Fear the Demagogue

“For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it”

Mark 8:35-36

demagogue

n. a person, especially an orator or political leader, who gains power and popularity by arousing the emotions, passions, and prejudices of the people.

My first time coming across this word was in an article describing the Donald before he was selected as the Republican Party Presidential candidate of the United States (-____-). I agree, I think the word sums up the essence of what he has successfully accomplished, chiefly arousing the prejudices against certain minority groups. Now if this is how we define the word I’d be hard pressed to find a candidate that is not a demagogue. Every election I’ve witnessed (3) the principal topics of discussion have been about issues that affect the United States populace to any number of degrees. Therefore when a candidate spoke it was to adhere to supporters and/or persuade the opposition’s beliefs into what they most passionately believed to be correct. These topics are heavy in emotions because we’ve all associated ourselves with – something. Whether we have a gay father, a brother on welfare, an uncle that is an NRA member, a mother who’s a cop, a sister with multiple abortions, an aunt victimized by abuse, a Middle Eastern wife, a grandmother whose inheritance has earned her significant tax write offs, or you’re a young black man. I digress (idiom of the day!). Regardless of where we stand, emotions, passions, and prejudices are present, but aren’t all of the issue. My focus here is fear; more specifically in this presidential race I’ve seen a lot of reactive fear.

fear
1. n. a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is REAL or IMAGINED; the feeling or condition of being afraid.

4. n. reverential awe

Where I see Trump has been exceptional at is arousing reactive fear about non-European citizens and visitors of this country and what could happen should they stay around. However, he could not have won the hearts of so many Americans if we didn’t first have many of those prejudices laying dormant in our hearts. He simply gave those hearts a voice to ignite a fire of hope in reinstituting the greatness of “how things use to be”.

Walt…I mean Bryan Cranston explains it well: https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fbbcnewsnight%2Fvideos%2F10153984451616200%2F&show_text=0&width=400

It’s hard to trust the unknowns especially when it comes to power and the “opposition” has numbers, right? Look at Pharaoh and Israel. Aren’t we uncomfortable when we’re challenged with something where we feel inadequate? Why not revert back to the way things used to be when it was just us? I’m sure the natives of this land feel that way too.

There are some that say “vote for Clinton to keep Trump out”. Some say “not to vote for a third party candidate because other ‘on the fence voters’ are tending to lean in favor of Trump (or Clinton)”. Others say “a third party vote is a waste”. But the most frustrating thought I hear is, “I don’t like him at all, but at least Trump will [hopefully] appoint Republican Supreme Court Justices”. Again, just being reactant towards what could happen and in fear of the unknown. There’s not a huge difference in this sentiment and the sentiment in what was portrayed above. It seems for most the fear of unsuccessfully preserving oneself trumps moral conviction.

People are so willing to throw away every negative assessment they have of a person’s character for the sake of preservation. My question is what are we trying to preserve? Is it 1) the customs of our family, 2) the freedoms we feel all are owed the privilege, or 3) the idea of America as a holy nation? 1) I understand that trying to break tradition and all that has been engrained in us since our youth is a hard trail to blaze alone, but there’s typically a great freedom expressed when done. 2) Every demographic defines “freedom” different based on their life influences, which can be infinite, so then what when the vote is for one or the other? How much ought we to settle for? 3) Cannot be sustained if it hasn’t started, and it unequivocally can’t succeed through compromising on integrity. What are we THAT afraid of?

I can’t help but imagine how different a world we would live in if Christians actually lived what they professed, and not so passively went with the flow of their fears (MYSELF INCLUDED). But the beautiful thing is fear motivates both action and reaction. Let the fear be active. Fear the Lord, not the unknowns. He knows how he’s working everything out for our good. Allow that to be the priority, not self-preservation. As we are to share in the throne of Christ and have authority in the mind of Christ make godly decisions, not fearful ones. How can one consciously choose something they believe is utterly wrong? Why not just suffer the wrong? As if our decision making supersedes the all-encompassing, sovereign will of God. Spoiler: HE CREATED DECISION MAKING. It’s the God of Moses, what’s the worst that could happen?

 “If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.”

Mark 3:24-25

Always

It’s crazy how we read and understand and love Jesus for his obedience until death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:8). But in our lives, in his resurrection, we treat him like a different dude. If he was obedient in the flesh then how much more would he be in the spirit (from the Throne of God). With the life that he lived in the flesh, how much more should we be able to trust his promises. It’s clearly our lack of faith that keeps us in chains. Clearly we trust ourselves more than we trust God.

Because clearly he said “…behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). Yet we’ll be too uncomfortable to talk to our neighbors about a bible study. We’re too scared to jump in when a husband is abusing his family (verbally and/or physically). Our lives are currently too comfortable to talk to co-workers about a real hope in a real God because we’ve got a family to feed (aka “more stuff to buy that I don’t really need”). Can’t really risk the life and reputation we have built for ourselves, right? Jesus can handle death and my place in heaven, but not my image (Romans 8:29), but not my health (Matthew 6:25-34), but not my time (Ephesians 5:15-16).

If we can trust him for death, we can trust him with everything!

