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Getting To Know You

If I knew you and you knew me,
and each of us could clearly see
by the inner light divine
the meaning of your heart and mine;
I’m sure that we would differ less
and clap our hands in friendliness.
If you knew me and I knew you.
Howard Thurman

 

Understanding the complexity of human beings takes time, effort, and imagination. One must ‘fool around’ the edges of another’s life getting closer and closer to the central place. There must be a will to understand which informs the integrity of one’s desire to understand. 2022 can be a year we step out and lead the critical conversations that will heal our nation.
The Bible teaches us in Ephesians and Colossians how to accomplish this, “Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up the one in need and bringing grace to those who listen.” And that, “Your speech must always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.”
The Foundation for Critical Thinking offers, “much of our thinking left to itself, is biased, distorted, partial, uninformed or down-right prejudiced. Yet the quality of the life we produce, make, or build depends precisely on the quality of our thoughts. Shoddy thinking is costly to our spiritual witness. Excellence in thought, however, must be systematically cultivated.”
We naturally think from our own perspective, from a point of view which tends to privilege our position. Fairness implies the treating of all relevant viewpoints alike without reference to one’s own feelings or interest. Because we tend to be biased in favor of our own viewpoint, it is important to keep the standard of fairness at the forefront of our thinking. This is especially important when the situation may call on us to see things we don’t want to see or give something up that we want to hold onto.
Most people do not understand the degree to which they have uncritically internalized the dominant prejudice of their society or culture. Sociologist and anthropologists identify this as the state of being “cultural bound.” This phenomenon is caused by sociocentric thinking, which includes:

  • The uncritical tendency to place one’s culture, nation, religion above all others,

 

  • The uncritical tendency to select self-serving positive descriptions of ourselves and negative descriptions of those who think differently from us,

 

  • The uncritical tendency to internalize group norms and beliefs, take on group identities, and act as we are expected to act—without the least sense that what we are doing might reasonably be questioned,

 

  • The tendency to blindly conform to group restrictions (many which are arbitrary or coercive),

 

  • The failure to think beyond the traditional prejudices of one’s culture,

 

  • The failure to study and internalize the insights of other cultures (improving thereby the breath and depth of one’s thinking),

 

  • The failure to realize that mass media in every culture shapes the news from the point of view of that culture,

Sociocentric thinking is a hallmark of an uncritical society. It can be diminished only when replaced by cross-cultural, fair-minded thinking.
Let’s move into 2022 with a new mind, the mind of Christ. It means we share Jesus’ perspective of humility and obedience (Philippians 2:5-8), compassion (Matthew 9:36), and prayerful dependence on God (Luke 5:16). The believer bears a responsibility to yield to the Spirit’s leading (Ephesians 4:30) and to allow the Spirit to transform and renew our mind (Romans 12:1-2).
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

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Victimhood

Politics, COVID, or democracy all lead to narcissism and feelings of victimhood. Even well-off people fall prey to this disease. We want to believe things are not our fault and the other is the cause of us losing something. Every age has a notion of this being the worst time ever.

The reality is that we are all susceptible to greed, rich and poor alike. Greed arises from man’s fallen nature. But greed is not just financial. This fallen nature impels man to satisfy his desires with the least possible expenditure of effort, which often requires his satisfaction at the expense of others.

Biblical commentator John Ritenbaugh describes greed as a “ruthless self-seeking and an arrogant assumption that others and things exist for one’s own benefit. An accursed love of having, which will pursue its own interests with complete disregard for the rights of others, and even for the considerations of common humanity.”

Author Tom Nichols offers a counterintuitive description, “we are losing because we won. We are suffering because we are successful. We are unhappy because we have what we want.“

The Bible defines it as self-interest at the expense of others and provides us several examples: Satan was expelled from Heaven for wanting to be God. Adam and Eve wanted the knowledge of God. And Cain wanted the love Abel received.

In Romans 1:18b, we see that we are very capable of suppressing what we know to be true:

“Men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.”

All this led to Jesus coming to demonstrate how to put others first and simply “love God and love your neighbor as yourself.”

Some say the Bible does not condemn the pursuit of self-interest. They point to Scriptures like Philippians 2:4, “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” And Matt 6:20, “But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven . . .”

“There is a place for legitimate self-interest, to which the bible periodically appeals, only it must be balanced by a compassionate concern for the interest of others.”

