We often hear and repeat the scripture Ephesians 6:10 in sermons and bible study; "Put on the full armor of God." Then it goes on to identify the various parts that comprise the full armor. Do we really understanding the deeper meaning of this directive from Paul to help us defend against Satan? What Paul is telling us is that we are in a war and we need preparation and training if we are to survive. The war Paul is describing is not one of flesh and blood, like Vietnam, Korea, Iraq, Afghanistan, but a war with enemies in high places, and against principalities. Matthew Henry says, " our enemies in, this war, are wicket spirits who's chief goal is to provoke, exploit,and deceive us into to spiritual weakness such as : pride, envy malice, lying,discord, envy pride, sloth, glutton, lust, discord, strife,disputes, slander, gossip,arrogance, angry tempers, and unrepentant impurity,immorality and sensuality.(2 Corinthians 12:20)
In 2 Corinthians 11, Paul warns us by telling us that He is afraid that the serpent will deceive us as he did Eve in the garden. He tells us that Satan, by his craftiness, can lead our minds astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. Later in the chapter Paul reminds us that Satan can and will disguise himself as and angel of the light. Therefore, we should not be surprised that his servants also will disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, but their end will be according to their deeds. Paul found it interesting that some people would,"tolerate being enslaved , and being taken advantage of, and they would look up to those who are leading them a stray.
Paul is telling us that we are in a war unlike any war ever fought. In this war land, oil, gold, timber, are not at stake, but our souls, and our eternity is at risk. Paul tells us not to take this war lightly for we fight against a very devious, manipulative opponent out to destroy us. In this war the Lord is the Supreme Commander, Paul was the Commanding General of God's Army direct by The Lord to prepare us for war as his soldiers. today the church should be the "War Room", Christ the supreme commander, the Pastors the front line Officers, the Deacons the NCO'S and the "Scriptures" are the " Battle Strategy."
If the Christian's enemy is more devious, complex, and has our souls are at stake how are we prepared and trained to fight this war? I was in the military during the years when the military draft was still active. I remember being at the draft office getting my physical and taking the military oath " I Lawrence Cormier do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me Go." This pledge must be memorized by each service member! Does the Christian arm have such a pledge? Do we pledge to serve the Lord with all our being?
When I received my orders to go to Vietnam, I was not given a book to read, and a few lectures and sent to the war zone. No, I like many other soldiers, had to go through extensive physical, emotional, and psychological training. When we arrive at "basic training", we immediately had our individual identity take from us by having our heads shaved and given uniforms so that we all look alike. This is a not to subtle way of teaching us, that in war you don't survive as an individual, but as a team. This is the military equivalent of being on one accord. There are hours on hours of marching, physical training to develop the ability, and attitude of following directives and working as a team unit.. In the earthly military there are between 8-18 weeks basic training, and then advance training in one's specialty. We are indoctrinated about the military, it's mission and our role in this mission. We are given the Code of Conduct to memorize and live by during our military service. The Code is as follows: I pledge:
* To defend the USA and it's way of life
* To avoid surrender and to evade capture at any cost short of death
* To reject favors from the enemy
* To help fellow prisoners stay alive
* To avoid collaboration with the enemy
* To maintain personal responsibility for all actions
* To trust the U.S. Government to care for your love one's and work towards your release
* If captured give name, rank, and service number
* I will never forget that I am an American
* I will never surrender of my own free will
* I am prepared to give my life
A similar Christian oath my be something like this: I pledge to:
* To defend the Christian way of life
* To avoid surrendering to the temptations of Satan
* To reject participating in gossip, false witnessing, and conflict
* To help fellow Christians by mentoring and modeling Christian behaviors
* To evaluate my behavior against the Word of God and not my fellow man
* Will not allow my Christian liberty to be a stumbling blocks for others
* To never allow my own self interest to compromise my compassion to/for others
* To help the poor and those who can't help themselves
* I will never forget that I am a follower of Christ and should act accordingly
* I will study the scriptures so that I may know the mysteries of God's word
* I will trust that the Word of the Lord is true and can direct me in all my ways
* I believe that I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me
* I am prepared to give my life for my Christian beliefs
* I will strive to understand the difference between the Letter of the Law versus the Spirit
of the Law.
As a basic recruit you can be stopped at any time and be expected to recite this code without error. In basic we have a duty called night "fire watch". You are to stand guard of the barracks with strict orders to stay awake, and not to allow anyone to enter. Many times a higher ranking person comes in the middle of night, confronts you, and demands entry into your barracks. He begins to yell at you, threaten you will all types of punishment if you don't allow him to enter. You stand and cite the code, he does not let up he is in your face yelling but you can't allow him entrance. At the time you have no idea that this is a situation that has been set up to test you. The Sgt says, "let me in, or I will kick your...., if you don't let me in I will see that you are on you way home tomorrow". I would say my name is Cormier, Airman Basic and my service number is 12345678. It is a very scary time, but over a period of time it prepares you for the real thing.
Do we have a Christian equivalent to this type of training? In some churches new converts are introduced to the "Apostle Creed" which is the Christian Soldiers Code.
" I believe in God, the Father Almighty, the Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate , was crucified , dead and buried, He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty, from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic church; the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and life everlasting. Amen.
The Christian equivalent of military fire watch for the Christian can be how one handles the small temptations and fiery darts that Satan throws at us daily. The
In the 3rd century church the training of new believers was called Catechumenate, derived the Greek term Katecheim, "to teach or instruct. In the famous document "The Apostolic Constitutions which followed the Apostolic tradition of having the Catechumenate Training last for a period of 3 years. It was used to protect new believers from false teachings, false prophets while they developed a strong solid spiritual foundation.
In some of our current churches there are such classes as Christianity 101, What Christians Believe, The Essentials of New Life, etc. I don't hear the Apostle Creed read aloud much any more.
After the new soldier is finished with basic training they are give test and from these test they are give MOS, AFC, or areas of specialization. Each specialization has a set determined time of specific training that can be as little as 2 months to a year. This would be equivalent to the Christian identifying and developing their spiritual gifts. In the military the more dangerous your job duties the tougher the training. Those who will be on the front lines undergo hundred of hours of real war/battle situations which include obstacle courses, crawling under razor wire under live fire, gas exercises, hours of weapon and self defense training. Some troops are exposed to virtual capture and torture exercises. All this training is to prepare you with real life experiences before you come face to face with the real enemy.
When Christ chose his disciples he did not choose men of high education, he chose men of experience. Matthew Henry says, " What they lacked in in the gifts of nature, they more than made up in the gift of grace. Because of their professions they were diligent, honest, accustom to hardship, hazards, harsh weather, patience, waiting, and toil. Moses who was called out from keeping sheep.
I guess what I am saying is that the earthly soldier is well trained and prepared to fight in the war. After reading what soldiers go through, preparing for war, do you think we are really ready for the war with Satan? The Christian boot camp/basic training should start immediately when we enter the doors of the church. The sermon/teaching should be based on telling the people that God loves us and sent his Son to die for our sins, and that we should repent and accept His gracious gift.
There should be 6-8 weeks of training based upon the teachings of the New Testament. I suggest that more New Testament Teachings because that is the scriptures that are directed at the New Covenant that included we who are Gentiles. The Old Testament was not intended to include Gentiles, except for the prophecy that when Christ comes we could be grafted into the family that once only consisted of Jews.
I think each new Christian should learn the history and importance of repentance, and baptism, prior to the actual ceremony of baptism. I fee that the first communion should come after baptism and a in depth education of the meaning and importance of Baptism and the taking of the Eucharist/communion. In our modern churches we only have two holy practices and those are baptism and communion, but we give more attention to pastors appreciation, women's day, and other man made traditions.