 

# 1

I should really do these more often…anyway.

I don’t know if you remember the Nelly song Number 1, but I do. I thought about it sometime ago while I was probably doing some mundane task to get an engineering degree, and I haven’t forgotten about it since. The only part I remember is “I-Am-number one…two is not winner and three nobody remembers…What does it take to be number one?” in whatever order those go in. It was a really random thought, but it made me think (…wait I was in class, when I thought about it). I thought about competitions I’ve been in or seen and how sometimes you remember second place when they gave the victor a hell of a fight. Or when you pull for the underdog to take out the top seed, then who was number one is now written as two in the history books. But third, who talks about third? I can’t think of any who were in third that is relevant to mention.

I thought about who is number one and/or who deserves to be number one and my mind wondered toward God. So naturally I applied those lyrics to him, and it’s the same story. We do this within the trinity. We break it down to three figures. We position the figures in a hierarchy and proceed to place them in order; all so that we can attempt to simplify such a being into the frame of our mental capacity. But it lessens him of his full and true image.

In explaining the trinity we say “First you have God the Father, then God the Son, and third God the Holy Spirit”. We don’t dare say “and lastly God the Holy Spirit”, but we treat him as such so what’s the difference? We remember the Father, and definitely remember Jesus, but when it comes to third…meh. Not to say that we completely shun any idea of the Spirit because clearly we’ll say “the Spirit was moving”, but in everyday life he gets no love. We refer to him as if a utensil, as if one and two use three as a type of spiritual spoon to stir up emotion. But HE is a VITAL element in the Godhead, and HE has personality (John 3:8; John 16:7; John 14:16-17)!

The trinity works together; they are a single unit (one supremely well oiled machine). Actions are not accomplished without all members full input (Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14). Yet we still thank the Father for sending Jesus, and Jesus for dying, and Jesus for resurrecting, and Jesus for interceding, but not often the Holy Spirit for directing us to the revelation of our sin and subsequently to the feet of Jesus (John 14:16). We don’t often thank him for clearing the veil and bringing light in the midst of darkness and cultivating our minds to the understanding of purpose driven by a creator. Clearly we are confused by our own system because we even place second on the highest platform. I wonder how many actually take the time to study who the Spirit is and what he does (with myself included)?

No wonder Jesus says, “…but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”. If through God Jesus died to forgive the sins of mankind and the Spirit is necessarily involved in the process, one whom rejects the works of the Spirit in turn rejects the offer of a sacrifice from God. Thus no forgiveness, thus no payment for the penalty of sin, and thus the weight of sin is forever on the head of that soul.

Now back to hierarchy. I believe that scripture does give some evidence that there is a type of “balance of powers”. A type of authority within the Godhead, but I don’t think that suggests superiority. For example, 1 Corinthians 15:24-28 follows:

“Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For ‘God has put all things in subjection under his feet.’ But when it says, ‘all things are put in subjection,’ it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.”

I couldn’t begin to break this passage down to its core (it’s just over my head), but logically in order for God to be “all in all” he must also apply the same principle used for Christ and creation to he and himself. Christ subjecting ALL things to himself, and God (the Father maybe) subjecting ALL those things under Christ, then Christ subjecting himself back under God. But the Christ (Jesus) is God? …insert brain explosion. What I can’t wrap my mind around is what does that look like, but I digress.

I challenge us all to read the Bible and evaluate our lives and often ask “How did/does the Holy Spirit work in this situation?” I highly recommend starting with the gospel and salvation (or even the passage I shared above). I also think we should banish this idea of numbered members in the trinity, God moves in a unit (G-unit). Maybe then it will change, I don’t know. Lastly, I know my boy Francis Chan wrote a book called “Forgotten God” that may be along the same lines, but I never read it so again I don’t know.

Why the Bible?

While I initially want say that it’s a foolish question and “why not”, it’s a legitimate and worthy question. The argument is, “The bible was written thousands of years ago, when the culture was different. They had different dealings, were raised differently, and worked differently. How/why is it that we should try to follow the bible when we live in a completely different time period?” Good question, right? Not something I always think about, yet I still gave an answer. An answer that I wish I had have spent more time thinking about and even praying about as the question was asked. I gave a very surface level answer, to me at least.

I said (not NEARLY in as much detail) what people too often do is read scripture without context. People will take one verse, out of the entirety of the chapter or book, and attempt to gain understanding of God’s view on the manner. Now even in the worldly view that’s complete foolishness. The court of law may call that secundum quid, in laymen’s terms it’s a hasty generalization, and at an elementary level that’s just unfair. But further than that, even if we read the whole bible, most things won’t make sense because contextually we know nothing. To grasp the relevance today, we have to understand their culture as well. We have to understand the person of who’s writing, the audience in which they are writing to, and why they are writing it.

For example, take the letters Paul wrote to the Corinthians. You can see who they were and who he was by how he addresses them. Paul says in the first five verses of 1 Corinthians chapter 2, “And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom.  For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” In the city of Corinth (which was much romanized) wisdom, philosophy, and the arts reigned supreme. People would pay to go listen to orators just to hear the eloquence and the level of precision they had in delivering messages. And for Paul to specifically address that with his fear and insecurity is utterly brilliant in showing a population that strives on pride what trust in the power of an almighty God can do!