Sadly, many of us in the Christian community have missed the point. We establish rapport exclusively to satisfy our emotional and material needs. We commoditize relationships to further our careers, families, bank accounts, and material possessions and essentially build mutually exclusive affiliations. We use those affiliations to limit who we engage.

American Christians
portraying Christianity
as self-centered individualism
must explain how this integrates with
God’s commandment to love your neighbor.

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Almost There, But Not Quite Yet – Part 2

In a culture filled with chaos and confusion, faithful and committed Christian communication is needed more than ever. Disruption is the new normal and the Church is called to lead on demonstrating to a watching world “unity in Christ.”

 

Unfortunately, politics, racism, and religion have replaced the Word of God in guiding some people’s beliefs, habits, attitudes, and actions. Thoughts, feelings and emotions that are believed to be at odds with ones integrity can cause people to lash out at others. Even if that integrity has been built on a false narrative. But even though “the flowers fade, and the grass will wither, the Word of God lasts forever.”

 

Most of us remain trapped in the narrow framework of the dominant liberal and conservative views of race in America, which with its worn-out vocabulary leaves us intellectually debilitated, morally disempowered, and personally depressed.

 

The Barna Group validated what we presented in Part 1. Their research uncovered, what every person of color already knew – “Church’s efforts toward unity in recent decades seem to be insufficient in helping to understand or rectify the challenges experienced by worshippers of color, especially Black individuals, for whom issues of race in the U.S. are front and center.”

 

“Our truncated public discussions of race fail to confront the complexity of the issue candidly and critically. The predictable pitting of liberals against conservatives, Great Society Democrats against self-help Republicans, reinforces intellectual parochialism and political paralysis.

 

We confine discussion about race in America to the ‘problems’ Black people pose Whites rather than consider what this way of viewing Black people reveals about us as a nation.

 

This paralyzing framework encourages liberals to relieve their guilty consciences by supporting public funds directed at ‘the problems’; but at the same time, reluctant to exercise principled criticism of Black people, liberals deny them the freedom to err. Similarly, conservatives blame the ‘problems’ on Black people themselves and thereby render Black society misery invisible or unworthy of public attention.

 

Hence, for liberals, Black people are to be ‘included’ and ‘integrated’ into ‘our’ society and culture, while for conservatives, they are to be ‘well behaved’ and ‘worthy of acceptance’ by ‘our’ way of life. Both fail to see that the presence and predicaments of Black people are neither additions to nor defections from American life, but rather constitutive elements of that life.” This description provided by Princeton Professor Cornell West highlights the need for a new conversation. A non-political and biblical conversation that emphasizes that we must always prefer people over any pleasures that might bring us joy.
These conversations must be grounded in equity. Not equity from the Republican perspective of identity politics or the Democratic perspective of diversity, but from the Kingdom party perspective of the Imago Dei. The Bible teaches about the value of work and the value of equal opportunity. The most productive and progressive society is one in which every member has full and unencumbered access.

 

Equity is not a program or initiative; it is a belief, a habit of mind. As I have stated many times: What you believe about someone determines how you label them. Those labels dictate how you (and others) choose to engage or disengage with them. Achieving true equity must be a moral imperative, and it serves as a central and essential component of any attempt to achieve the unity Jesus speaks of in the Bible.

 

Equity is not a guarantee that everyone will succeed. Instead, it assures that everyone will have the opportunity and support necessary to succeed. In an equitable system, the barriers that inhibit progress are removed.

 

From the balcony, solutions exist, and we are almost there, but not yet.
As believers, we are actively taking part in the kingdom of God, although the kingdom will not reach its full expression until sometime in the future. Jesus’ parables of the kingdom picture it as yeast in dough. In other words, the kingdom is slowly working toward ultimate fulfillment. It is not sporadically “breaking through” to bring us comfort in this world. Therefore, our efforts will need to be continuous and not a point-in-time solution.

 

It starts with forming or enhancing relationships with outgroup members; not pushing away from them.

 

“Forming relationships with outgroup members can have
myriad individual benefits, helping individuals widen their social circles, feel less stress and anxiety in intergroup contexts, and reduce their prejudices. But to benefit from the consequences of outgroup relationships, individuals must first build them.”