Each member of the Christian army must be taught by people matured, grounded and knowledgeable of the scriptures. The teachers must teach the entire NT even if there are parts of scriptures that conflict with their specific domination. In Hebrew 5:11-14 we read " Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing. For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which are the first principal of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that used milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, (mature) even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. The oracles of God are the divine utterance of Christ. His divine revelations and His counsel. These preachers had either forgotten or strayed away from the Lord, and what the Apostles had taught them. They had polluted the gospel and was using the oral traditions of their elders rather than the word of God. The same thing happens in church today because I hear it, and I hear scriptural illiterate people say amen to it. I am reminded of the people of Berea in Act:17:10-11 "The people of Berea received the word with all readiness, and searched the scriptures daily to find out whether those things were so. How many of us go home after church and double check on what the preacher said in the sermon? We will need this information to fight the war! This is a personal war. We can get support from the group, but ultimately we have free will and have to make choices.
In the military the people who teach are trained, and many times have years of first hand practical experience in what they were teaching. Thus, so it must be in the Christian army, that those who teach and trained be knowledgeable and mature in "Oracles of God". The first thing that John the Baptist taught, as did Jesus was "Repent Ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." This is the New Covenant of Grace.
How do we as Christian soldiers train ourselves for the fiery darts of Satan? We have faith that the Lord will do what He said He would do. We look copy what Jesus did when He was tempted by Satan. Jesus always dealt with Satan with "It is written!" We must learn that no matter what we hear, read, feel, see, Jesus keeps His promises as is written. Every day we are faced with the challenges and temptations of life. The way we deal with these temptations and challenges can either be Christ like or carnal. All new Christians should be given the same information as Christ gave when He preached the sermon on the mount. Christ presented 8characteristics that would cause them to be "blessed". This was His first sermon recorded, so it must be important and foundational. Christ knew that the OT ended with a curse (Malachi 4:6), the NT gospel begins with inherited blessing. 1. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 2. blessed are those who mourn, for they should be comforted. 3. Blessed are the gentle/meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 4. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 5. Blessed are merciful, for they shall receive mercy. 6. blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 7. Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 8 Blessed are you when people insult and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Christ said this is the charter needed to be successful in the Christian work and walk. All of us need to make a check list of these characteristics and a list of the fruits of the spirit and check them during our days, weeks, and month. we need to be attentive to our walk and readiness to be a good Christian soldier.
Every day of our lives we are faced with warfare training situations, but are often unaware of them. When our spouses make us angry and upset how do we handle it? Are we honest when we do business, or do we rationalize why we take short cuts and bend the truth? How do we handle our anger? Do we return anger with anger? Are there people that we just refuse to forgive? When we receive too much change do we return it, or do we tell ourselves it's a blessing? When have we helped a senior citizen, or a poor family instead of going out to dinner and spending $50. How many times have we stopped at McDonald's on the way to church and stepped over someone who was hungry and thirsty? How often do we gossip, and help foster conflict? Do we think that people who do not worship like, or think like us are going to hell? Do we respect and understand the Law of Liberty (Romans: 14:1-23) or are we under the yoke of the law? Are we hypocrites whose public life is holy, but private life is full of unconfessed sin? Facing and conquering all these things are similar to military maneuvers which prepares and strengths one's faith and maturity. In our Christian walk it the little things that add up that steal the joy of our salvation. Unconfessed sin can make a Christian soldier non effective and at risk. Christ wants us to confess so that we can lay our sins,out in the open and remove them from their hiding place of denial and rationalization. Confession is for our benefit, because He already knows about it. How can we repent if we never take a honest look at our short comings?
I wrote this essay just to generate thinking and conversation. I just thought it would be interesting to contras and compare the training of the earthly soldier and that of a Christian soldier. I know that most of the time my writings seem like the ramblings of ????? I am now a elder so you will have to excuse me because of my age! And please excuse any grammar and/or spelling errors. Amen!
Thursday, August 14, 2014
Friday, May 24, 2013
What We Can Learn From God's Choosen People, The Jews, About Finances!
I have decided to revisit this essay because I think it's content is a valuable lesson for African Americans.
The Jewish people have traditionally been know for their financial
IQ and their success in business. The ancient Jewish Law taught ethical and moral ways of doing business as well as personal responsibilities. It has been said by many writers that the Jews acquire wealth as a way to accomplish their perceived social responsibility. Their quest for wealth is not for selfish reasons, but for the betterment of their people, which is the teaching of God.
Rabbi Celso Cukierkorn, states that, "the Jewish financial system is the oldest in history and has survived the test of time". John Louis Muratori states, " The Jewish system of success is found in the Torah. The Jews have used this information for thousands of years." This information is taught in the Synagogue, and passed down by ones Jewish grandmother, or uncle to the younger generation. The Torah is know to we Christians as the Old Testament. The Hebrew meaning of the Torah is "teaching, instructions, custom, system, and law. What Muratori is telling us is that the Jewish System is an "Intergenerational Process" which means that the information and practice of this process is passed on from one generation to the next. This information is supported both by a oral and written tradition. The Torah, in Proverbs 13:22 informs us that " A good man leaveth and inheritance to his children's' children.. The Jews believe in leaving a legacy of the love of God, morality, ethics, education, skills, and finances. For hundred of years this success with $$$ has caused many to dislike, distrust, envy, and hold contempt for the Jewish people. Many have made jokes about the Jewish people and their financial success.
The basics of the Jewish System has been considered as a very valuable system of dealing with money by many non religious people and organizations. Elements of this system has been incorporated into secular theories of financial success. As we all know many Biblical practices have become the bases for current laws, and social norms.
Does the system really work? Well, Jewish people make up 0.2 % of world population, but they are 8% of the Forbes 400 list of the wealthiest people. In the USA 46% of Jews make over $100,000 per year, while only 15% of the general population earn such salaries.
The core of the Jewish System, says Larry Kahaner, is the belief that charity is every ones obligation. Most donations kept close to home are the most blessed! The Jewish people believe that helping an individual with a loan or a job, is the most noble form of charity. They value learning, and believe it is a life long process, and believe that bankruptcy is not an honorable way out of debt, and don't believe that one should accrue debt.
Steven Silbiger has written in his book, The Jewish Phenomenon: Seven Keys to Enduring Wealth of a People :
1. Understand that real wealth is portable; its knowledge and education
a. Build your child's self esteem
b. Build the ability to delay gratification
c. Choose the best education possible
d. Develop and demonstrate informed and literate habits
e. Create the education expectations and constantly stress its importance
2.Take care of your own and they will take care of you.
a. Patronize your peoples business and organizations
b. Provide charity that helps your people become self-sufficient
3. Successful people are those who pursue a professional career
4. Develop your verbal confidence
a. Encourage your children to ask questions
b. Proactively explain new ideas to your children
c. Have active dinners together as a family
d. Encourage participation in performing arts and sports
5. Be selectively extravagant and prudently Frugal
a. Live within your means, and save and invest your money
b. Understand money equal security and power
c. Don't throw money away, buy the best
d. Stay married if you can; divorce is very expensive
e. Practice diversity, low cost, long range investing
f. Avoid Debt
g. Drive your car for a long time
The Jewish people have traditionally been know for their financial
IQ and their success in business. The ancient Jewish Law taught ethical and moral ways of doing business as well as personal responsibilities. It has been said by many writers that the Jews acquire wealth as a way to accomplish their perceived social responsibility. Their quest for wealth is not for selfish reasons, but for the betterment of their people, which is the teaching of God.
Rabbi Celso Cukierkorn, states that, "the Jewish financial system is the oldest in history and has survived the test of time". John Louis Muratori states, " The Jewish system of success is found in the Torah. The Jews have used this information for thousands of years." This information is taught in the Synagogue, and passed down by ones Jewish grandmother, or uncle to the younger generation. The Torah is know to we Christians as the Old Testament. The Hebrew meaning of the Torah is "teaching, instructions, custom, system, and law. What Muratori is telling us is that the Jewish System is an "Intergenerational Process" which means that the information and practice of this process is passed on from one generation to the next. This information is supported both by a oral and written tradition. The Torah, in Proverbs 13:22 informs us that " A good man leaveth and inheritance to his children's' children.. The Jews believe in leaving a legacy of the love of God, morality, ethics, education, skills, and finances. For hundred of years this success with $$$ has caused many to dislike, distrust, envy, and hold contempt for the Jewish people. Many have made jokes about the Jewish people and their financial success.
