulnerable to the manipulations of his opponent. Hatred, like any other uncontrolled emotion, blinds the mind and results in stupid and irrational actions and reactions. It leads to self-destructive practices and more often than not damages the hater not the target.

When Jesus instructed us to love our enemies, He knew this very well. He knew that hatred would lead us to all kinds of negative words, thoughts, and actions. We would lose self-control and open ourselves up to demonic infestation and manipulation. Jesus also knew that Love, on the other hand, can help us to overcome those who would destroy us, while protecting us from the harmful consequences of our enemies’ actions. It can disarm them and win over our audience. Just as hatred can help us to lose our audience, love can encourage them to embrace our viewpoint as it increases our credibility and attractiveness. Our refusal to return evil for evil will enhance our reputation as worthy people and create interest in our strategies and counsels.

Though seeming impossible, Love of our enemies is very possible. The word “love” in the scripture references above is translated from the Greek word “agape”. This love is not a warm, fuzzy acceptance of another, but a more spiritual, godly seeking of the best welfare, or seeking the highest good for our enemies. Consider this for a moment. If we are seeking the best welfare of those who want to destroy us, perhaps understanding them and developing empathy for them might lead us to conclude that in order to put them out of their misery, we need to defeat them and render them harmless to themselves and others. Sometimes it may mean total annihilation. At other times it might require just getting out of their way and letting them be with whatever ills we think may be afflicting them. At other times, it might call for extending ourselves in an attempt to reach out to them in reconciliation. We will not know what is their best welfare unless we take the time out to love, understand and empathize with them.

Jesus left us no room for excuses to not love our enemies as we mature. After all, loving our enemies and doing good to them (if nothing else) will heap up coals of fire on their heads. This might satisfy those of us who still feel a tiny bit of need to be vengeful when all is said and done.

“Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.” (Ro 12:20 AV)

References

Card, Orson Scot, (1985) . Ender’s Game. New York. Torr Books.

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/97512-in-the-moment-when-i-truly-understand-my-enemy-understand

Learn more about love and Spiritual Maturity at

Sproul, Wendy. 2017.
March to Maturity: Grounded and Built.
CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
North Charleston, South Carolina.

Trump is undoubtedly a divisive figure (deliberately or inadvertently) in current American politics. We ordinary citizens just cannot seem to avoid him. He is the subject of most of our major news stories these days, and hardly a day goes by without some scandalized headline screaming something dire about the President’s tweets, speech or activity. So, how should believers respond to Trump in this super charged political environment?

If we refer back to the Bible we can keep cool heads while those for and against ardently press their points of view towards us in order to capture our support for their side of the argument. Even if we choose a side, we can still remain grounded so as not to be steamrolled by the very loud and adamant persuasion which seem to flood the airways in the competitive propaganda market place that is the American public sphere.

Regardless of the side we come down on, the Bible tells us that God is indeed in control of human affairs.

“This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.” (Da 4:17 AV)

Even when God allows us to choose our leaders, He still retains the final say so as to who and how much the King or leader we choose will be allowed to act. Consider the story of Saul and David and many of the stories of the Kings of Israel in the Bible. These demonstrate that no leader is left absolutely on his or her own to build or destroy at will, outside of God’s permission. This gives us the assurance that President Donald Trump (for Good or bad) cannot act out of God’s divine will, and will not be allowed to do more harm to America than God permits. This point should bring solace to those believers who have decided that he is America’s mistake.

The danger for those who oppose the president is that they will begin to repeat the hateful, derogatory and disrespectful position parading as journalism on our TV screens. This trap can be avoided by referring to Scriptures which advise God’s people not to revile their leaders, Exodus 22:28, those that instruct us to be respectful and mindful of those in authority over us in Romans 13:1-7, and also those in Jude1:8-10 which tells us not to be disrespectful, even when we disagree with them. Sure, we can criticize their actions and policies as the prophet’s declarations in Jeremiah show, and we can disagree strongly when our leaders promote wickedness, act in ungodly fashions, and seek to destroy rather than build up the welfare of the people who elected them.

Those who are convinced that Donald Trump is God’s great plan for America run the very great risk of also being swept up in the emotional and very powerful wave of adoration which is the reaction to the excessive hatred being pushed towards the president from those who oppose him. They can fall into the trap of subtly displacing God’s place as they succumb to the overwhelming thrust toward hero worship. The Psalms warns us not to put our trust in Princes (Ps. 146:3-6) and we have the story of Herod (Acts 12:21-23) to warn us against elevating anyone to the place of God in our minds or worldview.

Using the signposts of Scriptures, mature believers should

• adopt a measured approach to the current President of the United States. We are to avoid the pitfalls of hatred and animosity being pushed by the left as well as the reactionary wave of excessive adoration being promoted on the right.
• We are to provide the president with a source of guidance and wisdom if he requires it of us. As the example in the book of Daniel Shows, the King sometimes will require divine wisdom to inform his or her policies. Not only did Daniel oblige, but Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego stood out for their wisdom and courage when these were demanded of them
• We are to be prepared to scold him if necessary when he strays from the path that benefits the American people. Despite our personal opinion of the President, believers may be asked by God to alert him to possible errors when choices are made which do not line up with Gods view of what is appropriate or good. Nathan, Jeremiah, Isiah and many other old Testament prophets had the unenviable task of admonishing the leaders of their day.
• We are to pray for the President and the leaders of the Government, 1 Timothy 2:1-3. If we adopt the left’s position, we are to resist the temptation to pray for evil to befall him, recognizing that Jesus instructed us to pray for those who ill treat us, or are our enemies in Matthew 5:44. Furthermore, we must understand that biblical principles show from the stories in the books of Kings and Chronicles that the leader’s actions can greatly impede or help the people whom he or she leads to progress or regress. Therefore, we must join with those who support him to pray that God’s will may be done in America through the president. We must pray with those who support him for God to use him to positively affect our lives and the rest of the people around the globe. Strength, wisdom, integrity, and courage are essential characteristics necessary for a leader to lead a nation rightly. We must pray for god to instill these characteristics in the president and leaders of the various organs of government.

Given these functions which believers may be called on to perform, it behoves us not to descend into hatred peddling nor mindless support for our President. We are to remain cognizant of our role as God’s channel to present him with good choices for himself and the American people. We cannot do this if we are spewing rabid hatred, nor can we be effective if we mindlessly follow where he leads. Instead, we can gain the president’s trust as well as those around us by being fair, courteous, honest and well informed when we speak to or about him publicly and privately. In short, as mature believers –we are to be the voice of faith and reason in this super charged, volatile political environment.