 

The believer is in a lifelong struggle with the flesh (Romans 8:13). Likewise, the church is a fellowship of persons who are both new creatures in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) and still imperfect sinners. As we await our glorification and the destruction of our sinful natures, we must continue our process of sanctification, the daily process of growing into the very image of Christ. We accomplish this by “exercise yourself to godliness” (1Tim 4:7) – demonstrating love one to another, activating the fruits of the spirit, engaging in conversations and actions to unify, and being God’s witness here on earth for the world to see a better way. In effect, you’re saying to Him, Father, don’t let me waste this difficult time the country faces. Use it for my long-term benefit and to enhance Your glory through my life.

 

In the meantime, stay prayerful, God is up to something. We’re almost there, but not quite yet . . .
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A Surrendered Soul – Part 3

In Part 1, we defined Critical Race Theory (CRT), a secular academic theory, which is used to refute people of color’s experiences within many Evangelical Churches.

 

In Part 2, we went to the balcony to review the tenents of fellowship within a faith community which is the locus for change and transformation in society.

 

Today, in Part 3, we put the eight preached CRT assumptions to the Universalism of the Gospel test.

 

As a reminder, God created and gave humankind the gift of free will — the gift of choice.
Our beliefs determine how we label people and situations. Labels most always are the opposite of reality, serve to cement certain beliefs and dictate how we (and our community) choose to engage or disengage with people. The result obscures and distracts from a serious critique about the division currently splitting American society.

 

Theology sets in the mind of people a particular psychological view of life. In other words, how you see God determines how you see people. In Matthew 12:34, Jesus teaches, what we say is a reflection of what’s inside us.
As we discuss each assumption, we will step back to see how the Bible views these assumptions.

 

Assumption 1 – CRT is at the center of addressing this culture’s racial issues in the church. 
The central problem is the Imago Dei. Seeing people as God sees them. Not respecting a person’s values, selfhood, ideas, experience, and expertise. Then, challenging or dismissing their lived experiences within your faith community. True inclusion requires that you truly see a person and respect them enough to make room for all the good they have to give.

 

Assumption 2 – People of color are the poor, widow, foreigner, deaf, marginalized, and blind spoken of in the Bible, and we do acts of service for them. 
This assumption automatically sets up a class-based “us” versus “them” mindset of superiority. The categories mentioned are not limited to People of Color. Many believe prosperity is a sign of favor from God. But in the Bible, wealth is no indication of God’s favor. Neither is poverty an indication of God’s punishment. “God makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:45).

 

Assumption 3 – The Love taught in the Bible is demonstrated by small “acts of service” (McDonald’s gift certificates, mission trip overseas, feed the hungry, etc.)  
In this view, Christian love is primarily a charitable condescension. Love given without personal self-sacrifice and Christ-centered otherness is antithetical to Scripture. Sacrificial love is what we celebrated on Good Friday in Jesus’s death on the cross; emphasizing both the degree and manner in which God expressed the greatness of love.

 

Assumption 4 – Opportunity exists for everyone who wants it. People of color are not taking full advantage and are trying to take what we have.
This scarcity mentality assumes life is a zero-sum game and focuses on materialistic stuff rather than on relationships. People don’t want your stuff; they want the opportunity to provide for their families. Access to capital, opportunities, jobs, contracts, promotions, etc., tend to go to those one feels “remind them of themself.” Those decisions have always produced skewed outcomes. But God instructs us “treat the stranger as a native among you. . .” (Lev. 19:33-34)

 

 

Assumption 5 – If you doubt or disagree with what a Person of Color says, your racist.
Both sides suffer from misperceptions about motives. Feelings of defensiveness are common responses, but ultimately, they’re counterproductive. Different lived experiences led to very different understandings of life.

 

One side thinks you shouldn’t be tagged as racist unless you subscribe to racial supremacist doctrine and are part of some conspiracy to keep people of color down; otherwise, it is making a virtue of victimhood. The other side, who feel if you disregard, dismiss, or demean their experience, you are engaging in amoral, narcissistic manipulative display of racist attitudes.

 

The more we spend time with each other in spaces we normally don’t (backyard barbeque, Church small groups, home gatherings), the better we can see none of us is a monolith, and we likely have more compassion, and in common, than we thought. Engage, as Jesus did, in the practice of presence.