The basics of the Jewish System has been considered as a very valuable system of dealing with money by many non religious people and organizations. Elements of this system has been incorporated into secular theories of financial success. As we all know many Biblical practices have become the bases for current laws, and social norms.
Does the system really work? Well, Jewish people make up 0.2 % of world population, but they are 8% of the Forbes 400 list of the wealthiest people. In the USA 46% of Jews make over $100,000 per year, while only 15% of the general population earn such salaries.
The core of the Jewish System, says Larry Kahaner, is the belief that charity is every ones obligation. Most donations kept close to home are the most blessed! The Jewish people believe that helping an individual with a loan or a job, is the most noble form of charity. They value learning, and believe it is a life long process, and believe that bankruptcy is not an honorable way out of debt, and don't believe that one should accrue debt.
Steven Silbiger has written in his book, The Jewish Phenomenon: Seven Keys to Enduring Wealth of a People :
1. Understand that real wealth is portable; its knowledge and education
a. Build your child's self esteem
b. Build the ability to delay gratification
c. Choose the best education possible
d. Develop and demonstrate informed and literate habits
e. Create the education expectations and constantly stress its importance
2.Take care of your own and they will take care of you.
a. Patronize your peoples business and organizations
b. Provide charity that helps your people become self-sufficient
3. Successful people are those who pursue a professional career
4. Develop your verbal confidence
a. Encourage your children to ask questions
b. Proactively explain new ideas to your children
c. Have active dinners together as a family
d. Encourage participation in performing arts and sports
5. Be selectively extravagant and prudently Frugal
a. Live within your means, and save and invest your money
b. Understand money equal security and power
c. Don't throw money away, buy the best
d. Stay married if you can; divorce is very expensive
e. Practice diversity, low cost, long range investing
f. Avoid Debt
g. Drive your car for a long time
OLD TESTAMENT SCRIPTURES
(THE TORAH)
There is a close relationship between accumulating and retaining wealth and wisdom. It was in 1Chronicles 1: 10-12 we find Solomon asking God for "wisdom and knowledge" so he could do a better job as a leader of his people. God was pleased with Solomon's unselfishness, his concern for others, rewarded him with the wisdom and knowledge he requested. In addition to his request God gave him an added bonus of riches,wealth and honor. In the book of Proverbs Solomon offers wise counsel regarding financial situations. In Proverbs 1 6:1-5 tells us to help our friends, but not to the extent that our own family will suffer. In 1: 6:6-11 He counsels the reader of the relationship of being lazy and poverty. He says we should study the ants, who by instinct, know that they have to work to provide for their survival. The ants have no brains, no leader, no counsel, but know that they have to work diligently to survive. Solomon warns here also that lazy person will dive head first into a life of poverty. In Proverbs 6: 30 He tells us that if a man steals because he is starving he should not be despised. However, when this man gets on his feet he is to restore sevenfold, even if it means giving up all the substance of his house. Here we find the Jewish sense of personal responsibility.
God gave Solomon so much wisdom and he passes that wisdom on to us, and we are to pass it on to our children. If we practice, integrity, wisdom and pass it on to our children we will leave a valuable inheritance for them. If we are able to accomplish this we are considered a good man/woman. The book of Proverbs explains to us what wisdom is and where to find it. It tells us that if we follow the word of God we will be successful spiritually, emotionally, psychologically, socially, physically and economically. It also warns us of the consequences of laziness, greed, sexual lust, lying, pride, disdain for the poor, envying the oppressor, wealth by fraud and deceit, not paying one's debt, not planning, not seeking counsel, being impulsive, not helping your neighbor in need , not giving instruction to children, and much more.
I never hear much of these thing taught in our Churches today. It seems that Psalms and Proverbs are only used as a source of traditional scripture reading at the beginning of many Sunday services. Once the Black Church really understands and teaches that the scriptures have much more to say about finances , than Tithes , they and their congregations will be blessed. If the scriptures teach 15 lessons about money, giving, debt, investing, planning and you only teach 1 of the 15, do you really expect to be successful?
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Please Hear What I'm Not Saying by Charles Finn Part II
I don't like hiding,
I don't like playing superficial phony games.
I want to stop playing them.
I want to be genuine and spontaneous and me,
but you've got to help me.
You've got to hold out your hand even
when that's the last thing I seem to want.
Only you can wipe away from my eyes the
blank stare of the breathing dead.
Only you can call me into aliveness.
Each time you're kind, and gentle, and encouraging,
each time you try to understand because you really care,
my heart begins to grow wings..
very small wings,
but wings!
With your power to touch me into feeling
You can breathe life into me.
I want you to know that.
I want you to know how important you are to me,
how you ca be a creator--an honest-to-God creator
of the person that is me, if yo choose to.
You alone can break down the wall behind which I tremble,
You alone can remove my mask,
You alone can release me from the shadow-world of panic,
from my lonely prison, if you choose to.
Please choose to.
Do not pass me by.
It will not be easy for you.
A long conviction of worthlessness build strong walls.
The nearer you approach me,
the blinder I may strike back.
It's irrational, but despite what the books may say about man
often I am irrational.
I fight against the very thing I cry out for.
But, I am told that love is stronger than strong walls
and in this lies hope.
Please try to beat down those walls with firm hands
but gentle hands, for a child is very sensitive.
Who am I, you may wonder?
I am someone you know very well.
For I am every man you meet,
and I am every woman you meet.
By Charles C. Finn
Friday, March 8, 2013
CONTROLLING FEAR THROUGH FAITH!
THE USE OF FEAR!
I have decided to update and amend this essay on fear. My reason for this was how fear was used during the very ugly election we just experienced. Fear is used being used in the fight over gun control, and in the battle of the budget in Washington.
We all have experienced fear at some point in our lives so we can personally identify with the concept. Lisa Fritcher says, "fear is a powerful and primitive human emotion. It alerts us to the presence of danger and was critical in keeping our ancestors alive. Fear can actually be divided into two stages, biochemical and emotional. The biochemical response is universal, while the emotional response is highly individualized."
When one is faced with danger the body reacts in a fight or flight reaction. This means there is a increase in heartbeat, rapid breathing, increase in blood pressure, and a increase in the flow of adrenaline. We have all heard stories of people accomplishing superhuman feats when faced with the fight or flight situation. Mothers have lifted heavy objects off of loved ones, soldiers have done heroic feats in the mist of a deadly battle. However, in some cases when confronted with dangerous fear, some have become paralyzed and unable to act or react.
The emotional component of fear is a more subtle unconsciousness feeling of unpleasantness , or an unconscious sense of pending doom that hinders action and progress.
The spirit of fear can be passed on to our children if we are not careful! How? Its how we relate to our children when they want to be involved with those things that we fear. When we allow our fear to interfere with the exploration, growth and experiences. There will a tendency, by the parent, to be smothering and over protective of the child.
We who are Christians must look to the scriptures, not psychology, for a true discussion of fear. A essay written by a writer for "Gotquestions.org states: "In the Bible there are two types of fear that is mentioned. The first type is beneficial and is to be encouraged. The second type is a detriment and is to be overcome. The first type is to have a fear of the Lord. This type of fear does not necessarily mean to be afraid of something. Rather, it is a reverential awe of God; a reverence for His power and glory. However, it is also a proper respect for His wrath and anger. In other words, the fear of the Lord is a total acknowledgement of all that God is, which comes through knowing Him and His attributes."
In Psalms 111:10 we are told that the beginning of wisdom start with our fear of the Lord. This same thought is reinforced in Proverbs 1:7-9. These scriptures give the responsibility of teaching wisdom to parents. This dispels the notion that wisdom is something one can only gain from attendance at a major university, or seminary. Proverbs 19:23, 14:27 and Proverbs 14:26 share other promises for those who reverence the Lord.