Paul goes on further to address other flaws in character. Their deceitfulness towards one another (the backstabbing and lawsuits), their pride in possessions (that everything they have was given), their acceptance of sexual immorality and idols (that will only lead to death), even the financial wealth they had with little to no munificence. Sounds familiar and very much like America to me. We’ll pay to send our own brother to court, we’ll pay $1.8 million for a Bugatti (or $300K for an Aston Martin if you’re not in that tax bracket), we’ll pay to have sex with another man’s wife. We’ll pay to travel across the country to hear lectures from our brightest minds, we’ll pay $12 to watch one movie we could own for $20, and $20 for an okay stake, but yet we won’t give the time and money to nurture our own poor and needy around us.

In his book, The Death of Outrage, William Bennett wrote this, “A society that is parsimonious in its personal charity (in terms of both time and money) will require more government welfare.” Published in 1998, the statement is still as true now as it is also true for the Corinthians. I feel I need not explain our country’s welfare, but in 2 Corinthians 8-9 Paul has to nearly beg them to be more generous! He, and his fellow partners, even rejected receiving anything from them so that there would be no hindrance in the gospel (2 Cor. 12:14-18), and yet Paul still was willing to devote his life to them. Though America is obviously more technologically advanced, it is clear that the issues are the same. That kind of baffles me.

Now that answer is very analytical but when I took the time to think about it critically and factor in that despite different cultures, we face the same problems, the answer is simple. The bible is preserved to address the issues of man’s heart (surely among other reasons!!). This is why Jesus’ words are so timeless and still pierce. When God sees people, he literally sees their heart; why we think what we do, why we act, and what drives our motives before they become thoughts (Mark 2:1-12; Rom. 8:27; 1 Chron. 28:9; 1 Cor. 2:10).

Since Genesis God, through his word, has painted vividly the picture that the evil of man is a heart condition. When Jesus heals the paralytic man he tells him first “Son, your sins are forgiven”. Through Ezekiel God promises redemption by saying, “I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.” Keep in mind that in Adam and Eve God made perfect people, but not faithful people; he did not make them servants of him. If he had done so Ephesians 2:7 would be impermissible. He did then as he does now let us choose whom, or what, we will serve. And in his justice he gives us a tool (the bible) by which we may grade our own hearts and live accordingly.

Fred

So Friday I found out my barber died. My barber who has cut my hair since I was 12 years old, making him a consistent part of my life for a decade. He was more than just a man I would hit up every few weeks, he was my friend. He saw me progress into different stages of my life and even encouraged me through them. He trimmed my afro, faded me, and put designs in my hair when I was trying to be a little more “hood”.  He was there as my transformation from darkness to light happened, and though I didn’t talk much he heard a change in what I had to say, maybe. He knew me as the good Christian boy who did nothing wrong, but how good was I really?

Since he moved into my neighborhood several years back I always pass his house when coming home from school. Thursday was different though. There were a lot of cars gathered around when I drove by and I assumed his family was having some type of party. It wasn’t until the next day that my mother told me what happened and it struck me like a Cueto pitch to the chest. I don’t know if it was so much the understanding that he is gone or the sobriety of life that hit me. Regardless, I was somber.  As my mom continued to tell me the details of the situation I could only think to pray in my sister’s apartment bathroom. Pray for his two young children, his wife, the rest of his family and friends, and hoping there was a change in his life from the last time I spoke with him.

Apparently it started with an argument with his wife, which from what I’ve seen in human nature isn’t in itself enough to make a man want to take his own life. As far as anyone else knows suicide fit the bill. I haven’t heard any more updates, but foul play had not yet been ruled out either. This is a man who had a past life and enemies could have followed suit, I don’t know. But how selfish is it to take your own life when you have three people in your immediate influence that rely on you? I just don’t know. I don’t know the depth of anguish he had within his heart. All of what I left of myself for him to know was the clippings that fell in his chair. And my convictions eat me constantly as I think of all the time, all the missed opportunities, all the lack of effort I put into explaining to him the hope I had within my heart. Hope in the gospel of infinite grace that changed me from the inner and altered my eternal residency.

“He’s gone. Now what? I blew it. I know his sister and brother-in-law are very strong in their faith, and even though they may have spoken to him it still doesn’t excuse me”. This is what plagues me. The thought of his selfishness against the thought of my selfishness of not opening my mouth to possibly save his life, maybe this wouldn’t have happened. Now to the thought of those who lost a son, a father, a husband, a best friend and I’m still wrapped around myself. Is it healthy? Is it evil? Aught I be mourning, especially over a soul whom I have no clue where it might go? Should I be thinking about how his death can make me a better and stronger individual? I don’t know. How do I correlate?

Death is for certain, but unpredictable. I truly hope and pray that this challenges me (and others) to take captive every thought, every moment, and every insecurity.

“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the

best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be

foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”

~ Ephesians 5:15-17

Fred Rodgers I love you and you will be missed. I hope that somehow we will meet again in peace.