 

Assumption 6 – I’m really sick of Cancel Culture, they want to rewrite our history as if something is wrong with it.
The label “Cancel Culture” serves mostly to gesture away from what actually happened in a given scenario. Usually, a normal, benign or unexceptional event that did not break in favor of conservative interests and toward a generalized sense of what is viewed as a right-wing grievance. Canceling has spread as a term and phenomenon in the public consciousness mostly about issues of discrimination and racism. This argument is akin to declaring an epidemic of people having opinions.

 

When you love like Christ does, you release your fears of others in the congregation instead of doing what is being complained about, canceling them. One could say that Saul sought to “cancel” David when he called upon his son and servants to kill his perceived rival (1 Samuel 19:1).

 

Holding someone accountable for how they are treated in their house of worship isn’t cancel culture. There are too many people who haven’t acknowledged mistakes, reconciled for them, nor have they gone on to make amends. They are using the label “cancel culture” to shield them from accountability.

 

Assumption 7 – We rebut the notion that White privilege augments our lives. Perhaps you are being lifted by a race-based privilege but surely it is not I. 
The two-word term packs a double whammy that inspires pushback. 1) The word white creates discomfort among those who are not used to being defined by race. And 2) the word privilege sounds like a word that doesn’t belong to those who have struggled. White privilege is not the suggestion that people have never struggled, or everything accomplished is unearned.

 

The best metaphoric description I have heard is that “privilege feels like people of color are trying to cut ahead in line, meaning America is now trying to cater to others before you. The line-cutting angers you, although you never question why you should occupy the first position. That implicit assumption — I should be tended to before all others encapsulate how privilege is viewed as natural, invisible, and a whites-on-top racial hierarchy.”

 

Assumption 8 – Juxtaposing Biblical Justice to Social Justice, Systemic Racism and being Oppressed. 
Biblical references to the word “justice” mean “to make right.” Justice is, first and foremost, a relational term — people living in right relationship with God, one another, and the natural creation. Biblical Justice means loving our neighbor as we love ourselves and is rooted in God’s character and nature.

 

Biblical Justice is a penetrating analysis of using power unjustly to affect the human condition and stems from social, individual, environmental, and spiritual causes. The fear leading to the parsing of the experiential definitions is that if authority and power are given up, People of Color will use the power in the same ways as has been used on them. But the congregants of color understand an eye for an eye leaves everyone blind.

 

Biblical Justice is based on the character of God and gives us a model for changing how power is used in this world. As Christians, the building blocks of social justice lie in human dignity, human flourishing, and the sacredness of life. The source of justice is God’s perfect righteousness and radical love for all.

 

One writer explains the misrepresentations this way, “Just as I may consider myself a patriot, yet disagree with aspects of the Patriot Act, in the same respect we should be able to have objective conversations about specific policies or behaviors without chastising those raising concerns as though they broadly do not think lives of Black people matter.”

 

“God values perseverance in community more than visible success;
and faithfulness in calling more than felt comfort in community.”

 

If your instinct is telling you, it’s more comfortable to retreat or reassure yourself that you are correct, think instead, what actions can I take to surrender to God’s perspective instead of my own?

 

From the balcony, the solution, while challenging, can be accomplished. Jesus engaged in dialogue with people, others felt he shouldn’t, to demonstrate love. Think about what your Christian example of love might do to heal some of the fissures in America. We want to love God, live like Him, and demonstrate Him to a watching world.

 

In this case, we will work to arrive at solutions built on biblical virtues of contentment (Philippians 4:11–12), unity (John 17:21), and humility(Colossians 3:12).
Solutions that demonstrate a surrendered soul to the Will of God.
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Is This An Aberration or Manifestation?

“A leader is a person who must take special responsibility
for what’s going on inside him or herself,
inside his or her consciousness,
lest the act of leadership create more harm than good.”  
– Parker Palmer

 

The insurrection attempt on January 6, 2021, demonstrates how a leader’s strongholds can affect other people’s beliefs, attitudes, and actions. It’s been compared to Kristallnacht, the 1938 assault by Nazis in Germany. Many say, “This doesn’t represent who we are” or “This is not who America is.” It may not be who we want to be or desire to be. Still, these thoughts ignore the patterns of behavior that define the long history of this country. I am not engaging in political conversation but addressing the strongholds of self-interest, superiority, self-absorption, and sense of entitlement that led to more harm than good. The unwillingness to recognize another’s meritorious worth or hard-earned success indicates how often we think with our beliefs rather than about them. In this, we lose our truth and ignore Biblical principles.