In 2 Timothy 1:7 we see Timothy coming up against tremendous opposition, and intimidation, and doubt from Christian's and non Christians regarding his message. Paul reminds Timothy that any fears that he may be experiencing did not come from God, because God has given all believers the spiritual resources needed to overcome any trial, temptation, or threats. A good example of this is Peter who, because of fear denied his relationship with Christ when confronted with physical harm. Yet this same Peter, who was filled with the Holy Spirit during Pentecost, became a brave and bold minister of the gospel in the face of death and imprisonment. We see the Deacon Stephen, full of the Spirit, showed no fear as he was stoned to death by the angry crowd.
In Psalms 56:11 we are told that if we put our trust in God, we shall not be afraid. Then we are asked the question, "what can man do to you? John 14:27 says, "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your heart be troubled and do not be afraid." In Romans 8:15 we are told that we did not receive a spirit that makes us a slave to fear, but we received the Spirit of Sonship and by Him we cry Abba, Father."
COMMON FEARS:
Many of us have fears such as heights, spiders, snakes, the dark, flying, death, public speaking, being alone, going to dentist, earthquakes, cancer, success, failure, violence, safety of a child. Many of these fears had their genesis in our childhood and have continued to be part of our unconscious psyche well into our adult lives. How has your fears shaped and influenced your decision making?
FEAR BY CONDITIONING: THE MANIPULATION OF FEAR
In 1920 the psychologist John Watson set out to teach a 11 month old infant to be fearful of white rats. The infant, Little Albert, had no fear of the rats at birth. He enjoyed playing with them without any fear. To instill fear the researchers began to create a loud terrifying noise every time Albert would reach for the rats. Over a period of time, of this conditioning, Albert would no longer touch the rats but would cry when confronted with them. This skill of conditioning has found its way into every fabric of society.
Have you every noticed that when the media has a story of poverty, crime, illiteracy, welfare, it is always followed by images of African Americans? Fear conditioning can easily cross into the manipulation of fear. In the history of African Americans Whites have controlled all aspects of our existence by the use and manipulation of fear. We were powerless and at the mercy of those in power. The tools of fear were lynchings, castration, and beatings. Now the fear tools are threats to stop funding Head Start, and other forms of early education. We are again experiencing the last hired first fired phenomena,
In a 2008 article in the Harvard Crimson Alex Castelanos a Republican media consultant( often seen on TV) is quoted: "Fear is a key strategic instrument in political campaigns." Castelanos says such fear is both important and necessary part of politics. "We need more fear in politics," he said. He said every time the Republicans lead people back to 9/11 in N.Y. it plays on the security threat in which Democrats are perceived as weak. Every time the Democrats talk about Katrina, Bushes numbers would fall.
When Obama was elected President (both term) the right created fear by saying He is a secret Muslim, He was not born here, he is a socialist, he will destroy the foundation of America. This fear created the "Tea Party", and increased the sales of guns!
Then there is the issue of abortions and gay marriage. Yes I know what scriptures say, but is this what is really fueling these issues, or it something more diabolical. The Republicans know that they can't get the Black and Hispanic vote, but they can get a few minority Christians to cross over with these issues. These people are only interested in these babies while they are in the womb, once they are born they vote down all programs to help that may help the same children and mothers. Is it because they know that one of the leading causes of poverty, and its results, are teenage mothers, and divorced women. Why would this part of the Bible be so important to them while they ignore love, care for the poor, morality, and honesty. The party who says they are the party of Christ(Republicans) have shown themselves to be hypocrites. The ones who preach against homosexuality are secret homosexuals, and those who preach family values are guilty of adultery and fornication.
CONSERVATIVE RELIGIOUS LEADERS USE OF FEAR
Jim Wallis writes in the HuffPost article about Dr. James Dobson and his disdain for Obama. In 2008 Focus on the Family published a letter called, "Letter From 2011 in Obama's America. This was an effort to make Obama someone to fear, and frighten Christians. How this guy is supported by many African-American with donations to Focus On The Family is a puzzle to me. The letter, says Wallis, " depicts terrorist attacks in American cities, churches loosing their tax exempt status for not allowing gay marriages, restrictive religious speech, liberal censorship of conservative talk shows, Israel nuked,power blackouts because of environmental restrictions, liberal supreme court, and finally good Christians families would migrate to Australia and New Zealand. What happened to Ephesians 4:29-31, Titus 3:2, and Col 3:8. In other word if you elect Obama this will happen."
Then you have Billy Graham's son Franklin saying that Obama is not really a Christian because he has the seed of Islam in him because of his father. You have Rev. Jack Van Impe telling his followers that Obama is the "Anti Christ! You have Pat Robertson a rubber stamp for the GOP, and Ron Parsley speaking in subtle code language such a " they are trying to destroy Christian values, we need a reformation to save America.
Why should one be surprised, because this is nothing new. All one has to do is pick up your scriptures and read about the Sadducee's, and Pharisees of Jesus time. These two groups were so different, but they had in common their hatred for Christ. There is a old saying that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. So politicians and evangelicals may not have much in common, but they have in common the hatred for Obama and the Democratic Party. We saw this evident, in the 2012 election, with the Evangelical Christians putting on hold their disdain and belief that Mormons were not real Christians. These men like the Sadducee's love the access to power, and the powerful. They are willing to turn the other way so not to acknowledge the sin of those who philosophy of life they agree, even if it's contrary to scriptures.
These conservative religious leaders pay more attention to Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck, and the pundits at Fox News Network than to the scriptures. The chief goals of Limbaugh, Beck, and the rest of Fox News is to feed the fears of conservative white men 60-80 years of age. The we have the conservative evangelical right leaning preachers who turn and bend the scriptures to meet their ideology. They turn and twist scriptures to frighten their followers. Their Christianity is no longer religious but Theo/Political full of partisan propaganda. Vote for my man or you will end up poor, vote for my man or you will end up dead, vote for my man or the Mexicans will take over, vote for my man or we will have one of those inferior, affirmative action Blacks in the White House. The standard code statements, is that want thing to go back to the way they were 20-30 years ago. If you are Black or Latino you know what that means!
The use of fear by the GOP seems to have back fired on the issue of social security and medicare. The elderly who mainly vote Republican are upset, angry, and frighten that they may loose their benefits under the Ryan Plan. I always wondered why these folks voted the way they did, because I knew some of them were unemployed, had no health insurance, and limited income. They had allowed lies and fear to cause them to vote against their own best interest.
GREAT QUOTES ABOUT FEAR:
" The crowd neither wants nor sees knowledge, and leaders of the crowd in their own interest, try to strengthen its fear and dislike of everything new and unknown. The slavery in which mankind lives is based upon this fear."
Georges Gurdjieff
" The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers fear."
Nelson Mandela
" The only thing we have to fear is fear itself--nameless, unreasoning, unjust terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance."
Franklin D. Roosevelt
"The concessions of the weak are the concessions of fear."
Edmund Burk
"Father O father! What do we here. In this land of unbelief and fear."
William Blake
"How sweet the name of Jesus sounds In a believers ear! It soothes his sorrow, heals his wounds, and drives away his fear."
John Newton
"You are frighten of everything. You call it caution. You call it common sense. You call it practically. You call it playing the odds, but that is only because you are afraid to call it by its real name, and its real name is fear."
Mike Farren
"Fear breeds upon itself because it is a hermaphrodite capable of endless reproduction. Fear is a contagious disease, spreading from its first victim to others in the vicinity until it becomes panic. Fear is the afterbirth of reason and calculation. It takes time to recuperate from fear."
Ernest K. Gann, Fate is the Hunter
"Fear is a great poseur. Men especially are loath to admit that they are scared, even to themselves. Instead they convert anxiety into more acceptable feelings( anger usually )."
Ralph Keys, The Courage to Write
"Fear is an acid which is pumped into one's atmosphere. It causes mental,moral and spiritual asphyxiation, and sometimes death; death to energy and all growth."