 

I am not referring to Ted Cruz, who, seeking to raise his notoriety, challenged election results and even voted to reject the Electoral College certification hours after the riot. I’m not referring to Giuliani, who said, “let’s have trial by combat.” I’m not referring to Eric Trump, who said, “this is the party of Donald Trump, and we’re coming for you.” Nor am I referring to Ivanka Trump who called the rioters patriots. I’m not even referring to the President who incited violence through weeks of the rhetoric of a stolen election. Then encouraged supporters to “Be there, it will be wild!” and at the rally shortly before the would-be rioters descended on the capital said, “we’re going to walk down to the capital, fight like hell and take back our country.” Afterwards he said his speech was “totally appropriate.” And even on Monday suggested that “danger could follow the Democrats’ decision to impeach him a second time.”

 

I am referring to Christians who were used to take full advantage of Christianity, the brand. Those who explicitly or implicitly endorsed – character, integrity and divisiveness don’t matter as much as policies that support self-interest. In Parker’s words, those who demonstrated that they had not taken special responsibility for what was going on inside them and how it could create more harm than good. Religious leaders used pulpits to create and justify a movement, a belief system about the “other”, and a responsibility to take action against perceived lost freedoms. Christians in Congress through their rhetoric normalized political violence. An investigation is underway looking at “potential members of Congress” who gave tours to rioters prior to the insurrection. It’s no wonder so many of those rioters at the Capitol openly stated they were Christians. Some carried “Jesus saves” signs, some carried crosses, others said it was their God-given duty to do this for the President and the country. Faith leaders have to be accountable for what’s done for present gain without regard for future costs or consequences. The Gospel requires it.

 

What is behind this undying support that sacrifices the gospel for the partisan politics of someone that doesn’t even respect them? Support that leads to beating police with a blue lives matter flag. To post on Twitter that everyone in the Capitol “is a treasonous traitor” and that “death is the only remedy for what’s in that building.” To defecate inside the Capital building and track their feces in several hallways. That using violence as a means of achieving their desires is ok. The theologian Wayne Grudem speaking on behalf of religious leaders, summarized conservative Christian support as, “Conclusions drawn by a hostile interpreter of words that a sympathetic listener would understand in a positive way. I’m not sure [the President] ever intentionally affirmed something he knows to be false, which is how I define a lie.” Many conservative Christian leaders tell their congregation the president is “God’s chosen one” which carries a different connotation than “chosen by God.” Yet McKay Coppins wrote, “Former aides told me they’ve heard Trump ridicule conservative religious leaders, dismiss various faith groups with cartoonish stereotypes, and deride certain rites and doctrines held sacred. Trump speaking about a group of religious leaders who came to pray over him, told aides: Can you believe that bullshit?” Self-interest is a stronghold that can blind leaders causing them to overlook bad behavior and personal ridicule to advance their beliefs and cause.

 

In 2 Timothy 3:2 – 4, we are provided a list of attributes that characterize the leaders of dangerous seasons. Leaders whose outward appearance or form of Christianity and virtue makes them all the more dangerous. Let’s assure we are not those of whom scripture speaks. We can do better; we can be better. We are the representatives of Christ, and our witness carries significant influence. Be it positive or negative.

 

I am not here to curse the darkness. I am here to light a candle.

 

Insurrectionist carried stun guns, batons, knives, bulletproof vests, nooses, and pepper spray as they searched out members of congress. A retired Air Force officer carried zip ties, A retired firefighter threw a fire extinguisher at officers. Nooses, unambiguous symbols of mob mentality and racial terror, were strung up on the Capitol grounds to remind everyone exactly what the rioters stood for, who they stood against, and what their intent was.

 

This scene was eerily similar to Wilmington, North Carolina, in 1898. America’s first and only successful coup d’etat. Erin E. Evans recaps in a HuffPost article: “During the Reconstruction era, biracial governments came to power in cities across the South. Southern Democrats often retaliated against this new power structure. On Nov. 10, 1898, a mob of white men marched on City Hall in Wilmington with their pistols and rifles to overthrow the local government and remove black political leaders from their posts. They were successful. White supremacists took over. The mob destroyed Black-owned businesses, including the town’s Black newspaper. Dozens of Black residents ended up dead.” There was a belief that Black votes were inherently illegitimate. That was the basis of electoral fraud claims back then, and it is effectively the same claim that’s being made now.

 

History reports that from his pulpit at First Presbyterian Church, The Rev. Peyton Hoge triumphantly defended the 1898 racial violence. “Since we last met in these walls, we have taken a city. . . It has been redeemed for civilization, redeemed for law and redeemed for decency and respectability. . . For these things, let us give God the glory.” Several other white Wilmington pastors also lent their voices to uphold the violent acts.

 

To understand why churches were involved in the 1898 Race Riot, it helps to know that the biblical justification of slavery and segregation hailed from many Protestant churches’ pulpits in the South in the 1800s. Pastors in the South were preaching sermons saying that slavery was indeed God’s plan for the universe. Many of the pastors misinterpreted the Pauline view in Ephesians 6:5 that “slaves, obey your earthly master with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.” They argued that slavery was not condemned in the scriptures. And used stories from the Bible to buttress their argument, such as the story in Genesis about the Hamite curse. Noah cursed his son, Ham, after the son saw his father lying naked in his tent. They preached that the descendants of Ham were Africans and should be the servants of the white race.

 

For the pastors in Wilmington during 1898, the author added, “the surprising thing would have been if they had actually stood up and said, ‘Hey this is wrong.’ That would have been shocking and unexpected. For them to have done as they did was par for the course because their beliefs agreed with the white supremacist society.” Unfortunately, history is repeating itself and the explicit or implicit acts of faith leader are creating more harm than good.

 

When we strays from the radical love of Jesus into hateful partisan faith, we see the worst. The way to a more perfect union, to a nation where equality before the law and before God is more universal, is the way of Jesus. People of faith are called again and again and again to return to the foot of the cross. It’s a terrifying place to stand. But that is where the story Christians profess begins. It is a story about love, not loathing; generosity, not greed. In our time, the will for power has all too often overwhelmed the Words of Jesus.

 

SOURCE: Star News Online, 1898 riots still resonate with Wilmington’s black churches, Amanda Greene, Nov 6, 2008. The Atlantic, The Lost History of an American Coup D’État, Adrienne Lafrance and Vann R. Newkirk II, August 2017. NYT, Jon Meacham is the author of “The Hope of Glory: Reflections on the Last Words of Jesus from the Cross. Baptistnews.com, Faith leaders make a case for Trump to the delight of some and dismay of others, Mark Wingfield, October 2020.

 

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Writing Our History In The Present

They Called For Change

 

Black thinkers and activists, from the poorest of the poor to those with great power and means, have been critical in challenging America to do the right thing.

 

Their voices mattered. Their words — some reflected here — express deep outrage and suffering but also tremendous love and hope for their community and their country. Some of their calls for justice have been answered through legislation or litigation; other demands remain painfully timely. Together, they offer a powerful opportunity to honor the past while working together to create a better, more just future for all.

 

 

SOURCE: From Harriet Tubman to John Lewis, they called for change by Kim Gallon (research) and Tre’ Seals (portraits), AARP, October 7, 2020
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A Time For Humility

 

Ezekiel 28-29

 

Holiness and humility are inextricably linked. Jesus showed us that at the heart of holiness is humility. On the other hand, pride is at the root of all sin. It was pride that led to Satan’s downfall. According to the biblical world-view, behind the evil in the world there lies the devil. The Greek word for devil, diabolos, translates the Hebrew word satan. We are not told very much about the origins of Satan in the Bible. But this passage is one of the few that might give some hint of the origin of Satan.

 

Although the original context is the fall of the King of Tyre, it seems that Satan, the ruler of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4), was behind the ruler of Tyre.
Read alongside Isaiah 14:12–23 and Revelation 12, it appears that both humans and Satan were created good: ‘You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God’ (Ezekiel 28:12–13).

 

It appears that Satan was an angel: ‘You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God’ (v.14). Satan had access to the throne of grace and to the presence of the Lord. He was blameless in his ways (v.15). Instead of worshipping God on the mountain of God ‘his heart became proud, going around saying, “I’m a god. I sit on God’s divine throne, ruling the sea”’ (v.2, MSG). He was ‘trying to be a god’ (v.3, MSG). ‘By your great skill in trading you have increased your wealth, and because of your wealth your heart has grown proud’ (v.5). Just as great skills and wealth can lead to pride, so can good looks: ‘Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendour’ (v.17).