Horace Fletcher
"Fear is like a fire. If we control it will help you; if uncontrolled, it will rise up and destroy you. Men's action depend to a great extent upon fear. We do things either because we enjoy doing them, or because we are afraid not to do them."
John Milburn
"All men are afraid in battle. The coward is the one who lets his fear overcome his sense of duty. Duty is the essence of manhood."
General George Patton
"We are largely the playthings of our fears. To one, fear of the dark, to another, of physical pain, to a third, public ridicule; to a fourth, of poverty; to a fifth, of loneliness...for all of us, our particular creature waits in ambush."
Horace Walpole
" Fear sells. Fear makes money. The countless companies an consultants in the business of protecting the fearful from whatever they may fear know it only too well. The more fear, the better the sales."
Daniel Gardner, The Science of Fear
"Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy." Dale Carnegie
SUMMARY:
In this short essay, I attempted to bring attention to the many faces of fear, and how they can affect our lives. We are confronted with self-imposed fear as well as those fears used by others to manipulate our behavior. Some fear serves a noble purpose such as teaching a child to be cautious of strangers, or the dangers of playing in the streets. The fear of loosing a job, or failing a class can be a motivating factor in meeting time lines and completing task. I accepted Christ, as my Savior, because of my fear of going to hell! Over time I realized that my salvation was more than, a get out of hell free card, it was a life of love, obedience and faithfulness.
I can remember when I was a freshman in college and attending my first political science class. The instructor walks in, introduces himself, and says," there are 18 people in this class I need to tell you that 10 of you will probably flunk this class." After those statements 8 people dropped the class. This instructor turned out to be a big Teddy Bear, and most received A's and B's in the class.
There are people who won't invest in the stock market because they are afraid that they will loose their money! This reminds me of the servant described in Matthew 25 and Luke 19 when Jesus discussed the Parable of the "Talents and the Minas. In both of these parables the master was displeased and angry that the servant allowed fear to win over faith and wisdom. The master in both cases takes from the fearful servant and gives his portion to the obedient faithful servants. Do you sometimes wonder why you can't get ahead financially?
Some people are afraid of failure, so they are unwilling to try anything they don't consider a sure thing. I have heard some say I want to be a teacher, but I heard that its very difficult to pass the CBST. Then there are those who are, for some reason, afraid of success. If you are not careful your fears can become a self-fulfilling prophecy!
We who are Christians are to live by faith, for we know we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us! As I tell my children, " In spite of what you hear, read, think, or feel, rely only on the word of the Lord for your direction and comfort. Do not allow fear to keep you from reaching your calling, and your God given potential. Do not allow politicians, clergy, television, radio, newspapers, books, pundits or anyone else manipulate you with fear.
I would like to thank you who take time out of your busy lives to read these short essays. If you enjoy please share with 2 other people. If you feel that I am off base, please let me know.
I have decided to update and amend this essay on fear. My reason for this was how fear was used during the very ugly election we just experienced. Fear is used being used in the fight over gun control, and in the battle of the budget in Washington.
We all have experienced fear at some point in our lives so we can personally identify with the concept. Lisa Fritcher says, "fear is a powerful and primitive human emotion. It alerts us to the presence of danger and was critical in keeping our ancestors alive. Fear can actually be divided into two stages, biochemical and emotional. The biochemical response is universal, while the emotional response is highly individualized."
When one is faced with danger the body reacts in a fight or flight reaction. This means there is a increase in heartbeat, rapid breathing, increase in blood pressure, and a increase in the flow of adrenaline. We have all heard stories of people accomplishing superhuman feats when faced with the fight or flight situation. Mothers have lifted heavy objects off of loved ones, soldiers have done heroic feats in the mist of a deadly battle. However, in some cases when confronted with dangerous fear, some have become paralyzed and unable to act or react.
The emotional component of fear is a more subtle unconsciousness feeling of unpleasantness , or an unconscious sense of pending doom that hinders action and progress.
The spirit of fear can be passed on to our children if we are not careful! How? Its how we relate to our children when they want to be involved with those things that we fear. When we allow our fear to interfere with the exploration, growth and experiences. There will a tendency, by the parent, to be smothering and over protective of the child.
We who are Christians must look to the scriptures, not psychology, for a true discussion of fear. A essay written by a writer for "Gotquestions.org states: "In the Bible there are two types of fear that is mentioned. The first type is beneficial and is to be encouraged. The second type is a detriment and is to be overcome. The first type is to have a fear of the Lord. This type of fear does not necessarily mean to be afraid of something. Rather, it is a reverential awe of God; a reverence for His power and glory. However, it is also a proper respect for His wrath and anger. In other words, the fear of the Lord is a total acknowledgement of all that God is, which comes through knowing Him and His attributes."
In Psalms 111:10 we are told that the beginning of wisdom start with our fear of the Lord. This same thought is reinforced in Proverbs 1:7-9. These scriptures give the responsibility of teaching wisdom to parents. This dispels the notion that wisdom is something one can only gain from attendance at a major university, or seminary. Proverbs 19:23, 14:27 and Proverbs 14:26 share other promises for those who reverence the Lord.
In 2 Timothy 1:7 we see Timothy coming up against tremendous opposition, and intimidation, and doubt from Christian's and non Christians regarding his message. Paul reminds Timothy that any fears that he may be experiencing did not come from God, because God has given all believers the spiritual resources needed to overcome any trial, temptation, or threats. A good example of this is Peter who, because of fear denied his relationship with Christ when confronted with physical harm. Yet this same Peter, who was filled with the Holy Spirit during Pentecost, became a brave and bold minister of the gospel in the face of death and imprisonment. We see the Deacon Stephen, full of the Spirit, showed no fear as he was stoned to death by the angry crowd.
In Psalms 56:11 we are told that if we put our trust in God, we shall not be afraid. Then we are asked the question, "what can man do to you? John 14:27 says, "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your heart be troubled and do not be afraid." In Romans 8:15 we are told that we did not receive a spirit that makes us a slave to fear, but we received the Spirit of Sonship and by Him we cry Abba, Father."
COMMON FEARS:
Many of us have fears such as heights, spiders, snakes, the dark, flying, death, public speaking, being alone, going to dentist, earthquakes, cancer, success, failure, violence, safety of a child. Many of these fears had their genesis in our childhood and have continued to be part of our unconscious psyche well into our adult lives. How has your fears shaped and influenced your decision making?
FEAR BY CONDITIONING: THE MANIPULATION OF FEAR
In 1920 the psychologist John Watson set out to teach a 11 month old infant to be fearful of white rats. The infant, Little Albert, had no fear of the rats at birth. He enjoyed playing with them without any fear. To instill fear the researchers began to create a loud terrifying noise every time Albert would reach for the rats. Over a period of time, of this conditioning, Albert would no longer touch the rats but would cry when confronted with them. This skill of conditioning has found its way into every fabric of society.
Have you every noticed that when the media has a story of poverty, crime, illiteracy, welfare, it is always followed by images of African Americans? Fear conditioning can easily cross into the manipulation of fear. In the history of African Americans Whites have controlled all aspects of our existence by the use and manipulation of fear. We were powerless and at the mercy of those in power. The tools of fear were lynchings, castration, and beatings. Now the fear tools are threats to stop funding Head Start, and other forms of early education. We are again experiencing the last hired first fired phenomena,
In a 2008 article in the Harvard Crimson Alex Castelanos a Republican media consultant( often seen on TV) is quoted: "Fear is a key strategic instrument in political campaigns." Castelanos says such fear is both important and necessary part of politics. "We need more fear in politics," he said. He said every time the Republicans lead people back to 9/11 in N.Y. it plays on the security threat in which Democrats are perceived as weak. Every time the Democrats talk about Katrina, Bushes numbers would fall.
When Obama was elected President (both term) the right created fear by saying He is a secret Muslim, He was not born here, he is a socialist, he will destroy the foundation of America. This fear created the "Tea Party", and increased the sales of guns!