 

 

This is a description of self-worship, which happens when we put our success down to our own wisdom, skill and abilities (v.4), without realising that these things come from God and that we should worship him alone. Instead of worshipping the Sovereign Lord, the temptation is to worship success, wealth and beauty – the gods of our culture – they are ‘god-pretentions’ (v.7, MSG).

 

God brings down the proud and exalts the humble. As a result of his pride and sin, Satan was expelled from the presence of God: ‘you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you’ (v.16), ‘So I threw you to the earth’ (v.17; see Isaiah 14:12; Luke 10:18). Satan’s final destruction is assured (Ezekiel 28:18b–19). Jesus defeated Satan by his death and resurrection.

 

The attitude of Jesus is the complete opposite to that of Satan. He took the opposite path: ‘Who, being in very nature God… made himself nothing… he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father’ (Philippians 2:6–11).

 

Worship Jesus today. As you draw close to him throughout your lifetime you will experience these benefits – happiness, holiness and humility.

 

Lord Jesus, today I bow my knee to worship you and confess that you are Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

 

Reprinted with permission, bibleinoneyear.org
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The Toxic Source Of Inconsistency

Dr. I. David Byrd

 

An expected result of teaching God’s Word is demonstrating, distinguishing, and defending what we teach. In other words, live what we teach and teach what we live. 1 Corinthians 11:1 says, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” The great commission’s high calling is for believers to serve as a Godly example by living out our walk with God.

 

As the world “waxes worse and worse”, we must ponder – is our witness is losing its impact. If people listen more to what we do than what we say, the central question becomes, what are we doing that is driving the world away from the Church? Research shows people are leaving the Church in record numbers. What are they saying to us. Could they be telling us that they are not interested in being a part of what they see from the Church? What attitudes, beliefs, assumptions, or patterns of behavior are we projecting that have become our strongholds and turns people away? Once separated, the enemy has the opportunity to plant all kinds of false truths in their minds.

 

Some believe coercive force is to be used to restrain other people’s activities. Jesus demonstrated that proximity and the Word’s power are more than enough to change humankind’s hearts. Three examples of this:

 

In John 4:4-26, Jesus brought the Samaritan woman at the well to repentance using the Word and demonstrating to those ready to stone her that they too were sinners in need of grace.

 

In Mark 7:24-30, when the Syrophoenician came to speak to Jesus, the disciples dismissed her, labeled her, and advised Jesus to send her away. Yet, Jesus took the time to talk with her. And because of her faith, her daughter was healed.

 

In Luke 24, Jesus responded on the road to Emmaus by using scripture – “beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.” The Bible says they responded, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

 

The Word is enough to transform hearts and minds on its own. It doesn’t need our coercion, legislation, force, dominance, or judgment to help it. The only help it needs from us is to tell people about it and let them see us living it. Besides, we can’t put anyone in heaven or hell anyway. Only God can provide saving grace. When we come to this knowledge and understanding, our personnel theology will be an example of Christ to this wayward world.

 

I still believe the Church can be the example of Christ.

 

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The Contours of Culture

Dr. I. David Byrd

 

After watching the Democratic and Republican convention’s over the last 2 weeks, it is clear that America is in a cold, political civil war. She has commodified hate for political gain, and now attack people, not problems. Some want to turn hate into an asset. Both sides are impermeable to each other and have their own set of facts and realities. This existential crisis across America is baked, and neither is listening to each other. Each paints the worse picture of the other side. We even witnessed them invoking God for the purpose of political agenda. This sin of self-interest has dominated humankind’s thinking and risk the world’s belief of our witness. Given this current state of America, I felt it best we have a single focus today.

 

As believer’s in a fallen world, we can’t be neutral or negative about our love of neighbor, or our dialogue and actions, or our choices that show the world who Jesus is. Problems and behaviors based on what we believe is needed to meet our own personal desires is not in line with God’s Word. Jesus came to serve and not be served. His love is kind, is not puffed up, does not behave rudely, does not seek its own . . . but rejoices in truth, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

 

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Who Is Part of Your American Story?

Addressing the issues happening across the communities of America is a nuanced and complicated situation. The violence is no longer contained to those communities labeled “disadvantaged”, so the concern is now front and center with everyone. People who don’t live in certain communities bringing narratives to the community that doesn’t match reality.  Please take a moment a look at the picture below and tell me what you see.