Then there is the issue of abortions and gay marriage. Yes I know what scriptures say, but is this what is really fueling these issues, or it something more diabolical. The Republicans know that they can't get the Black and Hispanic vote, but they can get a few minority Christians to cross over with these issues. These people are only interested in these babies while they are in the womb, once they are born they vote down all programs to help that may help the same children and mothers. Is it because they know that one of the leading causes of poverty, and its results, are teenage mothers, and divorced women. Why would this part of the Bible be so important to them while they ignore love, care for the poor, morality, and honesty. The party who says they are the party of Christ(Republicans) have shown themselves to be hypocrites. The ones who preach against homosexuality are secret homosexuals, and those who preach family values are guilty of adultery and fornication.
CONSERVATIVE RELIGIOUS LEADERS USE OF FEAR
Jim Wallis writes in the HuffPost article about Dr. James Dobson and his disdain for Obama. In 2008 Focus on the Family published a letter called, "Letter From 2011 in Obama's America. This was an effort to make Obama someone to fear, and frighten Christians. How this guy is supported by many African-American with donations to Focus On The Family is a puzzle to me. The letter, says Wallis, " depicts terrorist attacks in American cities, churches loosing their tax exempt status for not allowing gay marriages, restrictive religious speech, liberal censorship of conservative talk shows, Israel nuked,power blackouts because of environmental restrictions, liberal supreme court, and finally good Christians families would migrate to Australia and New Zealand. What happened to Ephesians 4:29-31, Titus 3:2, and Col 3:8. In other word if you elect Obama this will happen."
Then you have Billy Graham's son Franklin saying that Obama is not really a Christian because he has the seed of Islam in him because of his father. You have Rev. Jack Van Impe telling his followers that Obama is the "Anti Christ! You have Pat Robertson a rubber stamp for the GOP, and Ron Parsley speaking in subtle code language such a " they are trying to destroy Christian values, we need a reformation to save America.
Why should one be surprised, because this is nothing new. All one has to do is pick up your scriptures and read about the Sadducee's, and Pharisees of Jesus time. These two groups were so different, but they had in common their hatred for Christ. There is a old saying that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. So politicians and evangelicals may not have much in common, but they have in common the hatred for Obama and the Democratic Party. We saw this evident, in the 2012 election, with the Evangelical Christians putting on hold their disdain and belief that Mormons were not real Christians. These men like the Sadducee's love the access to power, and the powerful. They are willing to turn the other way so not to acknowledge the sin of those who philosophy of life they agree, even if it's contrary to scriptures.
These conservative religious leaders pay more attention to Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck, and the pundits at Fox News Network than to the scriptures. The chief goals of Limbaugh, Beck, and the rest of Fox News is to feed the fears of conservative white men 60-80 years of age. The we have the conservative evangelical right leaning preachers who turn and bend the scriptures to meet their ideology. They turn and twist scriptures to frighten their followers. Their Christianity is no longer religious but Theo/Political full of partisan propaganda. Vote for my man or you will end up poor, vote for my man or you will end up dead, vote for my man or the Mexicans will take over, vote for my man or we will have one of those inferior, affirmative action Blacks in the White House. The standard code statements, is that want thing to go back to the way they were 20-30 years ago. If you are Black or Latino you know what that means!
The use of fear by the GOP seems to have back fired on the issue of social security and medicare. The elderly who mainly vote Republican are upset, angry, and frighten that they may loose their benefits under the Ryan Plan. I always wondered why these folks voted the way they did, because I knew some of them were unemployed, had no health insurance, and limited income. They had allowed lies and fear to cause them to vote against their own best interest.
GREAT QUOTES ABOUT FEAR:
" The crowd neither wants nor sees knowledge, and leaders of the crowd in their own interest, try to strengthen its fear and dislike of everything new and unknown. The slavery in which mankind lives is based upon this fear."
Georges Gurdjieff
" The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers fear."
Nelson Mandela
" The only thing we have to fear is fear itself--nameless, unreasoning, unjust terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance."
Franklin D. Roosevelt
"The concessions of the weak are the concessions of fear."
Edmund Burk
"Father O father! What do we here. In this land of unbelief and fear."
William Blake
"How sweet the name of Jesus sounds In a believers ear! It soothes his sorrow, heals his wounds, and drives away his fear."
John Newton
"You are frighten of everything. You call it caution. You call it common sense. You call it practically. You call it playing the odds, but that is only because you are afraid to call it by its real name, and its real name is fear."
Mike Farren
"Fear breeds upon itself because it is a hermaphrodite capable of endless reproduction. Fear is a contagious disease, spreading from its first victim to others in the vicinity until it becomes panic. Fear is the afterbirth of reason and calculation. It takes time to recuperate from fear."
Ernest K. Gann, Fate is the Hunter
"Fear is a great poseur. Men especially are loath to admit that they are scared, even to themselves. Instead they convert anxiety into more acceptable feelings( anger usually )."
Ralph Keys, The Courage to Write
"Fear is an acid which is pumped into one's atmosphere. It causes mental,moral and spiritual asphyxiation, and sometimes death; death to energy and all growth."
Horace Fletcher
"Fear is like a fire. If we control it will help you; if uncontrolled, it will rise up and destroy you. Men's action depend to a great extent upon fear. We do things either because we enjoy doing them, or because we are afraid not to do them."
John Milburn
"All men are afraid in battle. The coward is the one who lets his fear overcome his sense of duty. Duty is the essence of manhood."
General George Patton
"We are largely the playthings of our fears. To one, fear of the dark, to another, of physical pain, to a third, public ridicule; to a fourth, of poverty; to a fifth, of loneliness...for all of us, our particular creature waits in ambush."
Horace Walpole
" Fear sells. Fear makes money. The countless companies an consultants in the business of protecting the fearful from whatever they may fear know it only too well. The more fear, the better the sales."
Daniel Gardner, The Science of Fear
"Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy." Dale Carnegie
SUMMARY:
In this short essay, I attempted to bring attention to the many faces of fear, and how they can affect our lives. We are confronted with self-imposed fear as well as those fears used by others to manipulate our behavior. Some fear serves a noble purpose such as teaching a child to be cautious of strangers, or the dangers of playing in the streets. The fear of loosing a job, or failing a class can be a motivating factor in meeting time lines and completing task. I accepted Christ, as my Savior, because of my fear of going to hell! Over time I realized that my salvation was more than, a get out of hell free card, it was a life of love, obedience and faithfulness.
I can remember when I was a freshman in college and attending my first political science class. The instructor walks in, introduces himself, and says," there are 18 people in this class I need to tell you that 10 of you will probably flunk this class." After those statements 8 people dropped the class. This instructor turned out to be a big Teddy Bear, and most received A's and B's in the class.
There are people who won't invest in the stock market because they are afraid that they will loose their money! This reminds me of the servant described in Matthew 25 and Luke 19 when Jesus discussed the Parable of the "Talents and the Minas. In both of these parables the master was displeased and angry that the servant allowed fear to win over faith and wisdom. The master in both cases takes from the fearful servant and gives his portion to the obedient faithful servants. Do you sometimes wonder why you can't get ahead financially?
Some people are afraid of failure, so they are unwilling to try anything they don't consider a sure thing. I have heard some say I want to be a teacher, but I heard that its very difficult to pass the CBST. Then there are those who are, for some reason, afraid of success. If you are not careful your fears can become a self-fulfilling prophecy!
We who are Christians are to live by faith, for we know we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us! As I tell my children, " In spite of what you hear, read, think, or feel, rely only on the word of the Lord for your direction and comfort. Do not allow fear to keep you from reaching your calling, and your God given potential. Do not allow politicians, clergy, television, radio, newspapers, books, pundits or anyone else manipulate you with fear.
I would like to thank you who take time out of your busy lives to read these short essays. If you enjoy please share with 2 other people. If you feel that I am off base, please let me know.
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Please Hear What I'm Not Saying by Charles C. Finn : Part 1
Many years ago I was introduced to part of this poem while working as a therapist in a psychiatric hospital. The patients in my groups found the poem to be very personal and healing for them. I happened to come across it again thought I would share with you.
Don't be fooled by me.
Don't be fooled by the face I wear
For I wear a mask, a thousand masks,
And none of them is me.
Pretending is an art that's second nature with me,
but don't be fooled, for God's sake don't be fooled.
I give you the impression that I am secure,
that all is sunny and unruffled with me,
within as well as without,
that confidence is my name and coolness my game,
that the water's calm and I'm in command,
and that I need no one, but don't believe me.
My surface maybe smooth but my surface is my mask,
ever-varying and ever-concealing.
beneath lies no complacence.
Beneath lies confusion, and fear, and aloneness.
But I hide this. I don't want anybody to know it.
I panic at the thought of my weakness exposed.
That's way I frantically create a mask to hide behind,
A nonchalant sophisticated facade, to help me pretend,
To shield me from the glance that knows.
But such a glance is precisely my salvation, my only hope,
and I know it.
That is, if it is followed by acceptance, if it is followed by love.
It's the only thing that can liberate me from myself,
From my own self-built prison walls from the barriers that
I so painstakingly erect. It's the only thing that will assure me
Of what I can't a assure myself, that I'm really worth something.
But I don't tell you this. I don't dare to. I 'm afraid to.
I'm afraid you'll think less of me, that you'll laugh, and your laugh would kill me.
I'm afraid that deep-down I'm nothing and that you will see this and reject me.
So I play my game, my desperate pretending game. With a facade of
Assurance without , and a trembling child within. So begins
The glittering but empty parade of Masks, I tell you
Everything that's really nothing, and nothing of what's everything.
Part II to come
Amen
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Christian Liberity: A Sermon You Won't Hear On Sunday!
The Apostle Paul, in my opinion, was the greatest preacher and teacher other than Christ himself. Paul was a very educated man who had studied Jewish Law and Rabbinic Traditions under the most celebrated scholar of that time Rabbi Gamaliel. Paul had been a persecutor of Christians, and was present and witness the stoning death of Deacon Stephen. The Lord had plans for Paul and hand picked him to be His ambassador, teaching and preaching the New Covenant Gospel to the Gentiles. For you who don't know, we are spiritual descendants of the Gentiles so we should pay specific attention to the scriptures as they address the Gentiles. We all should be grateful to Paul for bringing us the gospel of the New Covenant.
After Paul's conversion, the Holy Spirit gave him significant grace, faith, gift of celibacy, endurance, charisma and the manifestations of the "fruits of the spirit', to complete the mission that was set before him. In Galatians 1:13 Paul tells them, 'For you have heard of my former manner of life in Judaism, how I used to persecute the church of God beyond measures and tried to destroy it; and I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of of my contemporaries among my countrymen, being more extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions. But when God had set me apart even from my mothers womb and called me through His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went away to Arabia, and returned once more to Damascus."
Paul is telling us that He is no ordinary minister! He tells us that he was not trained in a Christian Seminary, or trained by flesh and blood (other men), but received all of his information directly from heaven. Ordinary ministers, usually receive their call to preach by the instructions and assistance of others and by others. Paul lets us know that this was not the case with him, that he received all of his information and authority from Christ Himself. Paul also tells us that he was able by the direct influence of Christ to overcome all his prior indoctrination and teaching against the doctrine he now preaches.
Why am I starting off my essay on Christian Liberty talking about Paul and his education and his conversion? I am doing this because of what I hear, or don't hear on Sunday's, that does not match up with what Paul teaches in the scriptures. If I have to make a choice between what Paul says and what I hear in a sermon, I will always side with what Paul says, because he had been ordained by Christ and directed by the Holy Spirit. Today many ministers preach and teach what has been passed down to them during generations of word of mouth and denominational interpretations of their elders. This preaching, with the exception of, social justice, has been very legalistic, subjective, leaning towards their personal conscience rather than what the scriptures proclaim. This practice has placed a very heavy yoke of legalism on the people listening to these teachings.
At one time, in history, the Black Minister was the most educated person in the congregation, now he may be one of the least educated. We have many ministers who proclaim themselves Doctor, so and so, who have never earned a BA or MA, and somehow were able to get their doctorate in divinity. What ever happened to humility? Why would you try to be something you are not. Once they speak, or attempt to compose a composition their true status is often evident. In Matthew 23:5-8 Jesus tells the Pharisees that they were only interested in public attention, honor at the banquet table, the chief seats, and the respectful greetings of Doctor/Reverend by men. In Matthew 23:12 Christ said that "Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles themselves shall be exalted." I guess this is another scripture that these folks neglected to read, or felt it was written for others and not them. I am amazed at what I hear coming out of the mouths of some T.V. preachers and from the pulpit disguised as the gospel of Jesus. I am further surprised at the emotional exhibition and yelling of Amen that comes from the audience while this is being preached. What's going on, can't people tell the difference between scriptural truth, personal opinion, or man driven doctrine?
Let's start with Mark 7:6 when the Pharisees and the scribes asked Jesus, "Why walk not thy disciples according to the traditions of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands? He answered and said to them, that it had been prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, this people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is is far from me. He goes on to say that they put aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things they do. Jesus uses the example of washing pots and cups as outward traditional works which has not much to do with salvation, liberty, or the gospel of loving our brothers and sisters.
Then Christ goes on to give them a concrete example of one of the commandments that they had replaced with their man made traditions. In Mark 7:10, He tells them how Moses had told them to honor their father and their mother; and whosoever curseth father and mother, let him die the death. In Vs 11, He tell them how they have taught the Law of Corbin,( that is to say) that they taught the people that they were to give to the church first, before taking care of their needy parents! He then says in vs. 12 that because of this teaching you have made it impossible for the people to help their mother and father. In vs.13 He tells them that by teaching this they were making the word of God of none effect through their tradition which they have delivered: and many such like thing you do. This practice of teaching man made traditions and doctrines, as the word of God, continues in the church today! How many of us grew up hearing that women should not wear pants, wear makeup, that dancing is a sin, that drinking is a sin, that tithes is a NT command and should be paid before any thing else, etc? Jesus just said in Mark that you should take care of your parents before you take care of anything else, even the church. Have you ever heard Mark 7:10-13 preached in your church? Why not?
The Book of Romans is considered, by many scholars, as the book that describes and explains 'the 'Doctrine of the Christian Church.' Paul, in Romans 14, addresses and describes who are Strong and Weak Christians. What Paul says in theses scriptures are a complete reversal of what I had been taught in Sunday School and Church Services. Paul says in Romans 14:1 Now accept the one who is weak in the faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgement on his opinion. Then is Romans 14:2, He tells us that the Strong Christian, has faith that he may eat many things, but he who is a Weak Christian eats vegetables only. In(vs.3),'The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat, is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him. (vs 4) 'Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. Paul goes on to give the example of how one person regards one day above another, and another regards every day alike. Then in Romans 14:5 he tells us that we must fully be convinced in our own mind, or our conscience. Dr. Larry Keefauer & Clare Weaklery in their book on the personal reflections of John Wesley relate Wesley's reflection on the concept of conscience. 'Wesley states that Paul tells us that conscience is from God. He says it is the faculty or power implant by God in every person. Through his conscience man perceives what is right and wrong in his own heart or life, emotions, thoughts, words, and actions. He sites Romans 2:14,15 in which Paul says, "For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these things having not the law, are a law unto themselves. Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another." Paul is telling us that people who have not yet hear the gospel have the law written on their hearts by God.
In 1 Corinthians 10:23 Paul tells us that all things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient; all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not. Paul is saying that if God did not declare it a sin then it is lawful to him. In Galatians 5:13 Paul said ye have been called to liberty; only use not liberty for occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. In 1 Corinthians 10:29 Paul says, 'Conscience, I say, not thine own, but of the other for why is my liberty judged by another man's conscience? Why are others judging me for decisions I make that are between me and God and not sinful or evil? Colossians 2:16 tells us that no one is to act as our judge in regard to food or drink or respect to a festival or a new moon, or a Sabbath Day, thing which are mere shadows of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ. In 2:20-23 Paul ask us that if we be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world are we subject to ordinances? Touch not; taste not; handle not, which are to perish with the using; after the commandments and doctrine of men. By what authority do they call things sin that God has not declared sin? By their own conconscience and insecurities!