 

 

Some see two older people looking at each other. Others see a man seranading a woman with a banjos. The same view can yield different perceptions and understandings. If you are willing to engage in critical and conscious conversation, the topic dares us to remember the history of struggle, understand how much distance has been covered, and how much more distance remains. To pretend you do not notice something, because you should do something about it, but you do not want to does not dismiss its reality. American heritage isn’t so much anti-Black, as it has passed over us without giving us due attention. Some are even skeptical about our contributions. I’m reminded of the implications of the story where Jesus fed the multitudes.  In John 6, He multiplied the food to feed about 20 thousand. Wait, wasn’t it 5,000? You didn’t count the women and the children. The Bible says, “besides,” which means not counting. In the same way, American history works through the people you don’t even count, the people you don’t notice, the people you don’t think are worthy of including in the story.
Schools don’t teach about the inventors, scientists, moral arbiters, the domain of towering thinkers, activists, and freedom fighters who are our foremothers and forefathers, our forebears in the historical Black struggle. Statues aren’t erected around the country to recognize Black people’s contributions to the American narrative. One example is Mary Pickersgill, credited with sewing the Star-Spangled Banner, which flew over Fort McHenry in Maryland and inspired Francis Scott Key to write our national anthem. Less known is that Grace Wisher, an African American girl at just 13 years old, sewed a significant amount of the flag. It’s another testament to the deeply rooted, yet often unmentioned, African Americans’ contributions to the very core of this country.
The violence and criminal activity we are witnessing – those tearing down statues that don’t represent them and destroying businesses not available to them is analogous to a glass teapot on the stove with no one paying attention to it. It’s glass, and you can see what’s happening to the water inside if you care to pay attention. It’s just a teapot, and the teapot’s systemic structure is to contain the water and to boil the water within the pot. It’s the tea or coffee that defines the drink. Tea consist of many different leaves and coffee from different types of beans. There is little to no discussion of the contribution of the water. The unattended water will reach a specific temperature and begin to signal it has reached its boiling point. When ignored, the only option the water has is to interact with the pot to enable it to escape its situation. When the pot explodes, we reason that we don’t understand why the water had to do so much damage. Maybe the pot was defective. That brand of teapot doesn’t boil properly.  We neglect looking inward to acknowledge that we ignored the signs and signals the water and the teapot were sending us. The steam’s whistle sent up as proof that the water had experienced all it could take—the loud cry for relief. Theologian Howard Thurman says, “In this world, the socially disadvantaged is constantly given a negative answer to the most important personal questions upon which mental health depends: ‘Who am I? What am I?’” The answer provided by society is no longer acceptable. People are saying, “If the structures don’t care about them, then they don’t care about the structures.”
The teapot has exploded. The water has damaged the cabinets, the floor, and everything within its reach. We can now live with a damaged kitchen, or we can begin to repair the kitchen to its original intent. If we repair and continue to ignore the teapot, we will experience the same thing again. In the words of Rev. Dr. Eboni Marshall Thurman, “The fact of the matter is, if you’ve been fighting for your freedom for over 400 years, you’d be mad too. And you’d want someone to hear that your life matters, too. It’s definitely not an apologetic, but it is a story that has to be told in defense of our lives. We have to tell [our] story because our lives depend on it.”
Sustained unjust and inequitable distribution of resources and opportunities has led to terrible, unacceptable violence. In addressing the violence, residents are stating that “in order for us to deal with the disorder, we have to address all of the other inequities that face our community, it’s something that happens perpetually in our community. It is unacceptable that you close our schools. It is unacceptable that jobs are not available, and you say we don’t want to work. It is unacceptable that you displace our residents at [the Housing Authority] and not work with them to make sure they have sound housing.”
I am in no way condoning the lawlessness that is taking place, but no matter where you fall on the political or religious spectrum, we are called to respond first with love. We have to show grace, empathy, and patience. I’ll walk a mile in your shoes if I might see the world the way you do. It doesn’t mean I’ll agree with everything you think or do. But this enables us to communicate and understand each other’s worldview and situation honorably. We can then make informed decisions and take actions to cure the situation based on facts, not hyperbole or assumptions. Morality and love can only emanate, if we believe Revelations 9:7 and that the American dream is everyone’s dream.