What is Paul saying? That Christ has given us liberty and we are free from all those ordinances and rule set by men in the church. We have been taught that Strong Christian are the ones that can follow the rules set forth by the church or denominations. Paul tells us that it's the Strong Christians that enjoyed the freedom from man made rules and legalism. He tells strong Christians not to flaunt their liberty or misuse it, or cause another to stumble by it. Let me say it again , it is the weak in the faith that need rules for all aspects of their spiritual lives and believe that all others should do the same.
Bob Deffinbaugh made a very important observation when he said, " While 2 Christians may disagree on whether or not a Christian should drink wine, or eat certain foods, no Christian should dispute the fact that lying, stealing, and immorality are sins. These are biblical and moral absolutes. All Christians should agree that love is the greatest commandment and if they don't show love they missed the spiritual point of the gospel.
John Wesley states, "The Bible is a lantern for a Christians travel. It lights all his paths. This alone is his rule of right and wrong. It show him what is good or evil." He goes on to say,"Nothing is evil, but what the Word forbids, either by words or undeniable inference. Whatever the Scriptures neither forbids nor requires is neutral. Those matters are neither good or evil." What happens in our churches is that our ministers treat those neutral matters as sin and evil, thus misrepresenting the Word of God. Why do they do this? Using Paul's definition of of a weak Christian one could only conclude that we may have weak Christians preaching in our pulpits on Sunday morning's. A writer at Loyola University describes those who are weak Christians as condemning, self righteous, and will accuse others of doing wrong even when they have done nothing wrong. These individuals will keep others in bondage and exalt themselves above others. It is the holier than thou syndrome. In today's church there is very little independent thinking, we are a bunch of Christian Robots who can't tell the difference between scriptural doctrine and man made doctrine as stated in Mark chapter 7. Those who have been indoctrinated with the religious oral tradition, of the elders, are not open to see anything in a different light. Their belief system is so strong that when they read scriptures they read to enhance their existing bias knowledge base. Have you ever written a paper, and when you finish had someone edit it? The editor found that you had left out key words, and phrases that you knew you included? This happened because in your mind you read in these words even though you were not writing them down. A situation like this happens when many people read the scriptures. They read into the scriptures things that are in their psyche/mind and that they strongly believe. However, they don't have an editor to alert them. The Holy Spirit is to be our spiritual guide and editor when we allow Him to do His work.!
In the book of James we learn that the Law of God is a perfect law, and nothing can be added or deleted. We must take the scriptures and read, digest , internalize and act. Max Baxter's commentary on the Book of James calls a religion without liberty a vain religion. He describes a vain religion as one with much show to appear religious in the eyes of others. People are more concern at appearing religious than being religious. In vain religion there is much censuring, reviling ,and detracting of others. Vain Religion also causes people to readily speak of the faults of others, or to censure them as holding scandalous error, or less wise, than them." This is what Christ was saying to the Pharisees when he told them of their concern for washing pots and cups.
Why is it more comfortable for preachers/ teachers to preach 90% of their sermons from the Old Testament? When was the last time you heard a New Testament sermon or a sermon about Christian Liberty? Paul had confidence in God's power and was not afraid to teach Christian Liberty. If you will read the breath, dept, length, and height of the scriptures you can learn much about how Paul approached the people in his teaching and writings. The majority of the time Paul would start off a letter or sermon with remarks such as I thank my God always concerning you, then he continually reminded then of what Christ had done for them and the strengths, gifts and resource they had in Him. Paul would tell the people to always remember what Christ had done for them, and that they should not give all that up and slip back into their old ways. He would tell them that in Christ they could resist evil and stand against those who would challenge their faith. He would warn them against those who would teach them other doctrines that were different than the message of Jesus, and not to allow others, even angels to burden them with man made doctrines. When was the last time you have come in contact with such a sermon?
Why are things the way they are in church? Why are certain parts of the scriptures never preached? Why are other parts preached over and over? The Gospel is the "Good News" or glad tiding of redemption through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. The man, in our generation, who most emulates the teaching of Paul is Billy Graham. He is almost never controversial, self-centered, because he always preached exactly what thus said the Lord. He preaches a pure and simple gospel of Gods love, grace, hope and deliverance.
I think part of the problem in the Black Church is we give more importance to those things that affect our emotions, than those things that build and develop inner spiritual stability. Another problem is we delegate the imparting of all biblical knowledge to other and take no personal responsibility. We enjoy quoting scriptural sayings and phrases without any clue of the practical applications in our lives. In Psalms 119:99-100 the Psalter David tells us, ' I have more insight than all my teachers, For Your testimonies are my meditation, I understand more than the aged, Because I have observed your precepts. In these scriptures David may be saying that his elders and teachers had become distracted by formalities of religious tradition and practices, and neglected the continued study of true essence of the scriptures. David continued to study and meditate on the scriptures which resulted in his increased scriptural knowledge base. In Hebrew 5:11-13 the apostle tell the Hebrew Preachers that he had much to teach them, but they were dull of hearing. He tells them that as long as they had been preachers they ought to be teachers, yet from what he has seen they need someone to teach them the elementary oracles of God, and that they needed milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil. I am not the one saying this, but this is coming from Paul's mouth. Paul is saying how can I depend on you to teach anything of substance when you are so lacking in knowledge and wisdom yourself! If Paul sat through some of our current church service how do you think he would react? Would he shake his head in disbelief, or would he shake his hear with a nod of approval. Would he drop a note in the collection plate addressed to the Pastor, citing the directive of Hebrew 5:11-13! We have some men in the ministry, today who need to stop teaching until they are properly taught themselves. How do you know you don't know? John 7:17-18 'If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching whether it is of God, or whether I speak from Myself. He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who is seeking the glory of the One who sent Him, he is true, there is no unrighteousness in Him."
Many of the problems in the Black Church comes from the oral tradition model, or oral folkloric transmission of scriptural information. Scriptural interpretations have been past down by elders informally from generation to generation quite often with man developed doctrines freely added and never challenged by a learned and well read congregation. In the book of Acts we read of the people of Berea, whom we should try to emulate in our religious practice. Act 17 tells us that, "The people of Berea everyday they studied the Holy Writings to see if what was being preached was true/correct." The young preachers are often captivated with how the older preacher can stir up the membership, the number of people who become happy and shout during the message, and the number who walk the aisle. They try to emulate their voice, tone, mannerisms and demeanor, never questioning the content and authenticity of the message.
It appears, to me, that in the Black Church there is very little questioning of teaching, preaching, and formalities of the church. If Martin Luther had not question the teaching and practice of the early Catholic Church, we all would be worshiping the Pope today. Instead of questioning, we go from church to church trying to find something that we feel is missing. What I have found is that many go to physical church to fulfill guilt, or to socialize, but look to certain television and radio programs for their spiritual food.. I once asked a friend why she gave money to a TV minster, and not to her local church? She told me that she gives money to those who feed her spiritually. If you look on Facebook, or other social media outlet you will see people quoting and praising Joyce Meyer, Joel Osteen, David Jeremiah, Charles Stanley, Chuck Swindoll, TD Jakes, or Joseph Prince. It is apparent that they feel that these individuals provide the spiritual food they need.
Some of you will read this and say, 'I never looked at it this way before, and others will think I am so far off base that I must not be truly saved! I am not afraid to question, or speak up when what I hear in church does not line up with I read in scriptures. May the Lords grace and love abound in your lives, and you enjoy the liberty of your faith and your salvation. Those of you who are strong, show grace and love in your Christian freedom. Those of you who are weak, don't project you insecurities on to others.
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